Mass Timber is Nice, however It Will Not Resolve the Housing Scarcity
A brief coverage memo recently posted on the Federation of American Scientists’ (FAS) web site argues that “mass timber might help resolve the housing scarcity.” It was posted as a part of the Housing Ideas Challenge, a collaboration between FAS, Matt Yglesias and some different organizations to generate new, progressive concepts for constructing extra housing.
The memo requires the federal authorities to incentivize states to undertake the newest model of the Worldwide Constructing Code. The most recent model of the Code contains new provisions for constructing tall timber buildings. In line with the memo, as a result of mass timber permits buildings to be constructed quicker and cheaper, altering state constructing codes to permit tall mass timber buildings will unlock extra housing development:
In comparison with concrete and metal, mass timber buildings are quicker to construct (subsequently usually cheaper), simply as protected in fires, and create fewer CO2 emissions. Single- and multi-family housing utilizing mass timber elements may assist with the 7.3 million hole of reasonably priced houses.
Broader adoption may meaningfully enhance productiveness and thereby scale back development prices. A 25-story mass timber constructing in Milwaukee accomplished in 2022 took 75% much less time in comparison with conventional development methods. Builders have reported value financial savings of as much as 35% by decrease time and labor prices.
I don’t have specific objections to accelerating mass timber adoption. Mass timber is an fascinating expertise, and it has some determined benefits over establishing buildings out of metal or concrete. And usually, I’m in favor of increasing the palette of applied sciences out there for establishing buildings. That stated, there may be not a lot cause to assume that accelerating mass timber adoption will meaningfully enhance the quantity of homebuilding within the US.
Mass timber is precisely what it feels like: development that makes use of massive, heavy timber parts because the structural body of the constructing. In distinction, light-framed timber development makes use of small, skinny timber parts – 2x4s, 2x6s, skinny sheets of plywood or OSB – because the structural body.
There’s a wide range of totally different merchandise that can be utilized for mass timber development: Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), Nail Laminated Timber, glue-laminated timber (glulam), mass-plywood panels (MPP), and so forth. Mass timber merchandise are usually made by taking smaller timber parts (2x4s or 2x6s, sheets of plywood, and so on.) and attaching them collectively to kind a lot bigger parts. Glulams, for example, are made by taking smaller items of dimensional lumber (lengthy items of lumber similar to 2x4s or 2x6s) and gluing them collectively to kind massive beams or columns. CLT is likewise made by gluing collectively layers of dimensional lumber to kind massive, strong panels that can be utilized for partitions or flooring.
It’s the big measurement of the structural parts that makes mass timber an fascinating constructing system. With light-framed wooden development, the danger of fireside limits how tall you may safely construct; usually 5 tales within the US (therefore the “5 over 1” development kind so in style in multifamily development). And a few argue that even these limits are too excessive, primarily based on the truth that the US has a much higher rate of fire death in comparison with international locations that use much less light-frame wooden.
However massive mass timber parts behave in another way than smaller light-framed ones throughout a hearth. Particularly, with mass timber a layer of charred wooden kinds across the exterior that protects the wooden on the within from additional combustion. Dimension your structural parts appropriately, and a mass timber constructing will survive a hearth for much longer than a light-framed wooden constructing. This offers extra time for folks to evacuate to security, which makes it doable to soundly construct a lot taller buildings out of wooden. Whereas light-framed wooden is often restricted to five tales within the US, mass timber buildings have been built up to 19 stories.
Moreover its higher hearth efficiency, there are different causes to love mass timber. It sequesters an enormous quantity of carbon due to the quantity of wooden it makes use of, so it is much less carbon-intensive than concrete or metal. It’s usually doable to depart mass timber parts uncovered within the completed constructing, which creates a sexy end for partitions or ceilings that some tenants are prepared to pay additional for. As a result of it’s prefabricated, the construction of a mass timber constructing is constructed very quick, and the development is way quieter than different constructing strategies.
However mass timber has some challenges, notably value. Contra the coverage memo, mass timber will usually be dearer than different forms of development, a minimum of within the US. The article the memo cites as proof that mass timber can scale back development value in reality mentions twice that mass timber is usually dearer than metal or concrete. The proof of financial savings offered within the article is a single developer who claimed they saved 35% on a mission through the use of mass timber. Even when that is true (and I’m skeptical), it’s not a lot proof. Development prices range sufficient between initiatives that for any two constructing supplies, it is in all probability doable to seek out an instance of somebody who saved cash by switching from one to the opposite. However the general development is obvious: a survey of commercial builders within the US discovered that the median mass timber mission had a price premium of two%, and in some instances as excessive as 15%.
Mass timber continues to be considerably nascent within the US, so it’s cheap to consider that prices will come down as extra initiatives are constructed, designers and builders acquire expertise, and the availability chain turns into extra sturdy. It wouldn’t shock me if it will definitely turns into aggressive with structural metal or concrete within the US. However the problem for mass timber as an enabler of housing development isn’t with metal or concrete, however with light-framed wooden.
In 2022, there were simply over 1 million single household houses constructed within the US, and 368,000 multifamily models. Of those, the overwhelming majority have been constructed utilizing light-framed wooden development: 94% of the one household houses, and 73% of the multifamily models.
This can be a downside for the concept of mass timber as a housing enabler, as a result of mass timber has some inherent value disadvantages in comparison with light-framed wooden development. First, for a given construction, mass timber would require extra materials to construct it than light-framed wooden will. Contemplate, for example, the framing for a constructing’s ground. Per Smartlam’s span tables for his or her CLT panels, a 5-ply panel supporting residential loading can span 21 toes beneath typical residential loading. If we have been framing the identical ground utilizing light-framed wooden, one possibility could be to make use of wooden trusses: for a 21 foot span, beneath residential loading, we are able to use 16 inch deep wood trusses spaced at 24 inches on heart, with a 3/4 inch thick sheet of plywood on high.
