3 ms·

gotcha, my bad for misconstruing your point. joint strength relative to span strength is definitely a non-obvious issue to the average home owner-builder. i al

gotcha, my bad for misconstruing your point. joint strength relative to span strength is definitely a non-obvious issue to the average home owner-builder. i also vastly prefer wood/mass timber for aesthetic reasons. mass timber has better burn characteristics than steel, and i'd recently read that builders are actually starting to surround steel columns with cross-laminated timber (rather than concrete) for that reason[0], while providing greater strength/flexibility and better aesthetics. that's probably what i'd want if money were no object. [0]: mentioned in this article, but i'd read more about it elsewhere: https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/1/15/21058051/climate-change-building-materials-mass-timber-cross-laminated-clt https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/1/15/2105805... p.s. - i've also daydreamed about building warehouse style: a separate steel superstructure for the roof integrating solar panels and solar heating, with a simple stick-built house underneath.

rsync 5y ago
"... and i'd recently read that builders are actually starting to surround steel columns with cross-laminated timber ..." Somewhat relevant - might interest you: https://easternwhitepine.org/this-office-buildings-wooden-frame-was-built-without-fasteners-or-glue/ https://easternwhitepine.org/this-office-buildings-wooden-fr... TAMedia office building in Zurich.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  > ...mass timber... Not sure if this is a regional / language difference, but I've more commonly seen it called "engineered wood" [0]. Which apparently now also includes transparent(?!) wood composite [1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineered_wood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineered_wood [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_wood_composite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_wood_composite
  - clairity 5y ago
    my impression is that 'engineered wood' is a slightly different aggregation than 'mass timber', with engineered wood including things like plywood, while mass timber is focused on the 'timber' aspect (more structurally focused, usually larger).

rsync 5y ago

"... and i'd recently read that builders are actually starting to surround steel columns with cross-laminated timber ..." Somewhat relevant - might interest you: https://easternwhitepine.org/this-office-buildings-wooden-frame-was-built-without-fasteners-or-glue/ https://easternwhitepine.org/this-office-buildings-wooden-fr... TAMedia office building in Zurich.

ethbr0 5y ago
> ...mass timber... Not sure if this is a regional / language difference, but I've more commonly seen it called "engineered wood" [0]. Which apparently now also includes transparent(?!) wood composite [1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineered_wood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineered_wood [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_wood_composite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_wood_composite
- clairity 5y ago
  my impression is that 'engineered wood' is a slightly different aggregation than 'mass timber', with engineered wood including things like plywood, while mass timber is focused on the 'timber' aspect (more structurally focused, usually larger).