WHITEFISH – Pete Kobelt hopes the future of building begins on Spokane Avenue in Whitefish.
Kobelt founded Innovative Timber Systems, LLC, in hopes of bringing the cross-laminated timber system of building – standard across much of Europe – to North America. In Whitefish, the technique is being used on the new home of the Sawbuck DoJang martial arts school.
“We used to be the best at carpentry and manufacturing and now we make crap,” Kobelt said of the state of industry in the United States.
The cross-laminated timber system uses prefabricated wood pieces, laser cut to fit a specific site, for the entire structure. The only other materials required are concrete for the foundation and screws that are installed with simple hand drills. Once the building is designed and the wood cut and delivered, the structure can be built in a few days. Last week the two-story, 5,000-square-foot building in Whitefish took five days to assemble.
“There’s no waste; you don’t see a dumpster here,” he said.
And unlike other buildings, which have walls with wood boards spaced every few inches where cold air can enter the building on a “thermal bridge,” the prefabricated wood walls are one solid piece. Kobelt also said humidity and moisture, something that can get trapped in a traditional building and create mold, can escape through the wood.
Kobelt said the theories applied to this construction are not new, but they’ve been overlooked in North America.
“We don’t apply science to building and why wouldn’t we? We apply it to everything else,” he said.
If this first building proves successful, Kobelt hopes more will follow, something he believes could bring a much-needed shot in the arm to Montana’s economy.
“Montana’s forests are well suited for this system because we can use small trees,” he said.
The wood for the Sawbuck DoJang school was manufactured in Austria, but Kobelt envisions opening a plant to construct the pieces in the Flathead Valley. It’s an opening that could provide good, high-paying jobs since the panel production requires both wood-crafting and computer skills.
Someone who hopes the cross-laminated timber system takes off in Montana is Ben Knotts, a partner of Compass Construction in Whitefish. When Kobelt began looking for someone to help construct the first building, Compass Construction jumped at the opportunity. Knotts said the product works because of the ease in design and construction.
“There is a lot of design variety available” he said. “You can make it whatever you want it to be,” “It’s got huge potential.”
The speed of construction was a major reason Andy Hamer, owner of Sawbuck DoJang, chose Innovative Timber Systems.
Hamer’s martial arts school was originally housed in two old World War II era shelters, but the student body has since outgrown it. Finding a company that could build a structure quickly to fit the confines of Hamer’s current lot was essential.
“I’m hoping we’re on the cutting edge and I hope this is the way buildings are built in the future,” he said.
Although the building itself will be finished in just days, Hamer said it would take time to install things like plumbing and wiring, a “challenge of being the first in a field.”
But Kobelt said the Whitefish project is already generating interest.
“We’re kind of banking on this building taking us to the next level and blowing the lid off this whole thing,” he said. “We have the wood, we just need to use it better.”
For more information about the building system and Innovative Timber Systems visit www.smartwoods.com.