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Mass Timber Material Selector
CLT or glulam? Panels or modules? Tell us three things about your project and we’ll rank the systems. It takes ten seconds and involves zero sales calls.
A first-pass guide, not engineering advice. Every project is confirmed by our engineers.
Your ranking
Best fit for your project
Side by side
The systems at a glance.
| System | Typical use | Typical span | Speed on site | Cost | Long spans | Acoustics | Exposed timber look | Low carbon | Passive House envelope |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLT Cross-Laminated Timber |
Floors, walls, roofs, cores | 3–8 m | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Glulam Glue-Laminated Timber |
Beams, columns, trusses, arches | 6–30 m | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| LVL Laminated Veneer Lumber |
Headers, beams, ribs, chords | 4–12 m | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| DLT / NLT Dowel- or Nail-Laminated Timber |
Floors and roofs, one-way spans | 3–7 m | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Prefab wall panels Closed timber-frame elements |
Envelopes, infill walls, housing | up to 6 m | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Volumetric modules Complete 3D timber units |
Housing, offices, schools, hotels | up to 5 m | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
Indicative, simplified ratings for early-stage comparison. Real performance depends on design, grade, fire and acoustic requirements, and local codes.
Start a project
Want a real answer, not a slider?
Send us your drawings and we’ll come back with a system recommendation, budget range and schedule.
Greg HoffartFounder & Principal · info@e1timbr.ca