Library

Generally, building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering, and technical applications to the design of buildings. Therefore, all building projects require the services of a building designer. Statutorily, the required credentials of a building’s designer vary from...

Two kinds of designers are involved in home construction—design professionals responsible for the structure and the interior-focused designers responsible for the final appearance. Although these roles can overlap, it is important for design professionals to be aware of in-service demands...

Not too long ago, before remote design was an option, relocation was one of the best ways in our industry to advance. Candidates, who were ready to take the next step in their career but were stuck in their job for many reasons, would look for better opportunities by changing companies,...

Wood is the go-to material for builders in the U.S., where we have some of the highest construction standards in the world. Why? It’s easy to build with, strong, safe, and renewable. It’s also the right material for our planet since wood allows for a smaller carbon footprint than...

Rationing On May 23, in its most active lumber futures day ever, the market traded $68 of volatility from $15 limit down to $30 limit up and back down $15 to unchanged. Why is that? Futures suspected what we Layman’s Lumber Guide members have known since mid-May. BC mills are not...

A few days ago, I was speaking to a customer about an application using alternate fasteners for a joist hanger installation. Her questions come up often, so I thought I would dedicate a post to some of the resources available that cover the use of different nails in connectors. Designers and...

What better way to assess buying trends than to recap the lumber specified on truss designs? The following charts illustrate the material derived from 80,000 truss drawings totaling 12.8 Million Board Feet of wood. Not surprisingly, more than half the total volume is consumed by visually graded...

Occasionally, someone will ask me—do you have themed issues or an editorial calendar? To date, the answer to that question is—no. Every author is invited to speak their mind about the topic of their choosing, so our articles appear in the order in which they are submitted. With that...

Part Three:  Apartment Survival Strategies in the 1980s A few stalwarts “lived to tell” how they survived the Eighties, but none knew magic. What they did then works just as well today—expanded markets, refined quotes, and controlled costs. And in the collapsing...

Spring is here and that means we’re nearly half-way through this year’s project to compare available manufacturing equipment for our industry. Each month as I visit manufacturers’ websites, I learn something. Then, we also send a draft copy of the chart I’ve compiled...