Wood Construction Applications in Industrial and Warehouse Facilities

For decades, it has been generally assumed that large industrial facilities consist of steel roof framing and tilt-up concrete walls or exterior metal panels. However, with increased awareness of the monetary and carbon costs associated with building systems and assemblies, some design and construction professionals have refuted this norm, utilizing mass timber and/or wood-frame construction for tilt-up and warehouse projects. This presentation will demonstrate the options for using wood in large industrial facilities, highlighting how it can achieve the same structural and building code performance as conventional construction, while providing the potential for savings in construction time and cost. Topics will include panelized roofs and hybrid systems, material allowances for a range of construction types and resulting fire-resistance ratings, structural design processes for wood tilt-up walls, shear wall and diaphragm detailing strategies, and detailed cost comparisons. Case studies of small-scale and large-scale applications of mass timber tilt-up projects will be included throughout.

By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:

• Highlight factors that influence tilt-up construction costs, including materials, construction schedule and foundation requirements.
• Demonstrate options available for wood tilt-up wall panels and review the applicable code-compliance paths for fire resistance and construction types.
• Review cost and code-compliance comparisons between steel and wood roof framing for panelized systems in large warehouse projects.
• Explain the advantages of diaphragm and shear wall design processes associated with the use of wood tilt-up walls in large structures such as warehouses.

Recorded courses are available on The Wood Institute. You must create a free account to take these on-demand courses.