Course Overview

Recent code changes and advancements in timber products are allowing for larger and more complex buildings to be built in timber. These multi storey, complex buildings are comparable to steel and concrete in strength and durability and conform to all building codes. Although a relatively small portion of the overall project budget, the course of construction insurance for these projects tend to be much higher than the non-combustible alternative. This presentation will walk the attendee through the nuances of the insurance industry, and highlight the research that has taken place over the last 3 years to lower these rates. We will debunk many of the myths associated with timber construction that serve as roadblocks to desirable insurance rates. The best practices we will examine in this presentation could be instrumental in helping achieve a safe and insurable construction site.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the insurance industry’s methods of assessing construction risk.
2. Identify the major risk factors associated with timber construction.
3. Identify construction site best practices.
4. Be prepared to submit a comprehensive package to apply for insurance.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Timothy Buhler, BBA
Technical Manager
Canadian Wood Council

Born and raised in Northern Ontario, Tim is very aware of the importance of the forestry industry to Canadians.

Tim graduated from Nipissing University in 2006 and shortly after joined the Canadian Wood Council. Tim’s keen interest in sustainable construction and curbing climate change led him to pursue the role of technical manager within the Wood WORKS! Program. Over the last 14 years Tim’s experience and education has taken him across North America and Europe where he has engaged and learned from a variety of leading experts in the field. Tim has worked closely with industry and the design community to become a resource for all things related to timber construction.

As a technical manager with the Ontario team Tim continues to work diligently to promote timber construction has assisted with over 100 projects in Ontario ranging in size in scope from 1 to 35 (theoretical) stories.

Course Overview

In Canada, we are fortunate to have both structural engineers and architects who, because of the numerous benefits, would like to work with wood whenever they can. While many are comfortable using wood in traditional applications and in buildings that are relatively small in scale, not all have the requisite experience working with wood (whether traditional light wood-frame, heavy timber, or new engineered mass timber systems) in larger, non-traditional applications. In this context, the main purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate how a variety of structural wood systems can be successfully applied to a range of large-scale, low-rise building types – ones more typically constructed of steel. We believe that providing sound examples of structural wood systems for non-traditional applications can be a powerful tool to encourage developers, builders, architects, and engineers to use wood as the primary structural material in these types of buildings.

Learning Objectives

1. Importance of the Low-Rise Market.
2. Scope and Content of the Low-Rise Guide.
3. Review of Mass Timber and Hybrid Structural Systems Applicable to Low-rise Buildings.
4. Review of Light Framing Structural Systems Applicable to Low-rise Buildings.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Claude Lamothe
President
Intra-Bois Inc.

Claude Lamothe, President Intra-Bois Inc. Claude graduated from McGill University in 1985 with a Civil Engineering Bachelor Degree. He worked four years in the lumber truss and steel industries before joining Trus Joist. After five years as a Technical Sales Representative and three years as Eastern Canada Regional Sales Manager, Claude joined Domtar Lumber Division as Marketing Manager and then worked for Goodfellow as Manager Engineered Wood Products. From 2002 to 2012, Claude was Sales Manager Structural & Industrial Segments for the Lumber Division of Resolute Forest Products. In 2012, Claude founded its own consulting firm Intra-Bois Inc. Intra-Bois offers structural engineering services and has performed several market studies for major North American forest products companies.

Course Overview

Mass Timber has arrived in the world capital infrastructure marketplace while architects and structural engineers are trying to get educated about how to design with this new advanced engineered wood material. This paper discusses three important aspects of mass timber design in outdoor and indoor (wet and dry service) conditions as well as important design questions such as major and minor axis horizontal shear as it relates to column and wheel point loads. Other design considerations will be discussed as well.

Learning Objectives

1. Mass timber design details for outdoor and indoor environmental exposure. 
2. Point loads due to column loading in mass timber systems both post and beam and CLT and simple platform and column.
3. Fire resistance ratings and advanced materials in mass timber buildings
4. Minor and major axis shear characteristics of CLT and impacts on design considerations for civil infrastructure.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Dan Tingley, Ph.D., P.Eng., MIEust, CPEng., RPEQ,
Senior Wood Technologist / Structural Engineer
Wood Research and Development (WRD) Oregon, USA and Caboolture, QLD, Australia

Dr. Dan Tingley graduated from University of New Brunswick with a B. Sc. F.E. and later a M.Sc.C.E. Following this in the 90’s Tingley finished his Ph.D. in wood technology and structural engineering at Oregon State University. He has worked in the wood products field for 40 years. He currently serves as senior engineer for Wood Research and Development and Advanced Research and Development and makes his base in Portland Oregon. He has won the Civil Engineering Research Foundation’s Charles Pankow Award for Structural Innovation as well as the Nova Award for all construction products issued by Construction Innovation Forum for his pioneer work in high strength fiber reinforcement of wood and wood composites. Tingley holds over 40 patents worldwide and has over 125 referred and non referred publications. He specializes in timber structures design and restoration with a significant interest in timber bridges. He is currently acting as senior engineer providing oversight on 20 timber bridge restoration projects world-wide.

