Mass timber is both an innovative building material and a fundamentally familiar material. This course will cover some of the challenges which can be encountered when using this material with an emphasis on the construction process. This course will address the nature of wood material and how it reacts to moisture and relate that to the practical use of mass timber as a construction material. The standards applying to mass timber moisture content during both manufacturing and fabrication and then erection and construction in general will be reviewed. The course will identify the portions of mass timber elements at greatest risk of damage from moisture exposure during the construction process and the variable conditions not directly related to mass timber which make weather protection more difficult. Finally from a practical standpoint a contractor’s basic Weather Protection Plan will be described along with a discussion on cleaning processes for mass timber.
Bill Melrose has spent 45 years in the construction industry in all roles on site for both contractors and a subcontractor. He is a Licensed Civil Engineer in Oregon and has been the Oregon Division Quality Manager for Swinerton Builders for the last 5 years. During his time at Swinerton Builders he has been directly involved in over 15 Mass Timber Projects in the Portland Area, and has assisted with other projects in other locations. Bill visits active projects 2 to 3 time per week to assess the effectiveness and adjustments of the weather protection plans as it relates to both mass timber and the final roof installations.