Do Building Officials really want education on the trusses we produce?
On Monday, March 14, I had the honor and privilege of presenting to a group of Building Officials (BOs) and Building Designers (BDs) [over 350 individuals live and in-person!] at the Finger Lakes Building Officials Association (FLBOA) 2016 Education Conference at the RIT Inn & Conference Center in Henrietta, NY just outside Rochester. To make this experience even better, I was able to team with the esteemed Professor (Ret.) Frank Woeste of VA Tech to address this tremendous group with a presentation on Metal Plate Connected Wood Truss Design Responsibilities and Permanent Bracing.
The invitation to speak, which arrived late last year, asked for a presentation on truss permanent bracing. My initial reaction was two-fold: first, why the sudden interest in Permanent Bracing, and second, what version of the building code were they using. Asking these questions, it came to light that they were currently working under the NY State version of the 2006 I-Codes and secondly, with recent winters of near record snow falls, the need for accurate placement of permanent lateral restraint and diagonal bracing had been exposed.
Discussions with Dr. Woeste and the conference organizers quickly confirmed my long-held assumption that no discussion on wood truss restraint and bracing should proceed without first laying the groundwork of the division of design responsibilities assumed in the application of metal-plate connected wood trusses in the construction environment. For most BOs and a vast majority of BDs, they are surprised the first time they read the second chapter of the document they specify when utilizing wood trusses. By simply specifying compliance to some version of the IBC/IRC, they are by reference also specifying some version of ANSI/TPI 1, the industry design standard which we have discussed at length in this column previously. In the case of my friends up in NY, they are in the process of moving from references to TPI 1 – 2002 to the most recent edition, ANSI/TPI 1 – 2014, which is referenced in the 2015 I-Codes currently under consideration. Chapter Two of TPI 1 deals with Design Responsibilities. This was the perfect tie for the creation of our two-hour presentation for FLBOA.
We started the presentation with a brief history of trusses (no, they are not new construction) and went on to discuss codes and references (not only TPI 1 but also NDS, ASCE and others) and, like the building codes themselves, the fact that the TPI 1 truss design standard had been under periodic review and updating since its inaugural publication in 1960.
Moving on to Design Responsibilities, we briefly reviewed the division of tasks assigned to each party involved in the process and highlighted the importance noted within both the codes and the Standard (see below) of the need for lateral restraint and diagonal bracing to be installed (and the special conditions applying to trusses 60’ long and greater) to satisfy the design assumptions being made by the Truss Design Engineer in sealing the Truss Design Drawing submittals.
After making the link to the industry standard details contained within the BCSI, Building Component Safety Information, Guide to Good Practice for Handling, Installing, Restraining & Bracing Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses, we started a step-by-step process of reviewing the BCSI Book handouts which were graciously sponsored by Simpson Strong-Tie and the SBCA– NY Chapter (a NY Chapter Membership list was provided to all attendees too). Concentrating on Chapter Three, Permanent Bracing, we reviewed the three separate and distinct planes needing attention (top chord, web and bottom chord planes) and typical materials and installation. We touched on top chord and bottom chord fillers and piggyback trusses assuring that the ‘real’ compression members were being addressed. We ended with posting website addresses for both SBCA and TPI for more information and provided links to the non-printing versions of BCSI and TPI 1– 2014.
The presentation was a huge success based on comments made immediately after and by questions raised later that day and the next. Attendees were extremely grateful for receiving the printed copies of the BCSI Books. Leftover books were donated to the FLBOA for an upcoming contractor event they have scheduled, which was also most appreciated. To answer today’s question – “Do Building Officials really want education on the trusses we produce?” – I can tell you that they sure did appreciate this one and would love to have a plant tour and learn even more.
Thanks for reading, SS.