_Concept_Lab

Which is stronger? Full sized NFL replica speed helmet vs. a collegiate football? Make your guess in the comments! The follower who gets the most correct after 12 videos will win $500 from Concept Lab! #Testing #NFL #SuperBowl #Eagles #Seahawks #Patriots #HydraulicPress

TCN connectors getting ready to ship! These 18 TCNs will join mass timber beams and columns, holding 8600kN of total load while using just 50 screws to join the parts. 💪 Can your mass timber connections do that? #MassTimber #StructuralEngineering #StructuralDesign #ProductDevelopment #Precast #Concrete

When life gives you lemons, squish them in a hydraulic press. Which is stronger? Make your guess in the comments! The follower who gets the most correct after 12 videos will win $500 from Concept Lab! #Testing #Lemon #Lime #HydraulicPress #satisfying

We are thrilled to announce that our Hybrid Species Glulam research project is rapidly progressing! This project is focused on finding structural applications for underutilized wood species that are prevalent throughout Canada and the US, by combining softwoods and hardwoods into hybrid species glulam beams and columns. This will encourage healthy and diverse forests, create glulam products that can span farther and carry higher loads, and build upon the precedents that are already in practice in Europe. Since announcing the project at IMTC in Portland last March, we have completed the Canadian Market Analysis and Literature Review phases with the @fastepp R&D team of Carla Dickof and Md Shahnewaz. These research phases have been funded and supported by BC Forestry Innovation Investment. With funding from Ontario MNRF @onresources , we then purchased 13 different timber species which will be tested in 63 different combinations in order to determine which species work best together, and which adhesives are best for joining softwoods and hardwoods in structural applications. Our small-scale testing phase consists of thousands of tests which are underway in Concept Lab, including shear block, compression, and tension testing of finger jointed samples. The project is ready to kick into high gear, so stay tuned for further announcements and progress updates! #MassTimber #Glulam #HybridGlulam #ResearchAndDevelopment #StructuralTesting #ProductDevelopment

Which is stronger? Make your guess in the comments! The follower who gets the most correct after 12 weeks will win $500 from Concept Lab! #Testing #Christmas #HydraulicPress

If you are interested in eliminating more than 95% of screws in your mass timber connections, check out TCNs! The Timber Concrete Node is a precast concrete connector which supports timber beams directly through bearing, and the load is transferred to the timber column in direct bearing as well. No screws required to support the floor loads! In this test, we applied a 1-sided load to a TCN which was restrained only through bearing on the timber. The concrete and timber components were designed for 208kN, but it held a maximum of 480kN - for a total load and resistance safety factor = 3.2x And since a single TCN connector can support a beam on each side of a column with 1 simple part, it is the most economical high-capacity connector currently available for post and beam timber construction. #Testing #MassTimber #StructuralEngineering #TestLab #HydraulicPress #SustainableDesign #ConnectionDesign

Which is Stronger?? 💪 Santa Mug vs Santa Figurine.. Make your guess in the comments. Whoever gets the most correct after 12 weeks will win $500 from Concept Lab!

Check out the MPSC point-supported column connector by Simpson Strong-Tie @strongtie 💡 Point-supported construction, also known as post-and-plate, is currently the most efficient and cost-effective form of mass timber construction. It is ideally suited for multi-family residential, student housing, and hotel projects where the column grid can be aligned with the partition walls between units. @fastepp have been industry leaders in point-supported building design, starting in 2016 with the record-setting 18-storey UBC Tallwood House at Brock Commons. Since then, we’ve designed the 18-storey affordable housing at VAHA Burrard, the 12-storey student residences at BCIT, the 10-storey VIU student housing project, and several other notable projects using this structural system. ➡️ It is fantastic to see this new product offering from Simpson which will allow point-supported connections to be made from simple and well-detailed off-the-shelf components. Concept Lab was thrilled to help with Simpson Strong-Tie’s product development efforts, by analyzing the potential fit for the MPSC connector on past Fast + Epp projects, as well as advising on the punching shear analysis and screw reinforcing methodologies developed from our extensive 2023 testing program in Concept Lab which was done in collaboration with University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). 👀 On that note, we are excited that a new simplified methodology for analyzing punching shear has been developed, and it will be published in the next several months. The data from our punching shear tests has enabled the simplified methodology, which is targeted to be included in the future Canadian Building Code, and eventually other design standards around the world! This will permit widespread use of the new MPSC connector, and more efficient design and delivery of mass timber construction. Stay tuned! 👀 #PointSupported #MassTimber #ProductDevelopment #ResearchandDevelopment #MPSC

