Idaho’s decision to implement tall mass timber provisions is applauded by the American Wood Council. Idaho’s building codes will include new mass timber provisions by the beginning of 2022.
H 143, signed by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, directs the state building code board to amend the state code to include the 2021 tall mass timber building code provisions by Jan. 1, 2022.
“Mass timber is a category of wood product that is already revolutionizing how America builds,” said Jackson Morrill, President of the American Wood Council, in a statement issued by the council. In the United States, there are already over 1,000 mass timber projects under construction or in the planning stages.”
Morrill continued, “By avoiding the bill, Idaho joins Oregon, Washington, Utah, California, Virginia, and the City of Denver in recognizing a sustainable alternative to traditional construction.”
“The use of mass timber will support healthier working forests, expand markets for wood products, and increase forest industry jobs, which are typically found in rural areas,” Morrill added.
The AWC testified in favor of H 143 in the Idaho Legislature.
The written testimony is available here.
The provisions of Idaho’s new tall mass timber building code can be found here.
The American Wood Council, headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia, represents the manufacturing of wood products in North America, including 85 percent of the structural wood products industry.
Members use a renewable resource that absorbs and sequesters carbon to create products that are essential to daily life.
