Cost Efficiency

Speed of construction is one of the main cost advantages of building with CLT. Using CLT will shorten construction time.

Because CLT is digitally designed, factory pre-cut and then assembled at the construction site, building with hardwood CLT is faster than building with traditional steel and concrete.

Building three to six months faster saves a lot of time and money. In fact, the prefabricated nature of CLT allows building elements to be delivered to the construction site ready to install, shortening building completion time and requiring less qualified personnel. CLT elements can be installed in one-third of the time compared to other products.

Building with CLT can also reduce overall costs up to 30%. In Europe, the average savings are around 15%, but in the US it can be considerably higher do to the high cost of cement, as well as the high cost of labor and materials. Those upfront savings are potentially impressive by themselves, but there are additional cost-savings to be found for owners and operators of tall timber buildings.

Wood is far more insulating than steel and concrete, therefore a building framed with hardwood cross-laminated timber will consume lower energy, saving thousands of dollars of operating costs each year. CLT already has thermal insulation and therefore requires less insulation materials to achieve comfortable inner temperature. CLT panels require little to no maintenance.

Also, a CLT building weighs four times less than its concrete counterpart. This reduces transportation costs and allows the design team to reduce the foundation by 70 percent, thus eliminating the need for a tower crane during construction. Four carpenters can erect a ten stories building in just nine weeks.

A CLT building has high durability and low maintenance costs. The efficiency is elaborated from the construction planning and throughout the cutting phase and the installment at the construction site. 

Lastly, the construction process is clean, quiet and much safer than conventional constructions.