The Prefabrication of Glued Timber Houses for Residential Construction in Poland

Many countries, including Poland, are currently testing the construction of multi-family houses using a prefabricated system of glued laminated timber (CLT). Poland has a great potential for the application of wood technologies in the housing sector. The purpose of the article is to analyse the real advantages of this technology, as well as the difficulties and threats. It is important to determine the boundary conditions for the location of this type of construction, such as the legal system in force in each country, especially with regard to the fire protection of buildings, the availability of local wood resources, as well as the transport distance between the place of extraction of the raw wood material, the place of production of the CLT panels, the prefabrication of the elements and the final location of the construction site. A separate problem to be considered is overcoming the mental barrier in a society that is accustomed to the durability of a house as a concrete or brick structure, and that associates wood with impermanence. Other bottlenecks to development are the high price of imported panels, the low level of CLT production in Poland and the social acceptance of wooden structures as a long-term, stable and safe housing solution.