Mass Timber Construction – Building for the Future Fred Tai The future is here. It is common knowledge that wood is a renewable and environmentally friendly building material. There are two types of wood-framing methods in North America. The most common method for residential construction is light-frame construction using either balloon-framing or... Read More April 2017 Issue #10213 Page 76
Free Webinar on Tall Wood Structures Robert Glowinski Mass timber, including cross-laminated timber (CLT), has been in use worldwide for over 15 years, but most notably in Europe. However, North American designers and engineers are increasingly showing interest in picking up the trend. Building with mass timber for taller buildings has... Read More March 2017 Issue #10212 Page 63
Celebrating Engineers Robert Glowinski Engineers Week is February 19 – 25 February 19 – 25 is National Engineers Week. The week celebrates the impact engineers make on our daily lives and encourages young people to consider engineering as a career. For a trade association, AWC employs a lot of engineers and we see the... Read More February 2017 Issue #10211 Page 56
Snow Loading for Trusses: Why Specifying a Roof Snow Load Isn’t Enough Kelly Sias “Winning is about having the whole team on the same page.” Bill Walton You might wonder what a quote about winning basketball games could possibly have to do with snow loading on trusses. As with basketball, the importance of close teamwork also applies to a project... Read More February 2017 Issue #10211 Page 70
Question of the Day: Bottom Chords and Gable End Frames Stan Sias Why do some still insist on placing flat bottom chord gable end frames adjacent to vaulted or scissor trusses when the codes clearly do not allow such framing without special engineering requirements? Can you point me to the code sections that say “No, thank you!”? This is a... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 34
Industry Priorities for the Incoming U.S. Congress Robert Glowinski On January 3, the 115th U.S. Congress convenes for its opening day proceedings and the first orders of official business begin. The annual budget process will commence over the coming months and Congress will largely determine federal spending allocations, including how funds are distributed by... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 57
A Tale of Two Houses: Design Loads for Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses Kelly Sias Take two trusses with identical profiles and environmental surroundings, and they should have the same design loads, right? Early in my career, I recall hearing a story about two identical buildings right next to each other that were designed for two different magnitudes of environmental loads.... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 72
Fire Safety for the Holiday Season and Year ‘Round Robert Glowinski The winter season is upon us, and families across the country are decorating their homes for holiday festivities. Unfortunately, this time of year is also marked by an increase in fires – with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reporting the highest occurrence of candle and... Read More December 2016 Issue #09209 Page 53
Question of the Day: Scope of Work and Responsibility Stan Sias “As a CM, how do I best convey my intended and assumed scope of work and overall responsibility to all parties involved in the construction of a project I am bidding? I don’t want to be held responsible for something I haven’t bid.” This is a terrific question and... Read More November 2016 Issue #09208 Page 4
Smarter Regulation Robert Glowinski The American free enterprise system has been the greatest engine for prosperity in world history and has the potential to deliver a promising economic future for our country and around the globe. However, manufacturing in the United States faces significant challenges in an increasingly... Read More November 2016 Issue #09208 Page 51