The next generation of timber walls could use up to 50% less wood, all the while maintaining “excellent load-bearing capacity.” That is, according to Metsä Wood, the Finnish timber giant behind the “Kerto-Ripa®” wall elements – who is leading the charge in developing timber-and-concrete sandwich walls that allow for far longer-spanned walls that eliminate the need for load-bearing partition walls.
Ideally suited for heavily stressed buildings, including apartment blocks and office buildings, it can be used for load-bearing and stiffening internal and external wall systems. It also allows for far thinner wall constructions, a major advantage for customers, developers, and investors pushing for improved project yields.
“The Kerto-Ripa® wall element is developed for wooden multi-storey construction,” said Janne Heikkilä, Metsä Wood’s Technical Customer Service Team Leader, who said the walls are also thinner than traditional timber wall elements – itself perfect for maximising habitual floor space.
Wood Central understands that the wall element is made of a ribbed slab structure using Kerto® LVL panels and beams with structural gluing. Its vertical and horizontal load-bearing capacity, according to Metsä Wood, is “exceptional in the field of timber construction.”
According to Metsä Wood’s calculations, the new walls can lead to a 50% savings in raw materials in the ground floor walls across an eight-story building compared to solid structures, all the while offering “top-tier load-bearing capacity.” The wall structure is also ideally suited for hybrid construction “due to its high load-bearing capacity and allows for continuous wall elements up to 20 metres high.”
“Thinner structures and less material use are also strongly linked to sustainability. Despite the renewable wood material, we need to pay special attention to the amount of material used,” Mr Heikkilä said. “Despite the smaller amount of material, the load-bearing capacity of the Kerto-Ripa wall element is excellent. This enables tall and heavily loaded buildings to be constructed in a material-efficient manner.”
New hybrid wall systems are accelerating the push toward prefab construction.
While Metsä Wood does not manufacture the walls, it works with various elemental manufacturers like Finnish-based VVR Wood Oy, which is developing hybrid floors, roofs, and walls out of timber-and-concrete systems and exporting them across Europe: “Kerto-Ripa elements are pre-fitted large elements with well-thought-out solutions,” said Tero Vesanen, the Managing Director of VVR Wood Oy. “Our first experiences with the new wall element were very positive, and we believe it can open up further business opportunities for us.”
- To learn more about Metsä Wood’s ‘Kerto’ timber-and-concrete sandwich walls, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from earlier this year.
