Cross-Laminated Timber-What is it, and What are its Benfits
Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) is an engineered wood panel product which is made by gluing layers of solid swan lumber together. Each layer of boards is generally oriented perpendicular to adjacent layers and glued on the wide faces of each board, usually in a symmetric way to make sure that the outer layers are having the same orientation.
Cross-Laminated Timber is being widely used in Europe by builders and is currently a hot topic worldwide. Its key features, strong, lightweight, sustainable makes it quite preferable amongst its counterparts. CLT was developed in Australia in 1996, and Europe remains its largest producer and user. It was in 2015 that the International Building Code began recognizing CLT products.
Now, let us comes to the benefits of Cross Laminated Timer.
In Timber producing regions, the local industry can support and will be benefitted if CLT is chosen over its counterparts by builders thereby massively helping the local economy.
CLT panels are more stable and less variable compared to plywood when it comes to mechanical properties, hence making them less likely to deform.
It is heavily sustainable as wood is extremely environment friendly owing to its renewability, reduced carbon impacts, and carbon sequestration.
Cross-Laminated Timber has shown over the top performance during blast testing.
During fire tests, steel joints have been found to be the typical points of failure and not the CLT itself. The natural process of charring during a fire actually serves to protect the structural integrity of the product.
It is easier to work with CLT and thus less chaos and noise is produced from the workplace. This is definitely a desirable factor to be considered.
CLT building systems constitutes of wood and a non-toxic and non-VOC adhesive. Hence no toxins are introduced into the indoor environment. Thus a much healthier indoor environment is achieved.
Comparing the cost of CLT versus certain concrete, masonry and steel building types and faster construction time and lower foundation costs, the estimated total costs of CLT structures is proving to be very cost effective.
