Over the past years, Nordic’s mass timber products have pioneered an ever-expanding range of applications across North America: a hospital in Ontario, a six-storey office building in Anaheim, California, and a pharmaceutical facility in Durham, North Carolina. Many are the first of their kind in their region. 

Historically, mass timber projects were concentrated in regions with abundant local timber. Today, advances in sustainable transportation—including optimized rail and emerging electric trucking—have made mass timber a viable option in non-forested environments, such as Texas and Southern California. 

Mass timber is now integrated into all facets of life. In the last year alone our products were used across seven industries—education, community, government, entertainment, healthcare, residential, and commercial—spanning ten U.S. states and Canadian provinces. In downtown Montreal, the Jeunesse au Soleil community centre showcases its versatility, while in Vancouver, an expansive arch at the PNE demonstrates its architectural possibilities. Higher education institutions are embracing it across the U.S.: from the new A.R.T. theatre at Harvard to Hobson College at Princeton, and across the country to UC Irvine’s residential community center.

Developers are increasingly choosing mass timber for a variety of reasons, citing its biophilic qualities—the warm, natural environment wood provides that can reduce stress; its contribution to lowering embodied carbon and reducing environmental impact; and its fire resistance and seismic performance. Value is placed on sustainability across the full supply chain: products from regions like Québec are often manufactured in facilities powered primarily by hydroelectricity, while responsible forestry practices ensure that timber remains a truly renewable resource. 

While misconceptions about mass timber persist, its wider adoption across North America shows that the construction industry has already adapted—and we’re eager to see what the next “firsts” in mass timber will bring.

The 2020 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) introduced new requirements for multistorey wood-frame buildings, particularly relating to seismic forces. Structural engineers in western Canada have reported increases in shear demand ranging from 10% to 40%, depending on location. These changes highlight the need for structural solutions capable of resisting greater loading while managing shearwall deflection.

Holdowns have traditionally been used to anchor each end of a shearwall to the concrete below, helping it resist overturning, racking and sliding. They’re generally cost-effective, familiar to installers and straightforward to detail. One of the largest Simpson Strong-Tie models, the HDUE17, has a factored resistance of 21,000 lb. (94 kN) fastened to Douglas fir studs, or 18,000 lb. (80 kN) with spruce-pine-fir. When loaded to its factored resistance, the holdown deflects 0.128" (3.25 mm), which can be linearly interpolated for lower demand levels.

Meanwhile continuous rod systems (also known as anchor tiedown systems or ATS) usually run from the foundation to the top storey, tying down every level while minimizing shrinking-related effects. These systems offer higher capacities and are well-suited for multistorey structures. For instance, a 2"-diameter high-strength rod system, the largest currently used in western Canada, has a factored resistance of 234,000 lb. (1044 kN). While this illustrates the scale of forces these systems can accommodate, they require more planning and coordination than traditional holdowns.

Ultimately, the choice usually depends on the number of storeys, expected loading and project goals. Further discussions are available on the Simpson Strong-Tie Structural Engineering Blog. 

Author — Tim Wagner

Tim Wagner is a senior engineer at Simpson Strong-Tie. Since 2014, he has educated designers and builders on creating safer and stronger structuresand spoken at various conferences across Canada. He has a bachelor’s degree in applied science, a professional engineering license in British Columbia, and an MBA.

References

Simpson Strong-Tie. Strong-Rod Systems Guide for Canada (2022). Retrieved from strongtie.com: https://ssttoolbox.widen.net/view/pdf/2v2swobion/C-L-SRSCAN22.pdf

Simpson Strong-Tie. Canadian Limit States Design values for the new HDUE series of Holdowns (2025). Retrieved from strongtie.com: https://ssttoolbox.widen.net/view/pdf/zrr8gqkd7i/L-C-HDUECAN25.pdf