B.C. builders can now use mass timber in taller buildings

Updates to the BC Building Code will benefit people in the building and housing sectors with the expanded use of mass timber in taller buildings, as well as schools, libraries and retail. The Province is adopting building-code changes to permit the use of mass timber in buildings, such as schools, shopping centres and housing, so they can be built faster and more sustainably.
The mass-timber updates to the BC Building Code, now in effect, will:
* enable taller encapsulated mass-timber construction (EMTC) buildings with as many as 18 storeys for residential and office buildings, an increase from the previous 12-storey limit;
* expand EMTC to new building types, such as schools, libraries, retail, light- and medium-industrial occupancies, and care facilities; and
* allow for more exposed mass timber in buildings, based on a building’s height and use, such as residential buildings with as many as eight storeys.
Other provinces are expected to follow B.C.’s lead and adopt these changes into their building codes. The code changes will be submitted into the national code system for future consideration for the national building codes.