Multi-story building construction using long strand timber panels

Abstract

Products and methods for constructing mass timber structures in multi-story configurations using long strand timber (LST) engineered wood products. Structural LST panels of predetermined dimensions are fabricated using LST manufacturing methods, typically involving steam pressing a billet of scrimber material that includes treatment materials and bonding material. The long strands of the material used in the panels are oriented vertically for improved load bearing capacity. The panels are sized for shipment to a job site. Prior to shipment, a plurality of panels are pre-processed by cutting openings for windows, doors, tongues, and grooves at a fabrication plant. At the job site, the LST panels are quickly assembled into a building shell (i.e. full exterior walls). Floor and roof joists are then attached using conventional wood fastening devices, and interior build out can commence very quickly after initial construction of the exterior walls.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 777,492 filed Dec. 10, 2018, entitled “MULTI-STORY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION USING LONG STRAND TIMBER PANELS”, which is incorporated herein by reference as set forth herein in its entirety.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicable.TECHNICAL FIELD[0003]The present disclosure relates in general to building construction, and more particularly relates to construction of multi-story buildings using engineered lumber products formed from long strand timber (LST) as an improved alternative to cross-laminated timber (CLT) or mass plywood panels (MPP).BACKGROUND[0004]The information provided below is not admitted to be prior art the present invention, but is provided solely to assist the understanding of the reader.[0005]The building construction industry in the United States and elsewhere in the world is exp...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent provides products and methods for constructing multi-story buildings using long strand timber (LST) engineered wood products. LST can provide sufficient structural, insulating, and aesthetic properties for buildings, and is more cost-effective, durable, and believed to be more aesthetically attractive than other options. The LST products are formed into structural panels with strands oriented vertically for greater load bearing capacity. The panels can also have pre-treated openings and protective jigs applied to prevent damage during construction. Overall, this patent provides an effective solution for multi-story building construction using LST products.

Problems solved by technology

Typically, a CLT panel constructed in this manner would require numerous consistently sized boards to create the product, which invariably limits the amount of consistent board product that can be obtained and made into a CLT product.

This necessarily produces a great deal of waste, as misshapen or improperly sized boards could not be used in a CLT having uniform board properties.

Furthermore, typical CLT requires an internal structural framework for supporting inner and outer boards, which limits the load bearing capacity.

For example, a three layer CLT construction having exterior boards oriented horizontally relative to a middle layer, such as for aesthetic purposes, would be limited in longitudinal (vertical) compression strength due to the presence of only a single vertically oriented load bearing layer.

Necessarily, the use of alternating layers of vertical and horizontal limits the load bearing capacity.

Because of the lack of cross-ply interconnection, both approaches may have more risk of de-lamination because of deterioration as a result of heat or humidity, glue aging or failure, especially when combined with shear forces.

This requires a time- and resource-consuming step of precisely cutting and aligning the mesh of the edges, resulting in wasted product and adding the complexity of the “fit” of the mesh of the panels with each other.

Although perhaps structurally desirable, this approach is costly.

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