PORT ANGELES — A report released by the Natural Resources and Innovation Cluster gives an in-depth look into a proposed 1,000-square-foot advanced cross-laminated timber accessory dwelling unit, which uses thermally modified timber panels.
Roy Mann, the founder and director of Roy Street Group, a real estate development company, discussed his findings Wednesday on cross-laminated timber (CLT) and the economical and environmental benefits of using that material over concrete, steel and conventional wood boards to build ADUs and tiny homes.
Mann was the weekly guest on the Clallam County Economic Development Council’s Coffee with Colleen series with Colleen McAleer, the executive director of the EDC.
CLT is slender wood panels glued together at 90 degrees. The method creates a strong building material, Mann said.
“Among CLT’s benefits are more wood/mass carbon capture, increased energy efficiency, improved durability over stick built, faster construction and superior fire retardancy,” he said.
“ACLT components are precisely engineered in a factory and assembled on site like LEGO pieces. They require less wood and produce much less waste than stick-built construction methods.
“The Natural Resources Innovation Cluster is part of a bigger effort that’s bringing the forestry and maritime industry into the forefront with a focus on workforce development and optimizing different facets of the industry,” Mann continued. “The Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) is part of that broader story.”
CRTC takes materials like carbon fiber and saves them from ending up in a landfill, repurposing them into usable and durable products.
“CRTC has been working closely with the Makah tribe over the last few years,” Mann said. “The tribe has a mill that they use to process coastal Western hemlock trees, which are known to have a moisture content which makes it unusable for construction purposes.
“However, the CRTC, and now what is called the Building Innovation Center, CRTC’s expansion space in Port Angeles, has been getting the milled wood from the Makah tribe and putting it in a thermal modification unit, removing enough moisture to create a usable and durable construction material.”
With Western hemlock part of mass timber construction material, structures can be built that are cost efficient and environmentally friendly, Mann said.
“The time is coming when the North Olympic Peninsula will be hosting groups from far and wide, showing them what innovations are possible with this construction type,” he said. “It’s going to grow in prominence.”
There is a strong need for housing units on the North Olympic Peninsula and I-5 corridor.
“Housing affordability is a massive issue with no easy answer,” Mann said. “ADUs have all kinds of utility, for first-time homebuyers, intergenerational housing, rentals, and both short- and long-term investments.”
There are two proposed phases for ADU market entry and expansion. Phase one recommends a window of six to 12 months partnering with architects and engineers, producing seven to eight prototype CLT ADUs and putting them in strategic locations, and creating strategic partnerships with building suppliers, Mann said.
Phase two covers the following year to plan for a broad market entry, improving education and public awareness, Mann said.
CRTC will begin purchasing materials and building its own kits in-house, exploring modular builds and providing economic opportunity.
“The Composite Recycling Technology Center has about 32 employees,” Mann said. “To support this project, CRTC will hire and train 44 additional employees over five years. This investment is anticipated to create 64 direct, 28 indirect and 12 induced jobs by 2030.”
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Reporting intern Christopher Urquia is a student at Peninsula College. He can be reached by email at christopher.urquia@peninsuladailynews.com.
