Leading wood industry entrepreneurs share their experience with Canadian Wood species applied in projects across India


Building with wood is gaining momentum in India, and in keeping with this trend, Forestry Innovation Consulting (popularly known as Canadian Wood), is creating an ecosystem where woodworking professionals come together to promote the adoption and use of sustainably sourced wood species from B.C. Canada.


Ankush Seth, Build Kraft India, is incorporating Canadian timber in interior fit outs. He has built a private villa in Himachal Pradesh using a hybrid style of construction (use of wood along with local stones and bricks). The project optimally utilized versatility of Canadian Douglas-fir for all structural purposes including trusses and posts-and-beams. It was also used in other applications like doors and windows and in rustic flooring. Douglas-fir is valued for its extraordinary strength-to-weight ratio, specially for heavy structural purposes.

Planning and discipline are basic when working with timber

Sanjay Sharma, Woodbarn India, has built more than 600 wooden structures across the country, with specific focus on hallmark projects integrating Canadian Wood species. He has put together a double laminated T&G style of construction in about 12 hours. The prefabricated house was built with Canadian Spruce-pine-fir (SPF) - known for its high strength-to-weight ratio and dimensional stability, making it a popular material for structural applications. Also, the laminated wall structure in the house increased the wall thickness to 70mm, adding to its strength, stiffness, and insulation values. This property is on display in Goa and is an ideal option for the hospitality sector looking at developing resorts in locations with permits for temporary housing.

Strength of laminated timber is about 3 times more than concrete and about 2 times more than steel utilities

Akarsh Tiwari, WoodNiido, is a believer of sustainable architecture. He has built a WFC single storey house in Chennai with Canadian SPF Wood. The house presents an ideal model to meet the need gap amongst HNWIs for homes in the second homes category such as Country Homes, Farmhouses and Villas built with wood.

Wood can be taken to any extent for material integration in projects

Pranesh Chhibber, Country Director, Canadian Wood: “We are happy to see that an increasing number of architects, builders, developers, and interior designers are now making a responsible choice of incorporating our sustainably sourced Canadian wood species in both reman and structural applications. When building with wood, it is critical to conform to a system and adhere to processes without any deviation or shortcuts.

Canadian Wood lumber is available duly seasoned, sized and graded, almost ready-to-use across the country through a network of 41 stockists in all major towns.


As regards the vast possibilities of building with wood, furniture made from western hemlock is finding growing acceptance amongst furniture manufacturers given the wood’s easy workability and good staining properties. Doors, door frames, and windows made from yellow cedar have exceptional longevity due to the wood’s natural resistance to decay. Western red cedar is ideal for cladding and pergolas, as the wood species has exceptional working properties like natural resistance to termite, rot and decay.”