Concerns about climate change are encouraging decarbonization of the building sector, including the use of construction materials responsible for fewer greenhouse gas (GHG)...

Construction products and the building sector as a whole have significant impacts on the environment. Policy instruments and market forces are increasingly pushing...

Preservative-treated wood is typically pressure-treated, where the chemicals are driven a short distance into the wood using a special vessel that combines pressure and...

The National Building Code of Canada (NBC) defines fire safety under Objective OS1: “an objective of this code is to limit the probability that as a result of the design or...

Flame spread is primarily a surface burning characteristic of materials, and a flame-spread rating is a way to compare how rapid flame spreads on the surface of one material...

In the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) “fire-resistance rating” is defined in part as: “the time in minutes or hours that a material or assembly of materials...

The vulnerability of any building in a fire situation is higher during the construction phase when compared to the susceptibility of the building after it has been completed...

A structure must be designed to resist all the loads expected to act on the structure during its service life. Under the effects of the expected applied loads, the structure...

For many years, the design values of Canadian dimension lumber were determined by testing small clear samples. Although this approach had worked well in the past, there were...

A permanent wood foundation (PWF) is an engineered construction system that uses load-bearing exterior light-frame wood walls in a below-grade application. A PWF consists of...

“Durability by design” is the most important aspect of durable solutions.  It starts with using dry wood, storing it appropriately to ensure it stays dry, and then...