Construction is a major contributor to waste and everyone in the industry needs to be more responsible in the products they are leaving for future generations to manage, live with and dispose of. Our 100% Wood DLT is completely clean, truly cradle-to-cradle product. It contains no glues or other chemicals making it 100% uncontaminated and therefore 100% recyclable wood. It can be disassembled and re-used or composted at the end of its life. The energy consumption during manufacture of our DLT is roughly 3.5 times lower than in the manufacture of other mass timber products. This significantly lowers production emissions. Compared to concrete and steel, DLT is a natural choice for sustainable construction – there is significantly less energy used in the production of wood products than in steel or concrete. We are proud to make a 100% wood, 100% re-usable, 100% recyclable product.

If you are interested in learning about the carbon benefits of your wood building you can use the Canadian Wood Council Carbon Calculator. After inputting wood volumes, the tool estimates how much time it takes Canadian forests to grow that volume of wood along with the associated carbon benefits – both the amount of carbon stored and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided.

A solid DLT home has the world record for heat insulation in structural materials and therefore minimal operating costs. Recent tests of 3 wall systems with the same R-value showed the supremacy of cross laminated DLT. An average 100% wood DLT home needs 1/3 less of the heating system compared to a traditional framed home with the same R-value. Cross laminated DLT offers superior thermal insulation over stacked DLT, NLT and glulam. It has almost double the R-value of any other solid wood product. This means that you can build a highly insulated wall in a similar thickness (14”) to that of a regular framed house to reach a U-value of 0.2.

It’s like having air conditioning and heating systems with zero energy consumption - in the summer the home stays cool and in the winter it stays warm.

With no off-gassing from glues or contamination from chemicals, 100% Wood DLT offers a significantly healthier indoor environment, particularly for those with allergies and hyper-sensitivity. It has been scientifically proven that the heart beats more slowly and you sleep deeper and more soundly in solid wood rooms rather than artificial surroundings. Much research has been done into the calming effect of wood in kindergartens and classrooms and patient recovery times in hospitals.

Different layers of different materials with different characteristics can create issues in moisture management. In terms of building physics, cross laminated DLT walls consist of just one thick block of layered wood: a wood-only mono-material. There are therefore no changes in the vapor permeability within the wall and no moisture can condense as on vapor-barrier foils or insulation materials that are often used in conventional construction methods. 100% wood DLT regulates the indoor climate much better because moisture can be transferred freely between the entire wall system. In our DLT the moisture flow is not blocked by layers of glue which can reduce the breathability of the construction by up to 80%. Such reduced breathability can cause condensation and poor air quality in the build.

Mass timber has exceptional fire resistance compared to concrete and the natural properties of DLT allow for much longer and safer evacuation. Many studies have been undertaken into the char rate of mass timber and DLT. After 90 minutes of burning at 1000 degrees a 340mm solid wood wall or roof panel is still structurally sound and the side away from the fire is untouched. Remarkably the temperature of the solid wood panel is only 2 degrees higher. This is crucial for fire-fighters and rescuers as they can walk on and touch solid wood floor and roof panels without harm. At such temperatures concrete breaks and exposes the rebar and the surface reaches almost 1000 degrees. It’s impossible for fire and rescue crews to walk on, touch or even get close to that.

Wood is a much more predictable material than concrete or steel and the char rate can be calculated. Concrete however could collapse at any time without warning. We can work with you to calculate the char rate of your solid wood projects.

In glued mass timbers the glue layers can act as fire accelerators and in the event of fire these products emit toxic fumes.

DLT is safer and easier to mill, lathe, route and generally use in CNC machines because it does not use nails or screws. The absence of nails or screws in DLT means that other trades can safely and easily use saws, drills etc at later stages of the build for electrical or other service conduits.