The phenomenal growth of Cross Laminated Timber in structural building. By Pat Brennan
Chris Latour, V.P. Manufacturing Engineering, Element 5.
T
ruck loads of fashionable new homes and other attractive structures - even bridges - are rolling south down highways from Ontario’s vast woodlands. And when they reach Metro Toronto, they just keep rolling west until they reach the town of St. Thomas. There, an ultra new factory converts those truck loads of birch, fir and pine trees into innovative construction products.
We are going to see many more houses, offices, libraries, apartments, banks, fire halls, schools, bus depots, etc. built entirely of wood - even up to 10 storeys high – because of the phenomenal growth of Cross Laminated Timber in structural building.
CLT wood panels arrive at construction sites strong enough to replace steel and concrete, which eliminates many tons of CO2 harmful to the environment and human health.
The timber construction business got a big boost this past spring with the opening of a $50 million factory by Element 5 in St. Thomas that joins 2X6 wood slats, using glues and finger joints, into a variety of shapes and thicknesses of wood panels that can be walls, floors, roofs, beams, pillars and decorative finishes in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Even railway and roadway bridges are also being proposed with CLT panels that offer the warm glow of wood. Wood structures are lighter in weight than concrete and steel structures and therefore require smaller foundations and footings. Most of the wood being processed by the Element 5 factory comes from a lumber mill in White River in Northwest Ontario that had been standing idle for seven years after Domtar Inc. shut it down and eliminated 150 jobs. The town of White River, joined with the local Indian tribe - Netamisakomik Anishinabek (Pic Mobert First Nation) and
AOLE | Spring-Summer 2021 / Vol 51. No 2
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