Each CLT and wooden trusses are constituted of dimensional lumber stitched collectively. However the mass timber framing makes use of 4 to 5 instances the quantity of wooden because the light-framed wooden framing.
These calculations get extra complicated for different elements of the construction. However the fundamental relationship holds: mass timber makes use of rather more wooden than light-framed timber to help the identical load.
The second value drawback of mass timber in comparison with light-framed wooden development is that it provides additional processing steps. To supply development lumber, timber are reduce down and delivered to a sawmill, the place they’re reduce into dimensional lumber (2x4s, 2x6s, and so on) or processed into different timber merchandise similar to plywood or OSB. A lot light-framed wooden development, similar to partitions and roof rafters, makes use of dimensional lumber that comes immediately from the sawmill. In different instances, similar to with ground trusses, the lumber should undergo one other processing step between the mill and the development web site, however the gear for this processing is comparatively easy and cheap. Here, for example, is a used ground truss machine going for lower than the worth of a totally loaded F-150.
With mass timber, alternatively, all of the lumber should undergo a second processing step to show it into mass timber merchandise, and this processing step is dearer than the comparatively less complicated truss fabrication. Fabricating CLT panels, for example, requires an involved production line that features conveyor belts, jointing machines, gluing machines, presses, planing equipment, and (in all probability) CNC slicing, the mixed value of which might simply be in the millions.
As a result of it makes use of extra materials and requires extra, costlier processing steps, mass timber has some inherent value disadvantages in comparison with light-framed wooden development. And since the overwhelming majority of housing within the US is at the moment constructed from light-framed wooden, there’s little cause to assume that even a highly-developed mass timber provide chain would meaningfully unlock massive quantities of housing development by the use of decreased prices.
Mass timber is in fact superior to light-framed wooden development for taller buildings, since its hearth resistance means it is protected to make use of the place light-framed wooden isn’t. However most development (residential or in any other case) isn’t tall sufficient for this to matter — over 90% of housing within the US is in buildings 3 tales tall or much less, and just 2.5% of housing units within the US are in buildings seven or extra tales tall.
Canada’s expertise with mass timber can provide us a glimpse of what full-throated help of mass timber would possibly imply for US housing development. Just like the US, Canada has monumental provides of wooden, and builds a lot of its housing utilizing light-framed wooden development. Canada, particularly the province of British Columbia (BC) has led the cost for using mass timber in North America. The Canadian forest product non-profit FPInnovations printed a widely-used CLT design handbook in 2011, and in 2018 Canada constructed what on the time was the world’s tallest mass-timber constructing, the 18-story Brock Commons. Canada’s nationwide and provincial constructing codes have steadily elevated the peak allowance for timber buildings (although they usually fall in need of what the present model of the IBC permits), and plenty of provinces have handed laws requiring wooden be the primary materials thought-about for publicly funded initiatives. Many outstanding mass timber producers and designers, similar to Seagate, Nordic, Equilibrium, Michael Green Architecture, and Structurecraft are positioned in Canada. As of 2022, the province of BC alone had constructed almost as many mass timber buildings as your entire US.
However authorities enthusiasm and a strong ecosystem hasn’t translated into massive volumes of residential mass timber development. Per the 2021 State of Mass Timber in Canada report, between 2007 and 2021 Canada constructed almost 500 mass timber initiatives, however simply 39 of those have been residential initiatives. This can be a tiny fraction of the 1000’s of residence buildings inbuilt Canada utilizing different development strategies over the identical time interval.
Like within the US, mass timber continues to be considerably nascent in Canada, and I count on the variety of mass timber buildings to proceed to development upward over time and prices to proceed to fall. Nonetheless, the small residential penetration of mass timber in Canada ought to give pause to anybody who expects it to drive elevated volumes of housing development within the US.
It is also value noting that not adopting the newest constructing code would not essentially forestall mass timber buildings from being constructed now, although it actually makes it simpler. Older codes have provisions that permit for shorter mass timber buildings (known as Sort IV development), and so they may also be constructed utilizing the code provisions that present light-framed wooden constructions use (Sort III or Sort V development). The up to date codes are particularly required just for tall mass timber buildings, or the place the mass timber will probably be left uncovered within the last situation.
However even right here, it’s usually doable to get taller mass timber buildings constructed with out updating the code. As a result of the newest model of the IBC has allowances for tall mass timber buildings, constructing officers are sometimes prepared to just accept them even when their state code doesn’t technically permit them. A number of tall mass timber buildings within the US, similar to Ascent in Milwaukee, have been constructed with out the state adopting the 2021 IBC’s mass timber provisions.
Conversely, simply because a state has adopted the 2021 IBC doesn’t imply that there gained’t be allowing roadblocks for tall mass timber buildings. Constructing officers are cautious by nature, and so they’re usually reluctant to permit taller wooden buildings with out very cautious consideration, regardless of what the code says. And what they are saying goes. Adopting the newest IBC would scale back the allowing obstacles to mass timber adoption, and I’m in favor of it, however it’s not like flipping a swap the place instantly mass timber buildings are actually doable.
I like mass timber; I spent several years at a startup that was attempting to make mass produced mass-timber development occur. It is good for lots of issues, notably for low-carbon development, and I am completely satisfied that it is slowly rising in popularity within the US. I believe it may in the end turn out to be a well-liked, aggressive development expertise. But it surely will not jumpstart US homebuilding.
Due to Matt Kantner of Equilibrium Consulting for studying a draft of this. All errors are my very own.