How is wood shrinkage managed?
The construction industry in BC has experience in managing shrinkage issues in four-storey wood buildings. The recent additions to the building code include an appendix note reminding building designers to account for wood shrinkage due to changes in moisture content, and coordinate wood shrinkage calculations among the designers of all building elements such as elevator shafts and exterior cladding. A Technical and Practice Bulletin for engineers and architects has been developed with the construction industry to address shrinkage, including differential shrinkage in buildings of mixed construction (i.e. concrete/steel and wood). This will include measures to control the moisture content of wood before and during construction.
