SOMEBODY COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY HURT...OR WORSE!

(Written Feb 5^th 2014)

 But Oh Thank GOD, they were not!

...WIDC - early days...early snow.

For those of you who have been following this blog, you may have noticed there is a “logbuilder” thread woven through most of our postings that focuses (some would say whines), on how alien we find the culture of commercial construction compared to the business-by-a-handshake and devil-may-care-anti-establishment roots by which we have defined ourselves.

The paper-work and formalized procedures have been particularly hard for us to adapt to and accept; QC, Safety Manuals, LEEDS documentation, chain of custody, Stat decs (seriously….even stat decs piss us off!). 

Don't get me wrong - we are not cavalier about safety and procedures – far from it; we are very pro-active in improving our hands-on procedures and upgrading our practical skills such as the advanced rigging course we took last April from ITI (IndustrialTraining International). It’s all a part of being on top of our game. 

But - Oh the PAPER WORK!!!! It is a challenge to get any work done and to get it done in a timely and cost effective fashion. Are we builders or are we pen pushers?

A view that did not exist before - and we got to see it first!

But yesterday we had good reason to better appreciate the intent and function of the procedures and processes that are required of us after a CLT panel that we were craning onto the sixth floor of the Wood Innovations DesignCentre began to oscillate as it cleared the sixth floor, stressing the lifting eyes to the breaking point. 

Experience, extensive training and quick thinking by crane operator Jesse Bird and crew-boss Christian Bur averted what could have been a fatal accident or a costly incident.

An unusually heavy snow load early in the year.

Immediately after the wreck was averted, our crew and PCL initiated the post-incident procedures together and it gave us the opportunity to experience how smoothly these processes are implemented at a well-run job site and to better appreciate the intent of these documents. They are intended to make one think, anticipate and if necessary analyse. 

Don’t get us wrong – we have not had a Damascene epiphany about paper work and admin! It stalls progress, adds costs and too often is imposed for compliance sake only. (Some Contractors walk the walk and others talk the talk - and PCL walks their talk.)

To conclude – we have always been proud that some of the most talented, interesting and nicest people on the planet are a part of the Nicola LogWorks crew. Today we are proud of how they averted a crisis and grateful that we can say, “no-one was hurt – not a hair on their heads was touched”. Well done guys!

This is what PCL said about our crew:

John

Thanks for your immediate focus on this incident and the prompt preliminary report. I agree that your team should be commended for the, quick, calm and controlled manner in which they handled this incident, another example of the professional tradesman you have employed. 

Thanks again

The Parking Lot is Empty!Just three more pieces to install. ( Feb 22nd 2014) From left to right back row: Daryle Shackelly, Robin Meyer, Dylan Sparshu, John Henry Ramsey, Jesse Bird, Dexter Devorkin. Front row: Glen Sparshu, Owen Gregory, Jean Belleau, Jochen Wagenblast, Daniel Meiselbach and Andreas Fricke (team leader and principle of Big Horn Timber Frames). Not in the picture; Christian Bur - (photographer), Fred Provost  and Jay McKimm

 Contributed by "The Log Builder's Wife"

The Problem with Cross Laminated Timber is...

ESB UBC - Great Fun: Great Contractor, Engineer and Architect.

By John Boys

The new Wunderkind and current trend-darling in commercial construction is cross laminated timber (CLT) panels. Paired with glue-lam timbers and other engineered wood products it is making possible the construction of tall wood buildings. CLT is being touted as the green alternative to concrete, the building material that makes for speedy and efficient assembly, allows for flexible and innovative design, and all at a competitive cost to conventional materials such as tilt-up concrete.

And they are all of that – or rather they could be.

UBC O - Great Design/Build Team

Our team has had more experience in the installation of CLT in North America than most, and as heavy timber specialists (with roots in log-building and timber framing) we are excited by its potential and the possibilities it affords, but concerned that if the bottom-line expectations are not realized, that this revolutionary shift in how we build may disappear before it has proved it’s potential.

On projects where we have been given sufficient time to trouble-shoot, communicate, pre-plan and sequence our part of the work we can achieve the “just-like-lego-time-lapse-look-at-em-go scenario” that we are all anticipating.  Our team thrives on the well-coordinated dance of carefully rehearsed steps, meeting or exceeding our planned schedule when we finally “go live”. Who doesn’t like to look good!

UBC-O; interesting design

But it could be even better (and not only for us), if we and some of the other key trades and/or material suppliers were allowed both information and input much earlier in the design stage. Pre-planning in isolation and extrapolating information from incomplete final plans makes it awkward to contribute any solutions other than those which address absolutely un-workable details and/or connections.

While most trades people are not engineers, nor do all of us have a flair for design, cost effective, safe and even elegant solutions at material interfaces can be achieved if we are included (as appropriate) to define logical breaks in scope of work and to consider possible challenges long before these issues come up at the construction site.

UBC-O; connections +more connections

And it is on the job site, where the success of the design and planning can be gauged and measured. Assuming that the prime contractor, heavy timber specialists and material suppliers are competent, and that the plans and specifications are well thought out, a wonderful and choreographed dance begins to take place. If any of the above fall short, there are a lot of steel toed shoes getting stepped on…

So how is any of the above a “Problem with Cross-Laminated Timber”? In reviewing my words, it reads more like a rant about not being included!

