Wood and Code Groups Guide Mass-Timber Code Compliance

Building codes, since 2015, have permitted larger and taller mass timber construction.

Photo Courtesy Freres Lumber

The American Wood Council and International Code Council have released a joint publication, Mass Timber Buildings and the IBC, which gives an overview of code changes regarding mass timber construction. These changes, which started with the ICC’s 2015 International Building Code, allow taller and larger-area timber buildings and recognize cross-laminated timber as a building material.

The publication also reviews the code’s reorganization of heavy timber provisions in the 2018 IBC and significant changes for tall mass timber construction in the 2021 code and the International Fire Code (IFC).

In addition, this fall, the two groups are planning two full-day courses on mass timber buildings and the building code. The course will cover provisions in the 2015/2018 International Building Code and the 2021 IBC and 2021 IFC.

Changes to the codes are based on fire and life-safety performance testing and the anticipated increase in demand for taller mass timber structures.

The publication is available for purchase through the ICC’s store. Those interested in the fall course can register through the ICC’s Learning Center.

Nadine M. Post, ENR's former editor-at-large for buildings, is an award-winning journalist with 45 years of experience covering trends, issues, innovations, controversies and challenging projects. Post has written about many industry giants, including 10 ENR Award of Excellence winners. And she has covered disasters, failures and attacks, including the 1993 bombing and the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center. Project stories include the redevelopment of the World Trade Center; the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa; Los Angeles’ Disney Concert Hall; and Seattle's Bullitt Center and Rainier Square Tower. In 1985, Post wrote McGraw-Hill's book Restoring the Statue of Liberty (1986) for the restoration’s architects—Richard S. Hayden and Thierry W. Despont.

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