GAB Report event briefing

Building Bigger with Light-Frame: Heights, Areas and Critical Details

  • DateDec 8, 2026 · 12:00 pm GMT-0800
  • FormatVirtual

About the event

This regional technical seminar examines how to maximize the scale and density of mid-rise light-frame wood structures under Type III and Type V building codes. Structural engineer Chelsea Drenick presents underused code provisions that permit greater heights and floor areas, detailing the effective use of podiums, mezzanines, sprinklers, and frontage increases. The session reviews common design and permitting hurdles, concentrating on interior and exterior wall assemblies, fire-resistance continuity, and critical intersections between structural components and rated partitions. Attendees gain practical strategies for detailing compliant, fire-safe timber assemblies while lowering structural embodied carbon.

What you’ll learn

  • Evaluate construction type, occupancy, allowable height and area, and other code considerations that influence the size and configuration of mid-rise light-frame wood buildings that support code compliance.
  • Identify opportunities to maximize building height and area through provisions for sprinklers, frontage, podiums, mezzanines, sloping sites to determine how allowable building height and area can be achieved while maintaining required fire and life safety protections.
  • Distinguish code requirements for common interior and exterior wall conditions, including firewalls, fire barriers, fire partitions, and fire-resistance-rated exterior walls that support occupant safety.
  • Apply fire-resistance and continuity requirements at floor, roof, and structural intersections to develop compliant details that maintain the integrity of required fire-resistance-rated assemblies in light-frame wood buildings.

Attendance notes

WoodWorks will send each attendee a certificate of completion within 2 weeks via email. Attendees must stay for the duration of the event to receive a certificate.


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