Steel: Timber's Best Friend

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With ALL of Glulam's positive traits - aesthetics, carbon capture, strength-to-weight ratio - there are still some things it doesn't do very well.  Because Glue laminated timber -such as GL24 spruce- is a relatively soft material, it needs metal to help create rigid connections. 

Red Falls building kits include steel brackets, plates, dowels and screws that are specifically engineered to create structures that are easy to assemble and strong.  Some connections can be purchased off-the-shelf and others are laser cut by specialist steel fabricators according to our BIM digital model.  

Integrating steel connections into the prefabricated timber elements is easy and can pay off when creating exceptional connections used in clear span portal frames and cantilevers. 

 Especially for multistory construction, be careful to remind your engineer to consider fire safety when designing with mass timber and steel.  Although steel is non-combustible, steel needs protection from fire in ways that timber may not.