New MiTek Fire and Sound Test Reports MiTek Staff As MiTek has been hard at work to improve the way the building industry works by increasing the use of offsite components, we have heard from Architects of Record and Engineers of Record that they need more support to be able to specify components. In multifamily construction, there is a high... Read More April 2024 Issue #16297 Page 98
The NHERI TallWood Project Simpson Strong-Tie Staff Q & A with Steve Pryor, P.E., S.E., Senior Manager, Testing and Research Operations, Engineering, Simpson Strong-Tie As a research partner in the National Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) TallWood project, Simpson Strong-Tie participated in a series of earthquake shake... Read More April 2024 Issue #16297 Page 108
Up to the Test: The Heavy Seated Knife Plate Beam Hanger for Mass Timber Paul McEntee In response to the increasing demand for mass timber construction, Simpson Strong-Tie has created mass timber solutions for these builds. These product additions include our Heavy Seated Knife Plate (HSKP), ACBH concealed beam hanger, and CBH concealed beam hanger. Gain insights into... Read More March 2024 Issue #16296 Page 108
Developing High-Capacity Tension Straps for Mass Timber Engineering Paul McEntee Mass timber buildings use cross-laminated timber (CLT) or mass plywood panels to create horizontal diaphragms to transfer wind and seismic forces into the vertical elements of the lateral-force-resisting system. Spline connections resist shear forces at the panel joints, which I discussed in... Read More January 2024 Issue #16294 Page 100
Innovation Redefined: The Future of Structural Testing with Our Million Pound Rig Simpson Strong-Tie Staff The future of full-scale structures testing and product development is here – and it is BIG. Our Tyrell Gilb Research Laboratory built a brand-new Million Pound Rig to help in the testing of our new Yield-Link® brace connection (YLBC), along with our many other products. Hear from Mike... Read More December 2023 Issue #15293 Page 102
From CEO to Legacy: Welcome to the Karen Colonias Research Lab David Huerta As the current lab manager of the newly renamed Karen Colonias Research Laboratory, I’m proud to share what our lab does and what Karen meant to us. Our lab is responsible for testing new and existing connector, fastener and Truss plate products in support of our product development... Read More September 2023 Issue #15290 Page 108
Why Fire-Rated Hangers Are Required in Type III Wood-Frame Buildings Paul McEntee One of the first mixed-use designs I worked on as a consulting structural engineer was a four-story wood-frame building over two levels of parking. Designing the main lateral-force-resisting system with plywood shearwalls was a challenge for this project that required new details to meet the... Read More August 2023 Issue #15289 Page 108
Building Confidence: Understanding the Technology Behind MSR Lumber MSR Lumber Producers Council In our October article, Because Good Ingredients Matter, we focus on the word quality and the many ways that MSR lumber has become synonymous with high quality structural building components. Having laid the groundwork for why MSR has become so important for optimizing truss designs and an... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 94
Take a Tour of Our McKinney R&D Lab Simpson Strong-Tie Staff Did you know that Simpson Strong-Tie has a research and development lab in our McKinney, Texas, branch? In the following article, Francisco Hernandez, the McKinney branch lab manager, talks about the history of this lab and what we do there. History of the McKinney Lab Jeremy Gilstrap and... Read More November 2022 Issue #14280 Page 114
The Development of the Truss Plate, Part III: The Ingenuity of Carol Sanford and Cal Jureit Joe Kannapell Carol Sanford’s invention didn’t equal Cal Jureit’s, but he made up for it with his head start and his aggressive marketing. Sanford had filed for his patent in March 1954, two years ahead of Jureit’s September 1956 filing, and had a plate design that was relatively... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 10