What are Lunch and Learn Seminars?
BC Wood Specialties Group is a not-for-profit trade association representing British Columbia’s value-added wood manufacturing industry. The BC Wood Lunch & Learn program centers on increasing knowledge and experience related to designing and building with wood – with a desired outcome that the architectural and development community accelerates the adoption of existing and innovative wood-based products and building systems, as well as maximizing the appropriate use of wood in design and construction.
Our Lunch and Learn sessions are offered through live hybrid webinar or in-person presentations directly with Architectural, Developer, and Builder firms located in British Columbia. Hosted by BC Wood, all topics will be presented by industry professionals from BC’s value-added wood sector, and accredited for educational learning units.
BC Wood is a Recognized Educational Provider with the Architectural Institute of BC (AIBC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and BC Housing.
BC Wood offers selected topics for individual participation. Go to the Calendar for upcoming sessions and registration.
List of Seminars
LUNCH AND LEARNS AVAILABLE FOR BOOKINGS IN MAY, JUNE AND JULY 2023:
1 LEARNING HOUR | AIBC 1 CORE LU | AIA 1 LU/HSW |BC HOUSING 1 CPD, INFORMAL
Description:
As buildings are increasingly designed for environmental, occupant health, and well-being in mind, there is a growing requirement for ventilation openings between enclosed spaces. Ventilation pathways are notorious for transmitting sound, and there is also the challenge of creating airflow pathways without the complexity of modifying ceilings and walls to accept ducting, vents, and grilles.
This presentation reviews ventilation and acoustical challenges associated with creating comfortable interior environments. It also discusses the latest in ventilated door solutions that addresses these challenges.
This session will be presented by an industry professional from VANAIR DESIGN.
Learning Objectives:
- Explore industry, environmental and health influences motivating the increased use of ventilation openings between spaces.
- Compare common ventilation openings, analyze their requirements, and the implications they have on acoustics.
- Learn about an integrally ventilated door and explain how acoustic design elements were incorporated to contribute to its acoustical attenuation.
- Identify factors to be considered when specifying ventilation openings.
1 LEARNING HOUR | AIBC 1 CORE LU | AIA 1 LU | BC HOUSING 1 CPD, INFORMAL
Description:
With the global imperative to move to a low carbon economy, the way buildings are designed, manufactured, and built is a key component. In this session, we will look at the considerations for low embodied carbon and high carbon sequestering buildings, at prefabricated interlocking wood building systems and with a specific focus on lodges (e.g., cultural, golf, fishing, yoga), cabins, and off-grid retreat projects.
In particular, we will learn about the structurally durable and aesthetically beautiful material of choice: Western Red Cedar, which is sustainably sourced and processed in British Columbia. Further discussion will be around the architectural design guidelines of prefabricated interlocking building systems – perfect for building on islands, water-access lots or other remote locations, while leaving a low ecological impact.
This session will be presented by an industry professional from Panabode International Ltd.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about the designing and building advantages of using Prefabricated Interlocking Building Systems for Lodges, Cabin and Off-Grid Retreat projects. Particular attention will be made for off-grid and remote building considerations.
- Learn about common log wood species, the particular benefits of using Western Red Cedar– including how the wood is sustainably sourced, the machine milling process, the air- drying method, and care and maintenance.
- Learn why we need to consider more than operating emissions for designing low embodied carbon and high carbon sequestering buildings, and why wood is the material of choice.
- Discuss the architectural design guidelines of interlocking building system packages – including design trends and styles, thermal properties, natural settling of logs, care and maintenance, and other building materials required to complete the enclosure.
1 LEARNING HOUR | AIBC 1 CORE LU | AIA 1 LU | BC HOUSING 1 CPD, INFORMAL
Description:
Wood is becoming an attractive and viable option again for use in residential, commercial, and high-rise applications, and additionally as exterior use under recent fire code and WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) regulation updates. We will look specifically at wood products that increase fire protection for home and commercial property owners without sacrificing the beauty and durability of natural wood. This enables architects and builders to craft exceptional natural wood structures, while ensuring their customers’ peace of mind.
This session primarily covers code legal “Class A” Fire Retardant Treated Wood (FRTW) products mandated its use in the construction today under ASTM E84 or NFPA 255, and CAN/UCL S102 or ULC 723. This includes extended tests under ASTM D2898(12week Accelerated Weathering with Rain and UV), required in many exterior applications.
This session will be presented by an industry professional from Channel-Ex Corporation.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain knowledge of the types of fire retardant treatments available and their strengths/weaknesses to assess project suitability.
- Discuss potential widened project design options while increasing fire safety and use of sustainable wood products.
