THE LOG & TIMBER SPECIALISTS

A Passion for Log and Timber Joinery

Benefits of Cross Laminated Timber for Your Commercial Building - October 18th 2021



At Nicola LogWorks, our specialized expertise and familiarity with Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) has earned us a reputation as Heavy Timber Specialists. We are a British Columbia-based log building construction contractor that provides services throughout North America. Our entry into the arena of commercial construction began in earnest in 2011 when we were invited to consult on lifting and assembly strategies at UBC’s Earth Sciences Building (ESB). What began as an invitation for a brief consultation turned into a summer’s worth of work for the LogWorks crew and a team of colleagues. Together we helped create the largest panelized wood building with the greatest application of CLT in North America.

CLT is a prefabricated, solid engineered wood panel system that has been popular in Europe for many years and is now taking off in the North American commercial market. It is made by finger jointing kiln-dried timber, then gluing the stacked layers together until it reaches the desired thickness. The panels are compressed and dried, producing a strong, stable, consistent building material. These large slabs of stacked wood readily equals or exceeds the performance of steel and concrete. We’ve been using CLT in our construction projects for a long time and if you have questions about using CLT in your commercial construction project, we have the answers. Contact us to learn how Nicola LogWorks can help you meet your goals.

If you’d like a brief introduction on the benefits of CLT for commercial grade timber construction, read on:

Flexibility

Increasing the thickness of CLT panels is easily customizable for individual construction projects and field modifications can be done with simple tools.

Fire Protection

CLT’s thick cross-section provides natural fire resistance due to its layered structure. In many cases, the top layer will char and self-extinguish, shielding the interior layers and slowing the fire’s progress. Also, in CLT construction, there tends to be fewer concealed areas, so fires are more easily detected and can be quickly snuffed out.

High-Load Bearing Capacity

CLT is stronger and more durable than other wood construction materials. It has a high-load capacity and is less susceptible to buckling than other systems.

Earthquake-Safe

The dimensional stability and rigidity of CLT panels creates significant seismic resilience. Multiple tests indicate that mass timber holds up remarkably well in seismic conditions.

Green Alternative

By using wood from sustainably managed forests, CLT provides a green alternative to other building systems. CLT panels are custom-created to exact specifications with little to no material waste. Wood is natural and renewable and building with CLT panels results in far less waste than other building options.

These are only a few of the significant benefits to CLT construction. If you are considering timber construction for some or all of your commercial building, check out our Commercial Log Construction Services page for further information on what we do and a quick peek at some of our past projects. Equally comfortable setting up a log or timber home in the back of beyond or providing heavy timber services for the installation of massive engineered wood in the high-pressure environment of commercial construction, at Nicola LogWorks we live up to our reputation as "multi-discipline log and timber builders."

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Testimonials
If I ever build another house it would be post and beam again and you guys would be my choice.

If I ever build another house it would be post and beam again and you guys would be my choice.

A reference for a recent post and beam job we did for Mohawk College in Hamilton Ontario.

A reference for a recent post and beam job we did for Mohawk College in Hamilton Ontario.

I was impressed at how well organized the erection crew from Nicola Logworks was. Despite poor weather conditions (rain, snow, and wind),the erection went smoothly.

I was impressed at how well organized the erection crew from Nicola Logworks was. Despite poor weather conditions (rain, snow, and wind),the erection went smoothly.