Potential of cross laminated timber in single family residential construction
type: CreativeWork
description: Cross laminated timber (CLT) is a panelized engineered wood product that is gaining popularity in the United States as a structural material for massive timber buildings. CLT is shown to be cost competitive to steel and concrete in large building construction projects, but is seen as uncompetitive for smaller scale projects, especially light frame wood (LFW) residential construction. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed comparison of the cost to construct a CLT home versus a LFW home to quantify the cost difference between both options in the single family home (SFH) market. Based on a realistic floor plan, three different designs were compared based on cost and construction timeline to determine the realistic cost differences between SFH constructions using LFW or CLT. The final results show that the CLT option results in a 21% increase in total construction cost from the LFW option. While it is difficult to justify this cost increase in Colorado, potential benefit of CLT construction against natural hazards may make a CLT house cost-effective for hurricane or tornado prone regions.
abstract: Cross laminated timber (CLT) is a panelized engineered wood product that is gaining popularity in the United States as a structural material for massive timber buildings. CLT is shown to be cost competitive to steel and concrete in large building construction projects, but is seen as uncompetitive for smaller scale projects, especially light frame wood (LFW) residential construction. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed comparison of the cost to construct a CLT home versus a LFW home to quantify the cost difference between both options in the single family home (SFH) market. Based on a realistic floor plan, three different designs were compared based on cost and construction timeline to determine the realistic cost differences between SFH constructions using LFW or CLT. The final results show that the CLT option results in a 21% increase in total construction cost from the LFW option. While it is difficult to justify this cost increase in Colorado, potential benefit of CLT construction against natural hazards may make a CLT house cost-effective for hurricane or tornado prone regions.
author: Burback, Brad
language: eng
language: English
keywords: cross laminated timber, residential, cost estimation, single family home, light frame wood
identifier: T 8194
date published: 2016
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:43:19Z
provider: Colorado School of Mines
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Colorado School of Mines. Arthur Lakes Library

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/11124/170640