- Learn about blind spots: potential risks and opportunities related to using fire rated wood use, versus building code, versus actual flame spread.
- Learn why the latest fire retardant and fire resistant wood products are becoming a viable option and attraction again for application in residential, commercial and high rise applications.
1 LEARNING HOUR | AIBC 1 CORE LU | AIA 1 LU | BC HOUSING 1 CPD INFORMAL
Description:
Today, Developers and Owners have high expectations when considering Mass Timber. They like that it is environmentally friendly, that it provides similar strength to steel and/or concrete within a smaller footprint and a lighter weight-bearing load, that it builds at faster completion times than conventional builds, that it is fire resistant and rated to North American code requirements. This session explores managing these expectations and the hurdles when integrating mass timber products into their new building projects.
Methods and solutions to develop a strategy are discussed which include a workflow process that is based on maintaining accuracy, good communication, and professional approach that inspire personal commitment from all team members including the owners/developers. Furthermore, we will cover applying design-assist, pre-construction and fabrication services during concept development, material procurement, sequencing and scheduling, risk management, project budgeting to being cost competitive, avoiding cost delays and additional costs, smooth installation processes, and a look at the mass timber product options.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss managing developer and owner expectations and overcoming hurdles when integrating mass timber products into hybrid building systems
- Highlight applying design assist and pre-construction service during the concept development phase, including material procurement and scheduling of code compliant mass timber options
- Explore developing a risk management plan and designing for cost neutrality on Mass Timber projects
- Learn about the benefits of initiating a strategy which includes a mass timber specialist on your project stakeholders team from design thru to installation phase of your Mass timber building
1 LEARNING HOUR | AIBC 1 CORE LU | AIA 1 LU/HSW | IDCEC 1 CEU
Description:
Forests play an important role in our lives. On the negative, they can be a significant source of global greenhouse emissions and a contributor to climate change through deforestation and poor forest management. On the positive, certifying forests and managing them sustainably is one of the best strategies to help in the fight against Climate Change. This course will explain the environmental importance of sustainable forest management, forest certifications, chain-of-custody certifications, forestry carbon cycles, certified sustainable wood products, and how to spot greenwashing claims by some manufacturers.
People are trying to align their lifestyles with the concept of reducing their carbon footprint and wonder what they can do to make a difference in the age of Climate Change. The good news is that specifiers and influencers are in a position to make a positive impact by aligning their values with those of sustainability – putting pressure on manufacturers, who in turn put pressure on lumber suppliers, who in turn put pressure on loggers and landowners to value sustainability and sustainable forests. And by educating customers on the environmental benefits of specifying certified sustainable wood products, they are doing their part to align their customers’ values to make the world a better place for us and for our children.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the role that forests play in our lives, and the important role they play in combating Climate Change.
- Learn about the different third-party forest certification organizations and Forest Management Standards.
- Learn about Chain of Custody certification and specifying for products made from sustainable wood sources.
- Learn how to spot greenwashing claims made by some wood product manufacturers, and how to identify the manufacturers who are fully committed to sustainable sourcing. Furthermore, find out where to find certified wood, and how to incorporate it into project specifications.
1 LEARNINGHOUR/ AIBC 1 CORE LU/ AIA 1 LU/ BC HOUSING 1 CPD INFORMAL
Description:
Cladding products start with the most natural, healthy, and sustainable resource available to the building trades – wood. That wood is then engineered, machined, and coated to create a full line of siding and trim products that deliver performance, stability, and beauty.
This session identifies causes for on-site exterior paint failure issues and how these factors can be eliminated through factory pre-finishing. Then examines the factory coating process for pre-finished exterior woodworks and substrate materials from an industry leader that supplies exterior cladding solutions across North America. Case studies of exterior building materials in multi-family, education, custom homes, resort/hospitality, production homes, and commercial developments will also be studied.
This session will be presented by an industry professional from Woodtone.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about factory coating process for pre-finished exterior building materials
- Identify causes for on-site exterior paint failures and how to eliminate them through factory pre-finishing
- Discover the durable wood and substrate exterior building material profiles available in North America and their applications
- Learn about the sustainable resources and environmental practices applied in the factory pre-finishing process
1 LEARNING HOUR | AIBC 1 CORE LU | BC HOUSING 1 CPD, INFORMAL | AIA 1 LU
Description:
Fire Retardant Coatings and Building Code compliance is the hot topic of late in specification writing. Fire retardant coating technology has made great advancements in both safety and environmental issues. With building codes allowing for taller wood structures and as wood is gaining more popularity again for its occupant health, beauty and sustainability benefits- the role of fire-retardant protection grows in importance and increasingly becomes a standard construction material.