🌲 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲... 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧? Wood is timeless — a natural, renewable material that brings beauty and warmth to our built environment. It also plays a key role in reducing embodied carbon in construction. At @fastepp , we’ve spent decades pushing the boundaries of what wood can do. So when the team at @inventwood_official approached us with 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥 — we knew this was something truly groundbreaking. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱 combines the soul of wood with the strength of steel. We’ve been collaborating with InventWood in our @_concept_lab to explore structural applications and rigorously test this remarkable material. The results? ✅ Up to 𝟲𝘅 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 than traditional timber for construction ✅ Up to 𝟭𝟬𝘅 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵-𝘁𝗼-𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼 than steel The future of timber construction just got a major upgrade. 📍 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! Join 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝗯 𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲, Sept 22–25 in Vancouver — Booth #507. Get hands-on with our demonstration and learn how SuperWood could transform the way we build. #SuperWood #TimberInnovation #SustainableConstruction #WoodRise2025 #MassTimber #EngineeredWood #DecarbonizeConstruction

We are thrilled to announce that 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒅𝒆 (𝑻𝑪𝑵) connections have been selected as the primary connection solution for the new 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙬𝙖 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧, in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada! Over the past few months, we have been busy in @_concept_lab developing details and refining our TCN system which will be used for the post and beam connections on this precedent-setting mass timber project. 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝑪𝑵 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 These innovative mass timber connections were chosen due to their: 🔸 𝗜𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, which allows connections to remain safely exposed during a fire 🔸 𝗨𝗻𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, which will speed up construction and decrease installation problems on site, and 🔸 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆, which supports a total beam load of 800kN (180 k) on a single connector for this project! 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑻𝑪𝑵𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 The secret is supporting timber beams through bearing on their bottom surface, rather than hanging heavy beam loads with hundreds of screws. By passing a reinforced concrete node through a hole in the timber column, a double-sided beam connection is achieved with one simple part. This elegant solution creates a direct load-bearing mechanism which cannot be matched by traditional metal hangers. The idea of using reinforced concrete as a mass timber connector was born from Fast + Epp’s Concept Lab, is a patent-pending technology, and is ready to change the way mass timber buildings are designed and constructed. This milestone demonstrates how Timber Concrete Nodes can redefine structural timber connections by enabling faster and more efficient construction. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒘𝒂 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎 🔸 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿: Maskwa Medical Center 🔸 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: @clarkbuilders 🔸 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: @masstimberservices 🔸 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁: @reimaginearch 🔸 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿: @fastepp #masstimber #masstimberconnections #productdevelopment #timberconstruction #Innovation #sustainabledesign

Lunch and design talks for 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙬𝙖 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧! We had a productive day with Paul Fast, Brandon Sullivan from @fastepp & @_concept_lab , Brittany Lettwin & colleague Jordan from @reimaginearch , and Ron McDougall, our Mass Timber expert - reviewing the 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 for this build. Collaboration like this drives innovation in mass timber construction, bringing together architecture, design, and engineering at the forefront of seamless (and sustainable) project delivery.

You asked, and we’re happy to answer! We previously investigated several options for repairing wood when a hanger has to be shifted by a small amount. In the comments, several people requested that we look at repair options for cases where screws need to be reinstalled in the same hole – and here are the results! 𝟰𝟱𝗝 – installing a 1/2" wood dowel into the hole, and then drilling the screw. This is a bad idea, as the screw is now withdrawing from the dowel parallel to grain, and in our test the 3/8” screw was too similar in size to the dowel. Check out the photos, the dowel pulled out in shreds, and the average load decreased 33% compared to the baseline tests. 𝟵𝟬𝗝 – same wood dowel repair for a 90-degree screw. The failure modes do not look as poor, but the average load decreased 24% compared to the baseline. In both cases we saw higher strength (but lower stiffness) when reinstalling a screw into the original hole without any type of repair (45B and 90B). So, this idea is one we can safely rule out! 𝟰𝟱𝗞 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟵𝟬𝗞 – filling the hole with hole with epoxy and then reinstalling the screw and allowing the epoxy to cure. The 45-degree case saw a 6% increase in load compared to the baseline, but the 90-degree case resulted in a 22% decrease in strength with significantly higher stiffness. 💡 This result is interesting, because 90B (reinstalling in the same hole without repair) was softer but stronger than filling the hole with epoxy. My theory is that the epoxy filled hole increases the connection stiffness which causes the screw head to fracture early, before developing the expected strength in double bending… This is plausible, because in other tests that made 90-degree screws softer we saw lower stiffness and higher strength than the baseline case. This phenomenon was only seen in 90-degree screws that are governed by fracture of the screw head. ⁉️ Have we stumbled across an unexplored way to make stronger and more ductile screwed connections? If not, what do you think is causing this counterintuitive result? #LabTesting #StructuralEngineering #MassTimber #ConnectionTesting #MassTimberConnections #ResearchAndDevelopment