This short article is dedicated to all those in our industry who must occasionally visit a job site but maybe it’s not a part of their everyday function or maybe it is, but it’s new to you. Our industry has an incredible number of people and companies involved with bringing a project...

Vekta Automation is in the business of just that – automating timber truss and frame plants. From the Razer saws to an advanced product offering, Vekta is introducing automation machinery for every stage of the truss and frame manufacturing process. We have automation that is reducing the...

Vekta is known in the industry for our market-leading Razer V5 Linear Saw, but it’s our culture of innovation that defines our unique product and systems solutions. Today, Vekta’s current system technologies range covers many of the manufacturing processes involved in producing...

If you have spent your truss career in one region, and even more so with just one company, you will have seen that, generally speaking, your competitors and co-workers tend to frame houses essentially the same way. Only when you are exposed to a different company or region do you start to see...

In the last article, we described the primary structural and wood-related changes in the 2021 International Residential Code, Chapters 3 and 4. This article will continue with the primary changes to Chapters 5 through 8 of the IRC. Decks For the 2018 and the 2021 IRC, an informal group...

Spida has put together the most wonderful range of machinery to see at BCMC 2022 — we’ll have an extensive showcase of products to ensure your production is streamlined and ready to face your bottle-necks head on! If you’re ready to become less dependent on your fluctuating...

Those of us in the building materials and components industry have probably all seen inkjet printers mounted to our cutting equipment for labeling, framing layout, and other forms of marking. Let’s face it, nobody wants to get a package of cut pieces for framing a truss or a wall and have...

For years, I’ve been interested in why the residential building industry has been so slow to innovate. Other industries constantly innovate. The U.S. automobile industry, arguably pushed along by Japan and European car makers, continues to advance its products and production methods....

Introduction In some arid parts of the Southwest, the occurrence and recurrence of cracks at taped gypsum panel (drywall) joints between panels in residential projects have been reported in trade magazines since the mid-1990s. In some homes of a project, one or two cracks or ridges appear at...

Framing a house in one day will require floor panels, or “cassettes” in modern parlance. So be ready for this final phase in componentization, creating new opportunities, more computerization, and… Low-boy or drop-deck flatbed trailers to minimize trips to job. Extra...