Course Overview

Born out of years of research and real world experience Les Jezsa applies his unique perspective in exploring the wood quality attributes of: strength, stiffness, density, dimensional stability and natural durability.

Many of the examples and teaching tools developed by Les Jozsa and used in this course are also used in university architect and engineering programs around the world. 

Learning Objectives

1. Wood availability and wood use will span from the global scale to the local picture, from the temperate zone and tropical rainforest, in terms of industrial and non-industrial uses.
2. Old-growth and second-growth wood attributes will be illuminated in terms of density, strength and stiffness, dimensional stability, and natural durability.
3. Hardwoods- softwoods, lumber grades, wood-moisture relationships, and protecting wood through pressure treating and painting.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Les Jozsa
Research Scientist Emeritus
FPInnovations | Forintek

Les Jozsa’s expertise and knowledge, as a wood technologist, spans a wide perspective, from the macroscopic to the microscopic realm. The above graphic, designed and drawn by the author, could be his business card. His responsibilities included planning, coordinating and conducting research on wood quality attributes, utilizing X-ray densitometric techniques. His resource evaluation projects have dealt with all the major commercial tree species in western Canada, and involved stand selection, tree sampling, laboratory measurements, analysis, and reporting. Log diagramming, lumber conversion, and lumber grading protocols were followed to examine the impact of silvicultural treatments (like spacing, thinning, fertilization and pruning) on wood production and wood quality. Intensive tree sampling techniques provided information on stem size, stem taper, branch size, heartwood-sapwood distribution, and juvenile- mature-wood classification. His three-dimensional analysis of ring width, ring density, fiber length and shrinkage was ground-breaking in Canada. It was made possible through techniques developed by his colleagues at Forintek under his leadership. His other projects have dealt with climate-tree-growth relationships, the acoustical properties of wood, shrinkage and swelling, and lumber drying. Other responsibilities included conducting workshops with professional foresters, wood workers, architects and engineers. He developed an extensive variety of teaching aids which are being used around the world at several universities, dealing with wood technology and wood-structure. He is an expert witness in Forensic Dendrochronology in the Supreme Court of Canada.

Course Overview

While many designers are familiar with engineered wood products such as I‐joists and structural composite lumber, it is important to understand the structural requirements associated with each in order to achieve proper performance—especially in mid‐rise Construction. With an emphasis on products used in commercial and multi‐family buildings, this presentation will cover engineered wood product acceptance, testing requirements, lateral design, and proper detailing.

Learning Objectives

1. Testing requirements and acceptance of wood I‐joists and structural composite Lumber (SCL) products.
2. Dimension stability in regards to moisture content changes and the differences between solid wood products.
3. Lateral design, including information on I‐joist diaphragm capacities and the detailing of rim board connections.
4. Fire resistance design, including wood I‐joist assembly requirements and SCL char rate equivalency to solid wood.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Jeff Olson, P.E., P.Eng.
Boise Cascade EWP, White City, OR

Jeff is currently the Technical Services Manager for Boise Cascade, Engineered Wood Products division. He has over 30 years of experience in the design and testing of engineered wood products and is licensed as a Professional Engineer in several western Canadian provinces and U.S. states.

Course Overview

This presentation aims to help designers and construction companies/builders assess the potential for moisture related issues arising during the construction appropriate actions to mitigate such risk. Information on wetting and drying potential, and solutions and available resources related to onsite moisture management as well as design measures will be discussed.

Learning Objectives

1. Wood’s basic physical properties related to moisture management.
2. Categories of wood materials/built up assemblies.
3. Wetting and drying performance of different assemblies.
4. Different level of onsite moisture protection.
5. Design solutions to facilitate drying performance.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Jieying Wang
Senior Scientist – Building Systems Department
FPInnovations

Jieying Wang is a senior scientist in the Building Systems department of FPInnovations.

Since she joined FPInnovations (then operating as “Forintek”) about 11 years ago, her research has primarily focused on wood durability, moisture management and thermal performance of wood‐based building envelopes.