CLT construction & cladding: everything you need to know

CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) is an innovative product for mass timber construction. It is an alternative material for the frame of your building and is sometimes even called the “concrete of the future”. Architects, specifiers and contractors are increasingly opting for Cross Laminated Timber. But what is CLT exactly and how can you combine this with sustainable and firesafe cladding

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is a relatively new product for timber construction. It consists of several layers of wood that are glued together crosswise and pressed together under high pressure. This makes the material particularly strong and suitable for the construction of floors, interior and exterior walls and roofs of buildings. This means CLT is a fully-fledged alternative to concrete and steel and is very suitable for high-rise buildings. It is also growing in popularity for residential construction due to CO2 storage in the material.  

Some of the advantages of CLT are that the construction time is very short thanks to prefabrication. Moreover, using CLT enables wide spans, which gives a lot of architectural freedom. 

CLT construction is also a good option for energy efficient buildings. As you create an airtight and windproof building with CLT, the construction itself has an insulating effect. With a CLT frame you need about 15% less insulation than with concrete to achieve the same Rc value. 

As CLT is a wood product, this often raises the question how firesafe it is. Because it consists of several layers of wood pressed against each other, a CLT construction performs surprisingly well in the event of a fire. As with a forest fire, only the outside will char, protecting the inside and keeping the structure in place. 

By combining CLT with fire-resistant insulation and exterior cladding, an extra protective layer is created. As a result, the outside of the facade will not char. Because Rockpanel's facade boards are made from basalt, a volcanic rock that can withstand very high temperatures, they are naturally extremely fire resistant. 

Finishing your CLT frame building with facade boards or planks allows you to create the appearance that perfectly matches your vision. Rockpanel's sustainable facade cladding is extremely suitable for this. Rockpanel cladding is fully recyclable and the facade boards have an officially confirmed lifespan of 50 years, are fireproof and they are also available in many colours and designs. 

Would you like to take a look at some real-life examples of Rockpanel cladding applied on a CLT frame? Our Rockpanel Natural cladding is applied in the show home of FLETTS, a Dutch company that focuses on building sustainably. In Delft (The Netherlands), 12 appartments are currently being built in which a combination of a CLT frame and Rockpanel cladding is used.