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For the past three years, the housing industry has bemoaned labor as its primary deterrent to increasing productivity, i.e., housing starts. Framing crews suddenly vanished when detainment and deportation of undocumented workers became more prevalent. The initial impact on the housing...

Simpson Strong-Tie was built on the idea of making strong connections. That concept extends beyond our structural innovations for raising or supporting strong, resilient buildings and communities. We use social media and our two company blogs to have conversations, not only about our products...

Finally, from top to bottom, the building industry is moving to panelize. National builders, like Pulte, are mandating it. Local building supply yards, like 84 Lumber’s, are building them in backyard sheds. And in between, BMC and BFS are shipping knocked-down versions. We laid the...

            When my sister saw the cover of last month’s issue, her first question was—will it be a problem that the person in the photograph has no fall protection? She also was unimpressed with his baseball cap instead of a...

Part IX: Windows into Truss Design Two unstoppable waves merged to form the tsunami that swept over truss design in the 1990s. The first was the mass commercialization of the PC, accelerated by Michael Dell in the late 1980s. The second was the graphical user interface (GUI), exploited by our...

To keep up with our growing business, Square 1 Design and Manufacture is pleased to introduce two new faces this spring. We’ve come on board to help meet the needs of our customers and ensure that everyone receives the best service that our 10-year old company can provide. Now, let me...

Whether your company is a single-location or a huge multi-location operation, 2018 should have been a banner year for profits for your company. Most of my clients were in the high teens and many were in the mid-twenties for net profit to total sales. How well did your company perform in...

In the November 2017 article, “So Who Exactly is Responsible for Lumber Quality?”, we discuss the abundance of quality building materials and the responsibility of the fabricator to evaluate their application in products. We should recall the ultimate decision maker in determining...

With as many problems as we all face in our work and life, it seems as if there is never enough time to solve each one without dealing with some adversity along the way. Problems keep mounting so fast that we find ourselves taking short­cuts to temporarily alleviate the tension points, so we...

Early every year, the National Frame Building Association (NFBA) holds its annual Frame Building Expo—where thousands of post-frame builders, design professionals, and vendors meet for three days filled with break-out sessions, guest presenters, and, of course, a trade show. In...