Engineered Wood to the Rescue
Mike Dyer, one of the owners of Western Wood Structures in Tualatin, Oregon, has over four decades of experience building with mass timber. As a former sales representative for a glulam manufacturer and a project manager for a framing contractor, he knows the ins and outs of working with engineered wood.
Dyer sat down with APA Engineered Wood Specialist Stephanie Thomas-Rees to discuss the state of the mass timber industry, where he sees it heading, and the advantages engineered wood offers for architects and builders.
Stephanie Thomas-Rees: I’ve heard you’re a big fan of mass timber. What draws you to it?
Mike Dyer: Being from the Pacific Northwest, I’ve spent countless hours in the forests, surrounded by Douglas fir. It always felt like home to me. I take a lot of pride in having a career where I can work with these trees — harvesting, replanting, and sharing the forest with my kids and grandkids. There’s a real sense of stewardship.
Thomas-Rees: That must feel rewarding. Beyond the personal connection, what excites you most about mass timber as a material?
Dyer: Wood is a bio-based material originating from renewable resources, and it’s a major player in lowering our carbon footprint due to wood products’ inherently low embodied carbon as well as the ability to store carbon. We need to not only think about today but the potential for future generations.
Thomas-Rees: That sounds meaningful. What would you say are the top 5 benefits of mass timber construction?
Dyer: There are so many. But if I had to pick the top five, I'd start with sustainability.
Thanks to forest management practices like the Oregon Forest Protection Act, we’re able to maintain healthy forests while harvesting responsibly. Here are a few more key benefits:
- Erection speed – Mass timber building goes up quickly, which means less time on-site and reduced erection costs.
- Reduced footing size – Wood is lighter than other non-bio-based materials, so it requires smaller footings, lowering foundation costs.
- Carbon sequestration – When trees grow, they sequestrate and store carbon. When we use the wood in buildings, carbon is stored, which helps reduce our overall carbon footprint and fights climate change.
- Biophilia – People feel more connected to nature when surrounded by natural materials like wood. It improves well-being, reduces stress and can boost the productivity of the occupants.
Thomas-Rees: Interesting. Why should architects and designers consider mass timber for their projects?
Dyer: Budget is usually the top factor for architects and designers, and in the past, concrete and steel have been more economical choices. But people often overlook the holistic savings mass timber can offer. It’s fast to install, reducing labor and construction costs, and it can serve as both the structural and finished material. So, in certain construction types where mass timber can be left exposed, you don’t need additional finishing materials like drywall or paint. Beyond these savings, mass timber’s natural aesthetic biophilic appeal is a big draw. It’s a win-win for function and form.
Thomas-Rees: What’s the biggest incentive for owners to make the switch to mass timber?
Dyer: A lot of it comes down to market demand. Customers want to know what actions companies are taking to lower their carbon footprint.
Thomas-Rees: Interesting. So, how does mass timber help owners meet those sustainability goals?
Dyer: For example, California adopted the first statewide embodied carbon building code requirement (CALGreen) in the U.S., requiring certain nonresidential buildings and school projects to address the climate impact of building materials.
As I said, wood is a carbon-friendly material, plus many products now have environmental product declarations to help owners understand a building’s carbon footprint through life-cycle analysis (LCA). Wood, of course, naturally helps lower that footprint, aligning with the community’s sustainability goals.
Thomas-Rees: When comparing mass timber to a traditional concrete-filled metal deck installation, how do they differ in terms of construction time, on-site safety, and profitability?
Dyer: Great question.
- Construction Time: Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels arrive on-site prefabricated and stacked in order, so we can set up a truckload in just a few hours. Once the panels are up, other trades can start immediately, which brings significant schedule saving. By comparison, a concrete slab requires setting up the pan deck, shoring, rebar installation, pouring, curing and finishing, then removing the shoring before other trades can begin. It’s slower overall.
- On-Site Safety: One big advantage of CLT panels is that we can secure safety railings directly onto the panels as you install them. It’s quick, simple and secure. With concrete decks, safety setups can be more complicated and time consuming.
- Profitability: With mass timber, profitability works like with any other material — it’s about supply and demand. Right now, we have enough CLT panel and glulam beam suppliers to keep prices competitive.
Thomas-Rees: Do you have any advice for designers or builders starting their first mass timber project?
Dyer: My first piece of advice would be to visit an active mass timber project, maybe midway through construction and again when it’s finished. This is a great way to see how the material behaves in the different stages, viewing it as both a construction element and the finished material. By seeing it mid-construction you will see how it holds up to various conditions, and then when finished you will see how resilient that material is. If the elements are exposed to weather during the construction phase, you’ll be able to see how it is refinished to look like new.
Have questions about using engineered wood products on your next project? The APA Market Access and Development team can help. This group of architects, engineers and construction experts are available to answer questions and provide tailored guidance. Best of all, their expertise is complimentary. Visit apawood.org/market-access-and-development to find an APA Engineered Wood Specialist near you.
