Marketplace Morning Report In Altadena, attempting to rebuild for resilience
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Jan 9, 2026 Residents in Altadena face challenges as they strive to rebuild fire-resistant homes, confronting issues like cost and material availability. The podcast explores the outdated one-by-one construction methods still widely used. It also highlights innovative cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels that promise faster builds and resilience against fires. Discussions include the potential for lower carbon footprints and the positive impact on forest health. However, obstacles persist, including financial constraints and cultural resistance to new building techniques.
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Factory Wood Panels Speed Homebuilding
- Modern factory-made materials like CLT can speed single-family construction and cut labor needs dramatically.
- David Brancaccio and Daniel Lopez Perez note CLT panels allow much faster enclosure and potential 15–20% schedule savings.
Off-Site Fabrication Cuts On-Site Labor
- Off-site fabrication shifts framing and cutwork to factories, reducing on-site labor and accelerating builds.
- Daniel Lopez Perez and Mercer Mass Timber staff describe customizing panels and dropping them into place with cranes.
Reporter’s Burned Lot And CLT Test
- David Brancaccio describes returning to his fire-ravaged Altadena lot where not one iota of wood remained.
- He tested a charred CLT sample at a lab and found much of the panel stayed structurally intact after flame tests.