In part, it is. I believe there are two things that threaten the future use of CLT in commercial structures, the first that we are often treating a new material as a substitute to the well understood materials (such as tilt-up concrete) to which we are accustomed.

3 D modelling. Not just for architects any more! (UBC-O)

Do we anticipate the challenging characteristics of this organic material (UV, rain, snow…shrinkage, expansion, iron staining…) and the associated costs? And are we taking full advantage of the benefits (precision CNC prefabrication, light weight, high strength to weight, visual qualities, insulation...)?

What tolerances are achievable and how does that affect specifications? Do the connection methods allow us to efficiently bridge the differing tolerances? Concrete+/- 30mm, steel +/- 3 mm, wood +/- 3mm, engineered connectors +/- 1mm, glazing systems....?

Using this new material effectively, in my opinion, requires a mind-shift that addresses its individual properties as well as a re-think of how we connect with the other components of the structure, and goes back to my pre-amble on pre-planning and brings me to the second point:

Pre-planning resolves breaks in scope, discovers solutions, arrives at efficient procedures and defines what is expected of the trades and helps them to submit well considered and inclusive bids resulting in fewer change orders and realistic budgeting.  In short, pre-planning can save money and my money is on the bottom line when determining the future of CLT.

UBC O CLT: as Espressed Structure; the talents ofMcFarland-Marceau

A great deal of our inspiration for CLT in North America is derived from the success stories in Europe and the common factor in all of these examples is that all the projects were built on a foundation that incorporated sophisticated 3D modelling and that a great deal of time (and money) was spent in pre-fabrication and sequencing strategies.

3D modelling and pre-planning means a significant up-front investment. 

It also involves a radical shift in how we approach design, engineering and the bid process and it allows all of us to be accountable. I wonder if that is possible…However it seems logical and expedient, that a revolutionary new type of structure should also generate a radical change in how we work together.

In closing, the “Log Builder’s Wife” tells me she could have made the point a bit more succinctly; her quote on the topic: “We can sing Green till we are Blue in the face, but if Green equals Red, then Black will trump Green!”).

I could go on at length and in more detail on this topic, but perhaps that is better saved for another day. In the meantime, I would be interested to know if I am alone in my concerns for the future of CLT in North America. Your comments welcomed.

 

"I'd like to harp on 3D modeling a little more..."

The Story of a Log Builder and a Timber Framer who Rounded up and Squared Off...

Or....When the Sum of the Total exceeds the Total of the Parts...

(Contributed by the "Log Builder's Wife")

We ran into our good friend Dai Ona at the WoodWorks Fair inVancouver when Johnny was delivering  his ” Tales of Blood  Chilling Horror from the Job-Site” presentation.

Dai is a timber framer (Dai-Zen joinery), whose roots are in log building and that’s how we know him. We used to do a lot of work with Dai when he first moved his timber frame shop to the interior and our collaborations with him are one of the favourite chapters of our working life.

These days we at Nicola LogWorks are doing a lot of heavytimber (CLT and Glue-lam) installation-only work in the commercial arena – and Dai’s shop is a going concern of its own; neither of us are doing much in the way of log work currently, but our approach and philosophy towards our work is defined and branded by our identity as log builders.

Log Builders are different. We cooperate. We communicate. We collaborate. (Some more than others). We generally see our competitors as colleagues – or even cousins – an extended family of like-minded craftsmen and inventors spread across this continent and spilling over into Europe, Japan and the Baltic regions.

As the “log builder’s wife”, it is no secret that I think John is the bees knees, but I also think that Dai is one of the most innovative, kind and interesting people I’ve ever met, and when the two of them joined forces to undertake some local timberframe projects a catalytic reaction occurred and a new entity was birthed.

We called it the “Good-Wood Synergy” (Dai’s name meaning good, and John’s last name a derivative of the French “Bois”  -  which as a bilingual nation, we all know means wood). They marketed themselves as the “the Zen-Boys”.

Together they pooled their strengths and resources to offer a level of service and quality that was superior to what they were able to offer on their own. The culmination of their work together was a very high end – design and build as you go local ranch house.

Some of the work was hand cut at our shop – some of it on Dai’s CNC machine. Dai’s curved lamination proto-type was on our site where we tweaked it a bit and contributed those components to the project also.  Our ability to achieve accurate fits with components fabricated at separate locations is because we both use sophisticated 3D modelling software.

The designer of the building was open to ideas and suggestions which allowed the Zen-Boys to express themselves’ in other mediums besides wood and brainstorm some really unique and beautiful solutions; one being the metal joinery design and details. - notice how they celebrate and mimic wood joinery in the design! They may have come with these ideas on their own – but I doubt it – each new concept fueled another, each success inspired the next.  

It’s in our nature to be involved and engaged – the Nicola LogWorks slogan is " A Passion for Log & Timber Joinery", and I've heard Dai express our respective relationship to our work as our meat - or our food.

We are not just focussed on our scope of the work -  but with the all the materials and work that we tie into and with the materials and work that ties into ours. That defines the log building spirit at its best. We LOVE to build, and we are driven to build sucessful structures.

So we’ve brought the culture, skills and attitude of log building to our current work as HeavyTimber Specialists and that’s great – but we do feel like aliens speaking a different language at times.  

I think in the next post I’ll get John to tell you why…

 Signing off for now… 

“The Log Builder’s Wife”