Guides to Making I-Joist Connections — Simpson Strong-Tie® CSGs Make EWP Designs Easier Michael Weber Connector Selection Guides (CSGs) are tools Simpson Strong-Tie has created to assist users in designing and building with engineered wood products (EWP). They consist of a series of short fliers (available as PDFs on strongtie.com for printing or mobile use) guiding builders on how to select... Read More June 2022 Issue #14275 Page 120
Preparing for What’s Next in Your Market Tracy Roe One unique thing about our industry is the diversity among markets across the country. The upper Midwest does things very differently than the South. The methods used in the West don’t align with the those used in the East. None are wrong, but most are very different. At their core, each... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 48
Modernized 3D Viewer Tool Helps Component Designers Visualize and Analyze Designs Cathy Hill Visual tools are essential throughout the different phases of design and construction. Today, 3D models play a major role in construction projects, as they help improve productivity. Component manufacturing is no exception. The 3D Viewer Tool was developed and modernized to help component... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 68
Time to Review the National Design Standard Jay Jones, P.E. It’s important to review our standards on a regular basis, so that we can update and improve them over time. Businesses evolve, technology evolves, and so too should our definition of best practices. For wood trusses, our current standard is ANSI/TPI 1–2014 National Design Standard... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 75
Building in the Boondocks with Wall Panels Nancy Mansfield As shown on this month’s cover, building with wall panels makes any location possible, including out in the boondocks. We may have to get creative, but we can get there! [For photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] These wall panels have been delivered to Kresge College at the... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 77
The Last Word: The Last Word on Multi-Family Joe Kannapell Has COVID-19, its aftermath, and raging inflation brought the multi-family truss business back to its roots? Bo Powers, co-owner of Panel Truss, sees fewer wraps and more garden style jobs further from cities. Kenny Shifflett, owner of Ace Carpentry, believes the plethora of these... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 126
TrueBuild® Batch – Every Minute Counts Tracy Roe Our industry is experiencing unprecedented times. Never before has production capacity been at such a premium. We have seen different markets get active in the past but nothing like this. Right now in the United States, manufacturers can’t keep up with the demand for metal plate connected... Read More April 2022 Issue #14273 Page 48
Understanding Bearing Size at a Wall or Beam MiTek Staff The first thing to consider with bearing sizes is the minimum required by the building codes. Per 2018 IRC, International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Sec. R802.6 – When a ceiling joist is supported directly on wood or metal, the minimum bearing size required is... Read More April 2022 Issue #14273 Page 112
The Last Word: The Last Word on Rheia HVAC Systems Joe Kannapell Floor trusses work better than I-Joists when accommodating the new Rheia (ree’ uh) air distribution system being developed by eight leading national builders. As with trusses, skilled designers craft Rheia layouts and produce design calcs required by building departments. And builders and... Read More April 2022 Issue #14273 Page 132
Has More Automation Resulted in Too Little Information to the Truss Builder? Glenn Traylor Today’s technology has made life easier for the truss designer and others in the truss fabrication process. In the early days of the truss industry, we used, reused, and modified existing designs to create new designs using paper, pencil, and a handy Smoley’s Book. Soon we graduated... Read More March 2022 Issue #14272 Page 43