This seminar will give an overview of the latest in technology for fire retardant coatings, their viabilities and limitations for residential and commercial applications. Also discussed will be environmentally friendly coating and LEED compliant factory finishing options, and its advantages over on-site finishing.
This session will be presented by an industry professional from Fire Retardant Canada, A Division of Door Painters.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about the different types of fire retardants and how they work.
- Understand the limitations of various fire retardants and how to specify alternative products.
- Learn about the Architectural Woodworkers Institute Coatings Compliance; Properties and Applications.
- Learn about how to earn LEED points with factory pre finishing versus on-site finishing
1 Learning Hour | AIBC 1 Core LU | AIA 1 LU/HSW | BC Housing 1 CPD, Informal
Description:
More Architects, Designers, and Homeowners are gravitating towards wood and other natural materials. Sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint continues to be a growing influence in consumers’ product choices, and innovative wood products are now at front and center. This presentation tells the story from the tree, specifically the Western Red Cedar, through sustainably managed processing into beautiful engineered wooden panels for exterior and interior walls, garage doors, and cabinet doors.
Wood is warm and aesthetically pleasing, but as a natural product there are concerns about its durability against the elements, finishing, and maintenance. This presentation also looks at how engineered edge-glued and cross-laminated Western Red Cedar panels can address these concerns, and how it compares with other cladding materials.
This session will be presented by an industry professional from Silva Timber Products.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how engineered wood panels are edge-glued and cross-laminated processed for performance and durability in extreme environments – against humidity, dryness, delamination, splitting, and termites.
- Learn about the sustainable processing cycle of the Western Red Cedar Tree from its salvage from CSA/PEFC Certified Forests, through milling, its zero-waste application, to its value-added production into engineered wooden panels for exterior and interior walls, garage doors, and cabinet doors.
- Understand the Architectural applications of engineered wood panels and its aesthetic and health benefits in comparison with other cladding materials.
- Gain knowledge of the natural weathering aspects of engineered wood panels, and options available for finishing and fire proof coatings.
AIBC 1 Core LU
An in-grade testing program on HemFir (N) timbers, conducted by the University of British Columbia Timber Engineering and Applied Mechanics (TEAM) Laboratory, evaluated 1,212 full size specimens in static bending and 921 specimens in small, clear tests. Significant increases in the specified bending strength fb of HemFir (N) ranged from 14% for the select structural grade to 53% in the No.2 grade. Based on the in-grade test results, the Canadian Code on Engineering Design in Wood CSA 086:19 has published new specified bending strength properties of HemFir (N) Beams and Stringers grades.
The increased specified bending strength properties of HemFir (N) Beams and Stringers grades opens up opportunities for structural application of the product. For example, comparing the specified strength properties of HemFir (N) to Douglas Fir-Larch Beams and Stringers, the No.2 HemFir (N) material (fb=14.4 MPa and E=11 GPa) exceeded the No.2 Douglas Fir-Larch material (fb=9.0 MPa and E=9.5 GPa) significantly.
In this session we will look at how the HemFir (N) code change by the CSA 086 Technical Committee on Engineering Design in Wood, the Canadian Standard, opens up more selection opportunities for designers and expands the structural application of HemFir (N) material in heavy timber construction. More specifically, we will look at a comparison of Pacific HemFir, Douglas Fir and comparable engineered wood products.
This session will be presented by an senior Professor of Wood Building Design and Construction in the Department of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how in-grade testing works and why it matters
- Review the impact of in-grade testing on the strength properties of lumber products
- Recognize the technical performance, sustainability and versatility of HemFir Timbers in different applications
- Discover new applications for HemFir (N) with a comparison to Douglas Fir and comparable engineered wood products
1 LEARNING HOUR | AIBC 1 CORE LU | AIA 1 LU / BC Housing, 1 CPD, Informal
Description:
Engineered Wood Products (EWP) are commonly used as primary structural members in projects throughout BC. Although typically designed by Structural Engineers, they also play a vital role in vibration, acoustics, thermal, and fire performance. This session will introduce you to the benefits and possibilities of Engineered Wood Products and help you explore ways to engage with your Structural Engineer to improve the intended design and product performance in your next project.
This session will be presented by an industry professional from Weyerhaeuser.
Learning Objectives:
- Explore design considerations for working with Engineered Wood Products and how specification can improve results and reduce costs
- Discover types of Engineered Wood Products available and how they are used in advanced floor and wall systems
- Learn about factors impacting floor vibration and considerations for meeting customer expectations