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Owner and engineer, Julian Addington, was motivated to build a custom home in an earthquake-affected area of New Zealand using cross-laminated timber (CLT) due to its renowned structural performance, speed on site, sustainability, and aesthetic appeal.
As a structural engineer with extensive experience using CLT on previous XLam projects, Julian Addington, was inspired to build a predominantly mass timber home in an earthquake-affected area on the Mount Pleasant hillside.
Due to the location, Julian was resolute on using mass timber given its advantage amid seismic events. CLT buildings are significantly lighter than comparably sized structures made of concrete and steel. Meaning the strength-to-weight ratio of CLT reduces resistance to swaying and uplifting forces during an earthquake, while allowing the building to flex, which in turn minimises damage.
With the help of designer Simon McCarthy and builder Sam McCarthy, Julian focussed on refining the design and assembly process to maximise the cost benefits and speed of construction, while ensuring the end result was beautiful, sustainable and robust enough to withstand seismic events.
Upon completion of the build, Julian and his wife decided to place the property on the market and received an overwhelming amount of interest, resulting in an immediate sale.
Structure
To overcome the challenging site, a pad foundation was laid to support steel posts, ties, and bearers. The long-span CLT floor panels were then simply coach-screwed in place through the upper USB bearer flange.
XLam provided the panels with extruded polystyrene sheet insulation factory-fixed to the underside. Timber plates were also pre-fixed to the panels along the bearing lines, to protect the polystyrene from crushing during delivery and assembly and to provide direct fixing between the CLT and steel bearers. This system proved highly effective and made for substantial labour savings on site.
Walls of the single storey house consisted mostly of open timber frame, with XLam CLT for feature walls and the entire roof structure. The assembly process proved exceptionally fast due to the care taken by Julian during the design and project organisation phases. For instance, placing and fixing the floor and roof each took less than a day.
Showcasing CLT throughout the home wherever possible, Julian made the strategic choice to use non-visual quality panels for the floors to feature the full character of Radiata pine while effectively disguising any future wear and tear.
Outcome
Working in conjunction with Julian and the project partners, XLam delivered a prefabricated solution that led to a fast, cost-effective and sustainable build. The lightweight and strong properties possessed by CLT also allowed XLam to mitigate the primary challenge of this build, which was to construct a home robust enough to withstand the destructive effects brought about by seismic events.
See: https://xlam.co/
