If you’ve driven by the new home for Cincinnati Public Radio lately, you’ve noticed it’s wrapped from head to toe in a tent.
In traditional construction the outside of a building goes up first, but for a mass timber project, the massive interior beams and walls are assembled before the façade. The roof of CPR’s building was “topped off” in late December and by March the entire building frame was wrapped. This protects those working on the project from the elements and helps dry the wood and reduce the moisture content of the mass timber to below 18% before installing the glass sides of the building.
Rather than wrapping the building in transparent plastic sheathing, the draping material our contractor has installed is reusable, and more durable, more resistant to rain and sun, a better insulator for protecting the workers inside the building from heat, cold and rain. By the end of next month, the material will be rolled up and relocated to the next job site. Then SKANSKA will begin installing glass on the outside of the building and everything will begin to take shape.
