By investigating known challenges of building with wood; such as acoustics, fire safety and stability and then finding solutions to these, we try to contribute to the improvement of the quality in circular timber construction in the Netherlands. We do this by approaching professional testing agencies in the field of wood and safety with specific issues. Like in this case we went to the Wood Research Foundation (Stichting Hout Research in Dutch). SHR is the test and knowledge partner for construction and construction-related products. From our engineering team, Rogier and Berend took up this new challenge.
“By finding clever ways to insert screws, we have managed to improve the acoustic performance of our floors.”
After previous tests on acoustics within our modules and then our impressive fire safety tests, this time we devoted our time to some specialized screw testing with the help of Thomas Houben from SHR. View the video below to see how these 2 test days went.
The issues we focused on during these two days are:
- The strength of the screw connection in our facade styles, applied in various (wood-like) materials. Due to the precise placement of the screws, we have been able to demonstrate that the screw connection in these narrow elements is safe and does not weaken the load-bearing capacity of the wood and the connection.
- Increasing the stiffness of the composite floorboards by cleverly screwing the floor plate to the underlying floor beams. This improves both the bearing capacity of the elements and the acoustics in the buildings.
“With these research results, we can continue to improve our construction system and show the construction industry how incredibly important research and innovation is.”
Why do we use screws?
Because Sustainer focuses on demountable construction, we look for an alternative to glue in every connection. Where with glue things are permanently attached to the construction in the end, you can achieve the same result by using smart screw connections which you can eventually disassemble and reuse parts of the modules again. In this way we ensure an optimized circular system with an eye on the future.
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