by Hilary Dorsey, DJCOregon
At a roundtable discussion at the International Mass Timber Conference at the Oregon Convention Center last week, panelists sought to inform building industry professionals unfamiliar with mass timber of possible obstacles to project success and how they can be addressed.
“Price Transparency, Volatility and Stability: Insights on Cost Planning” included representatives of international and North America-based manufacturers as well as a construction firm that specializes in building with mass timber. Panelists included Nick Milestone, vice president of projects and construction for Mercer Mass Timber (headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia); Sebastian Popp, technical director for KLH US Holding Corp. (of Portland); and Dave Beck, executive vice president of XL Construction (headquartered in Milpitas, California). The discussion was moderated by Sam Rodriguez of Mill Creek Residential Trust, which has not used mass timber yet.
In an interview after the session, Arnie Didier, chief operating officer of the International Mass Timber Conference, said that when the event began several years ago, people were talking about the costs but did not really know about cross-laminated timber. Today, developers and contractors are sharing ideas, he said.
“What they’re sharing is if there are ways to do things differently to contain costs and make it more attractive,” Didier said.
During the session, Milestone said mass timber is part of the solution but not entirely, because steel and concrete still have a place in projects. But mass timber can accelerate construction and reduce the number of workers on a job site, he said. Projects made of mass timber can be built 20 percent quicker and 11 percent cheaper than those with traditional materials such as steel, he estimated.
