Monday, February 10, 2025
The rational use of raw materials and material efficiency are increasingly important factors in construction. Now, the new wall element solution combines excellent load-bearing capacity with unique material efficiency. It is particularly suitable for heavily stressed buildings, such as apartment blocks and office buildings, as a load-bearing and stiffening external and internal wall structure. The thinner wall construction also provides more habitable floor space.
“The Kerto-Ripa® wall element complements the Kerto-Ripa element concept that is developed for wooden multi-storey construction,” says Janne Heikkilä, Metsä Wood’s Technical Customer Service Team Leader.
The Kerto-Ripa wall element is a ribbed slab wall structure made from Kerto® LVL panels and beams with structural gluing. Its load-bearing capacity for vertical and horizontal loads in relation to the amount of material used is exceptional in the field of timber construction.
Kerto-Ripa elements combine thin wall structures with space flexibility
Today, the adaptability of spaces is increasingly important for the life cycle of buildings, both in residential and office construction. The Kerto-Ripa element concept makes it possible to design large open spaces, as the concept allows long spans without load-bearing partition walls.
According to structural calculations, the Kerto-Ripa wall structure enables up to 50 percent wood material savings in the ground floor walls of an eight-story building compared to solid wood structures, while still offering top-tier load-bearing capacity. This new wall structure allows for the construction of even significantly taller wooden buildings.
“Thinner structures and less material use are also strongly linked to sustainability. Despite the renewable wood material, we need to pay special attention to the amount of material used,” Heikkilä says.
The solution also allows for thinner wall constructions. For the customer, the developer and the investor, this is a major advantage, as it means more square metres for sale.
Prefabrication of the elements contributes to the efficiency of construction
Construction becomes more efficient when building work shifts from the site to the factory, reducing on-site time. As is typical with element construction, the elements are produced in controlled factory conditions, protecting them from weather variations and ensuring consistent quality. Kerto-Ripa roof and intermediate floor elements, developed by Metsä Wood over a decade ago, enable rapid structural phases due to their high degree of prefabrication. In the Kerto LVL-based concept, all HVAC installations can be discreetly placed within the hollow roof and floor elements.
Metsä Wood does not manufacture the elements itself but offers a comprehensive structural system for element manufacturers, covering everything from floor to ceiling.
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