Joe Kannapell

Floor Truss Technology, Part IX: Floor Finale

Joe Kannapell

To complete this floor series, it’s worth examining how we’re doing against I-joists. [For all graphs and images, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] Mixed Signals: Many CMs think trusses are slowly making gains, and this is backed up by the brisk sales of floor machines. However,...

#16295 Cover image
February 2024
Issue #16295
Page 10
Madison Stephens

AWC Releases New Wood Design Standards

Madison Stephens

The American Wood Council (AWC) released its three new 2024 wood design standards: the National Design Specification® for Wood Construction (NDS®), Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, and Fire Design Specification for Wood Construction (FDS). These...

#16295 Cover image
February 2024
Issue #16295
Page 90
Joe Kannapell

Floor Truss Technology, Part VIII: Inside Floor Truss Details

Joe Kannapell

Builders have been testing the viability of floor trusses, and they are now considering the results. Many of them switched from I-joists only because they were forced to do so. Either they couldn’t get them, or they didn’t want to pay double the price. Yet today, as they are seeing...

#16294 Cover image
January 2024
Issue #16294
Page 10
Landon Boucher

Job Site Success Begins with Good Communication

Landon Boucher

My favorite place to meet with a customer is on the job site. Always has been. I started in this industry approximately 20 years ago as a young truss salesman for UFP in Southern California. My training consisted of building trusses in the yard, creating estimates, and completing engineering...

#15290 Cover image
September 2023
Issue #15290
Page 86
Joe Kannapell

The Last Word: Two Titans: Denig and Toombs

Joe Kannapell

With the recent passing of Tom Denig, which was not long after Gene Toombs’, we should take a moment to reflect on their stunning success, gained while working separately and together. They both took over highly technical companies in the early 1990s, Denig at Trus Joist and Toombs at...

#15289 Cover image
August 2023
Issue #15289
Page 136
Joe Kannapell

The Last Word: The Rise of the Floor Truss

Joe Kannapell

Among the first advocates for floor trusses were two men who would later create an acclaimed component plant. Dwight Hikel and Chris Ditzel made early inroads at Fort McHenry Lumber, such that Ditzel declared in 1972, “I think we will be eventually doing 2-1/2 times the volume in floor...

#15288 Cover image
July 2023
Issue #15288
Page 132
Joe Kannapell

Floor Truss Technology, Part I: Parallel Chord Trusses

Joe Kannapell

Floor trusses have been golden for the component industry for over half a century, and their origin is worth recounting and celebrating. Because of their flexibility and utility, wood trusses dominate apartment construction and have taken it up to 5 stories. Getting there, however, has required...

#15287 Cover image
June 2023
Issue #15287
Page 10
Joe Kannapell

The Last Word: The Last Word on the Promise of Robotics

Joe Kannapell

When $20 Billion behemoth Builders First Source (BFS) launched a robotic truss line in April, CMs were surprised that they would select House of Design (HoD)’s first truss machine, and the industry’s first robotic floor truss line. Remarkably, after just over 3 months, they’ve...

#14277 Cover image
August 2022
Issue #14277
Page 134
Michael Weber

Guides to Making I-Joist Connections — Simpson Strong-Tie® CSGs Make EWP Designs Easier

Michael Weber

Connector Selection Guides (CSGs) are tools Simpson Strong-Tie has created to assist users in designing and building with engineered wood products (EWP). They consist of a series of short fliers (available as PDFs on strongtie.com for printing or mobile use) guiding builders on how to select...

#14275 Cover image
June 2022
Issue #14275
Page 120
Paul McEntee, S.E.

LTTP2 — an Update to a Classic Light Tension Tie

Paul McEntee

It would give you an incomplete idea of the new LTTP2 light tension tie if we didn’t first discuss the original LTT series. The LTT20 tension tie first appeared in our 1987 Connectors for Wood Construction catalog as a post-pour, wood-to-concrete connector. The LTT20 installed with nails...

#14273 Cover image
April 2022
Issue #14273
Page 114
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