International Convention of Society of Wood Science and Technology
Research Status
Complete
Summary
Mass timber is a category of framing components that can be built with a variety of materials. Engineered wood products have become the backbone of the mass timber movement. Some of the most common mass timber structural elements used in buildings are glue-laminated beams (glulam), laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and cross laminated timber (CLT). However, wood is a natural material which is susceptible to decay and termite attack. Subterranean termites cause billions of dollars in damage each year and their primary food is wood. In the past few years, there has been an effort to expand the use of mass timber products, especially CLT products, in the U.S. However, to date no termite infestation study has been done for the product. This study evaluates the natural resistance against termites of three wood products available in the market: untreated pine, CCA treated pine, and CLT. Some necessary modifications to the AWPA E1 standard were made in order to test the bigger samples (CLT blocks). The results indicate that CLT is susceptible to Coptotermes formosanus attack.