PRESS RELEASE
London, Monday 3rd August 2026 – The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) has launched a new international project to develop practical guidance on managing water and moisture risk throughout the lifecycle of mass timber buildings.
Funded by the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and Swedish Wood, the project will bring together existing research and industry expertise to produce practical guidance that supports the design, construction and long-term management of resilient, durable and insurable mass timber buildings.
As mass timber continues to be adopted across a wider range of building types, there is growing recognition of the importance of designing for effective water and moisture management, and a clear need for practical guidance that brings together current best practice on prevention, detection and control, helping to support confidence across the construction and insurance sectors.
The new guidance will build on the success of the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook, published by ASBP and co-authored by Dr Jim Glockling. The Playbook has been downloaded thousands of times, received endorsement from the Association of British Insurers and was subsequently adapted for the US market by WoodWorks with support from the SLB, demonstrating international demand for practical, insurer-backed guidance.
The project will focus specifically on water and moisture management, bringing together current knowledge into a single practical guide covering every stage of a building’s lifecycle, from design and manufacture through construction, occupation, maintenance and eventual reuse.
The guide will:
- Help designers minimise water and moisture risk.
- Set out construction practices that reduce water exposure during assembly.
- Showcase moisture monitoring, leak detection and early warning technologies.
- Provide guidance on managing escape of water, flooding and condensation.
- Outline practical measures that support long-term resilience and insurability.
- Promote approaches that improve durability, maintainability and repairability throughout a building’s service life.
The guidance is intended for architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, insurers, investors and building owners, helping to establish a shared framework for managing water and moisture risk throughout the lifecycle of mass timber buildings.
The project is being led and managed by ASBP, with technical leadership from Dr Jim Glockling. An international steering group comprising representatives from the insurance, construction and timber sectors across the UK, Europe and North America will help shape the guidance, ensuring it reflects current best practice while remaining applicable across multiple markets.
Unlike fire safety guidance, which is often shaped by national regulations, the principles of moisture management are largely governed by universal building physics. The guidance will therefore be developed as an internationally applicable resource, with regional considerations incorporated where appropriate.
The project began in May 2026 and will conclude in October 2026 with publication of the guidance.
Quotes
Dr Jim Glockling, lead author for the project and co-author of the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook, said:
“Water and moisture susceptibility poses a significant hurdle to mass timber insurability. This project will centralise state-of-the-art design features with prevention, management and control methods into a single guide, introducing resilience across every stage of a building’s lifecycle, from the drawing board to end-of-life reuse, and helping create robust buildings with strong carbon credentials.”
Richard Broad, Chief Executive of the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, said:
“This project is about bringing together the knowledge that already exists across the timber, construction and insurance sectors into practical guidance that is accessible and internationally applicable. Developed with partners across Europe and North America, it will provide designers, contractors, insurers and building owners with a shared framework for managing water and moisture risk, helping to improve the long-term resilience and insurability of mass timber buildings.”
Ryan Flom, Chief Marketing Officer of the Softwood Lumber Board, said:
“As the market for mass timber continues to mature, the next challenge is ensuring projects can be delivered, insured, and operated with confidence over the long term. By bringing together international expertise on water and moisture management, this collaboration will provide practical guidance that helps reduce risk, strengthen confidence in mass timber, and support broader adoption across the building industry.”
Anna Ryberg Agren, Director, Swedish Wood, said:
“Swedish Wood are very happy to support this project building on the success of the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook, also supported by Swedish Wood. There is a real need for ongoing technical information covering water and moisture risk in timber buildings and this project will help bring that information to all relevant stakeholders in the mass timber supply chain.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
Media contact
Richard Broad – richard@asbp.org.uk, 07391 003 193
About the project
The project will develop comprehensive guidance on managing water and moisture risk throughout the lifecycle of mass timber buildings, covering design, manufacture, construction, occupation and reuse. It builds on a scoping study undertaken by Dr Jim Glockling with support from RISCAuthority, and is funded by the Softwood Lumber Board and Swedish Wood.
About the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP)
The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to a healthy, low-carbon built environment by championing the understanding and adoption of demonstrably sustainable building products and practices.
ASBP’s cross-sector membership brings together manufacturers, designers, contractors, researchers, clients, policymakers and other built environment professionals to collaborate on research, guidance, events and knowledge sharing that supports more sustainable construction.
About the Softwood Lumber Board
The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) is an industry-funded initiative established to promote the benefits and uses of softwood lumber products in outdoor, residential, and non-residential construction. Programs and initiatives supported by the SLB focus on increasing the demand for appearance and softwood lumber products in the United States.
https://softwoodlumberboard.org
About Swedish Wood
Swedish Wood represents the Swedish sawmill industry and is part of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation. Swedish Wood also collaborates closely with Swedish builders’ merchants and wholesalers of wood products. Swedish Wood’s aim is to increase the size and value of the global market for Swedish wood and wood products in construction, interior design and packaging.