Cross-laminated timber (CLT) products are used as load-carrying slab and wall elements in structural systems, thus load duration and creep behavior are critical characteristics that must be addressed in structural design. Given its lay-up construction with orthogonal arrangement of layers bonded with structural adhesive, CLT is more prone to time-dependent deformations under load (creep) than other engineered wood products such as structural glued-laminated timber. Time dependent behavior of structural wood products is addressed in design standards by load duration factors that adjust design properties. Since CLT has been recently introduced into the North American market, the current design standards and building codes do not specify load duration and creep adjustment factors for CLT. Until this can be rectified, an approach is proposed in this Chapter for adopter of CLT systems in the United States. This includes not only load duration and service factors, but also an approach to accounting for creep in CLT structural elements.
