Home Building Technology, Part XV: The Rebirth of Wood Joe Kannapell, PE Wood was not held in high regard in the truss drafting department where I began working. Our fabricator customers often wanted their trusses designed with “old lumber,” meaning the obsolete size of 1-5/8” x 3-5/8”, even though the 1.5” x 3.5” size had been in... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 10
Do You Know That Plate Rotation has a Significant Impact on Load Transfer? Glenn Traylor and Donna Marino Our industry design standard, ANSI/TPI 1, regulates numerous elements in constructing roof and floor trusses. The following is a brief non-exhaustive summary: Lumber grades and moisture content Pedigree of lumber grades and lumber management Controls on truss profiles Verification of... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 19
Automation for Greenfield OR Retrofit Truss Plants Edmond Lim, P.Eng. For inspiration to Feed the Beast! in 2026, the mandate is clear to automate, however, the path to automation looks different depending on your starting point. Let’s compare two standout 2025 LimTek installations—a greenfield plant and a modernizing retrofit—to see how... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 36
Building Homes for Heros in Florida Paul Schmidt Although all of our companies are focused on their bottom lines, many of us also welcome opportunities to give back to our communities. TechWood had one such opportunity this year, when we partnered with Global Fireproof Solutions, Inc. to support the construction and renovation of a... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 66
Where MSR Expertise Meets Real-World Application MSR Lumber Producers Council Every spring, a few dozen of the most MSR-savvy minds in the industry gather for something refreshingly different from the typical industry conference. No sprawling trade show floor. No overwhelming schedule. No wandering through crowds of people you might never see again. Instead, the annual... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 106
Lumber Substitutions in Trusses Marvin Strzyzewski, P.E. Chapter 3 of ANSI/TPI 1-2022, the National Design Standard for Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses, provides the component manufacturer with the Quality Criteria they must follow to ensure the metal plate connected wood trusses (MPCWT) they build meet the design assumptions. Section 3.4.2 Lumber... Read More March 2026 Issue #18320 Page 130
Polar Vortex? A PickLine Works Better in the Snow! Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Whether you’re facing a Polar Vortex, a Snowmageddon, or just another pending storm, a wintry winter forecast can strike fear in anyone. But the good news is that a Lumber PickLine will make it even easier for you to cope with these tricky situations. [For all photos, See PDF or View... Read More February 2026 Issue #18319 Page 38
Recognizing the Value of BuyMetrics Valerie Hansen When I was notified we’d been selected by Construction Tech Review as the Cloud-Based Lumber Purchasing Platform of the Year 2026, I was very surprised, and I hadn’t even known we were nominated. But, as I thought about this news, I realized how grateful I am for the trust and... Read More February 2026 Issue #18319 Page 91
Is It Possible to Learn From Mistakes? Glenn Traylor Early in my career, I had the opportunity to teach woodworking. For five years at North Carolina State University, I served as both a student and a faculty member within the University Student Center. I arrived with extensive knowledge of woodworking, and during my first week, I met two... Read More January 2026 Issue #18318 Page 19
New Fire-Rated One- and Two-Hour Wall Assemblies Paul Schmidt Have you heard the big news? In December, TechWood unveiled two new fire-rated wall assemblies that not only meet IBC/IRC code-compliant fire protection for residential and commercial construction, but exceed code, adding exclusive protections against mold, rot, and termites while stabilizing... Read More January 2026 Issue #18318 Page 102