Researchers at UC Berkeley's wood lab are turning wood from wildfire-affected forests into dowel-laminated timber (DLT) for building construction. The process uses smaller pieces of lumber joined with wooden dowels to create structural panels, making use of salvage from fires and demolition that would otherwise go to waste. Mass timber has a lower carbon footprint than cement and steel, which account for a large share of global emissions. The lab's work also supports forest thinning that reduces wildfire risk by creating a market for small trees removed from overgrown forests. A Humboldt County manufacturer, Mad River Mass Timber, is now producing DLT commercially using concepts developed at Berkeley. The lab received support from a U.S. Forest Service innovation grant. The approach could scale if more manufacturers adopt the technique, potentially turning a wildfire liability into a climate-friendly building material.
