'Regluing' Oregon State's Showcase for Mass Timber

On March 14, work stopped at Peavy Hall after two layers of a cross-laminated-timber floor panel came unglued and fell 14 ft from the third to the second floor. There were no injuries but the failure triggered an investigation that has lasted nearly six months.

*Photo courtesy Oregon State University*

Rendering of Peavy Hall

*Image courtesy Oregon State University*

The tally of how many defective cross-laminated timber panels need replacement on a $79-million college of forestry building under construction at Oregon State University is almost complete, nearly six months after two layers of a seven-layer CLT floor panel, 30 ft x 4 ft, came unglued and crashed 14 ft from the third to the second floor of the three-story building.

On March 14, after the failure, general contractor Andersen Construction Co., Portland, Ore., shut down construction. Work resumed on July 21 at the site of the George W. Peavy Forest Science Center at OSU's Corvallis campus. But the mishap caused a four-month delay and the opening of the approximately 80,000-sq-ft building, already delayed from this fall due to a switch in general contractors, is now anticipated in January 2020.

"Despite the setback related to the single CLT panel delamination earlier in the year, the Peavy Hall project is progressing in full swing," says Travis Baker, an Andersen regional vice president. "All parties involved continue to work together to ensure the completed building is 100% safe."

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