Key features of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT):
Sustainability
CLT is considered environmentally friendly because it is made from renewable resources – wood from sustainably managed forests. Additionally, the manufacturing process has a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional building materials like concrete and steel.
Strength and Structural Performance
CLT is known for its exceptional strength and structural stability. The alternating layers of wood grains provide it with high load-bearing capacity and dimensional stability, making it suitable for constructing tall buildings, bridges, and other structures.
Fire Resistance
While wood is generally considered combustible, the thick layers of CLT have inherent charring properties. When exposed to fire, the outer layer of wood chars and forms an insulating barrier, protecting the inner layers and delaying structural failure.
Lightweight
Compared to concrete and steel, CLT is relatively lightweight, which can lead to reduced foundation requirements and transportation costs.
Design Flexibility
CLT can be manufactured in various sizes and shapes, allowing for flexible and efficient construction designs. Its large panel sizes also reduce the number of joints, making assembly quicker and simplifying the construction process.
Thermal Insulation
Wood itself is a natural insulator, and CLT’s thick panels provide good thermal insulation properties, contributing to energy efficiency in buildings.
Reduced Construction Time
CLT is prefabricated off-site, which means construction time on-site is significantly reduced. This can lead to cost savings and shorter project timelines.
Aesthetics
CLT exposes the natural beauty of wood in the finished buildings, providing a warm and aesthetically pleasing environment.
Seismic Performance
CLT has shown promising performance in earthquake-prone areas, as it can dissipate energy and withstand seismic forces.
Carbon Sequestration
Wood acts as a carbon sink by storing carbon dioxide throughout its life cycle. Using CLT in construction helps lock away carbon, reducing the overall carbon footprint of the building.
Due to its various benefits, CLT is increasingly being used in construction projects around the world, particularly in sustainable and environmentally conscious building initiatives. As the demand for eco-friendly construction materials grows, CLT is likely to continue gaining popularity as a viable alternative to traditional building materials.
Cross laminated timber or CLT is a structural, prefabricated panel used to form environmentally sustainable, walls, roofs and floors across a wide range of structures. The gluing of both longitudinal and transverse layers, which reduces the movement of the wood, means that CLT more than meets the standards required by modern building materials. Glenfort offers both pure CLT systems and the possibility to incorporate CLT into a hybrid structure ensuring the best possible sustainable structural solution for each individual project.
CLT Excelling in all areas
Comfortable & Healthy indoor Environment.
Solid wood is able to absorb moisture from the ambient air which it then releases again when the air becomes drier. That is why solid wood provides an excellent indoor climate and is the ideal choice for people who attach importance to a healthy and pleasant atmosphere.
Fire Protection
Solid wood is more fire-resistant than is generally assumed. CLT has a moisture content of approximately 12%. Before wood can catch fire, the water it contains must first evaporate. In addition, the carbonised surface protects the internal CLT layers so that the solid wood construction does not collapse in a fire.
Excellent Structural Properties
Due to their enormous structural load-bearing capacity, CLT panels now also enable new architectural and design dimensions to be created in timber construction. As the single-layer panels are bonded alternately at right angles to each other, the load is transferred along two axes. Even projecting or point-supported structures can be realised in outstanding quality with CLT. The high inherent stiffness of CLT also has a positive impact on bracing a building.
Advantages at a glance.
We know that CLT is the construction material for a sustainable future. CLT offers many advantages over conventional construction materials:
- Short Set up time
- Easy to assemble with high level
pre fabrication - CLT is lighter than Concrete or
Brick - Eco-friendly and sustainable
construction method - Positive CO Balance
- Comfortable and healthy indoor
environment - Good insulating properties
- Excellent structural properties
- Dry Construction method
- Earthquake resistant construction
- Sustainable certified building
materia
CLT Production
To Create CLT, Lumber boards or Lamella that have been kiln dried and sized are glued atop one another in layers, crosswise, with the grain of each layer facing 90 degrees against the grain of the layer adjacent.
Stacking boards together this way can create large slabs from 60mm – 340mm thick.
CLT panel or slab sizes are manufactured to suit individual projects. The panels are less restricted by manufacturing limitations than by transportation limitations
Ready to fit Panels
The pre-cut CLT panels are delivered by truck directly to your construction site, ready for fitting by Glenfort’s own fitting crew. Even the openings for windows, doors and installations are already machined in the factory. Above all, this particularly high level of prefabrication saves time and money.
Visually appealing Manufactured by
means of sustainable processes, refined
with care, worked with superior skill, this
wood construction material meets
exceptional quality standards. CLT is
available in non-visible and visible quality.
Each individual panel is supplied with a
sanded surface. The individual lamellas
are sorted according to criteria specified
by Glenfort.
Entirely prefabricated
For projects with many identical units, such as halls of residence or hotels, we have developed a modular system whereby most of the work is performed at the factory.
Building responsibly.
Wood is an eco-friendly building product and a responsible choice in the fight against climate change. During its growth, a tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which it stores for centuries in buildings made with solid wood. At the same time, new trees grow back and absorb more carbon. One cubic metre of wood stores approximately one ton of CO 2 and thus plays an active role in reducing the greenhouse effect. The more wood that is used in buildings, the better. Therefore not only does it make sense to use CLT for walls, ceilings and roofs, it is also an extremely environmentally friendly way to build.
Wood,the material of the future.
Wood is widely available everywhere and is a natural and sustainable raw material which grows back faster than it is used up. A timber house which is disassembled after centuries of use does not leave behind worthless rubbish, but rather utilisable wood. Individual elements can be recycled, while scrap wood can be used as a source of energy
For future generations.
Careful production planning ensures that the raw materials for producing CLT are used in the most efficient way. With correct planning, construction and protection against adverse weather conditions and damp, CLT buildings can last for centuries.
Actively protecting the environment.
In addition, thanks to its heat storage capacity and mass, CLT can efficiently store heat in the winter, and protect buildings from overheating in the summer. This means that passive house standards are easy to implement and less additional insulation material is required.
