For more than 40 years, truss partition separation, often loosely referred to as “truss uplift,” has been a practical (and annoying) issue for homeowners and homebuilders. While it was first investigated at the field level and researched in the laboratory in the 1970s, an October...

2020 Hindsight 2020 hindsight. Deduce deeper. Look farther than the end of my nose and keep asking, “What’s next?” I didn’t do that at the beginning of the pandemic. I failed to consider how men specifically would respond to the lockdown. I saw hangout at home, catch...

The American Lumber Standard first published a standard for lumber in 1924 which delineated lumber sizes and assigned design value methods, classification, inspection procedures, the National Grading Rule, an accreditation program, and other specified functions. It was the first foray into such...

Like scientists tracking a slow-moving glacier, a leading pollster of America’s builders is seeing signs that contractors’ views are warming when it comes to off-site construction. The research by Ed Hudson, director of market research at the Home Innovation Research Labs,...

So you won the order. Congratulations. The designs and the submittals were approved. Sounds great. The trusses were built with care and meet all of the necessary requirements. Awesome! Does it stop here? No, not really. The customer has not had a chance to really get a rock-solid impression....

Vekta is probably best known for our Razer linear saw, and the next product most associated with our company is the Vekta PackFeeder, a lumber infeed system that takes up less space and costs less than anything else on the market. But... Did you know that Vekta has a variety of products designed...

Earlier this year, the American Wood Council (AWC) marked its 10th year as an independent trade association. Over this time, AWC has been guided by President & CEO Robert Glowinski, who is retiring at the end of the year. In mid-September, I had the privilege of taking the helm as...

When flipping around in trading ranges in the $300s, planning for the coming year had some sort of definable “worst case scenario” contingency plan. I’m just curious. How do you plan for next year, staring down the barrel of all-time high lumber prices and short supply? That...

If we have learned anything from 2020, we must understand that change is the only thing we can rely upon, and by using yesterday’s logic to deal with tomorrow’s challenges, we will hit a proverbial wall. History teaches us that the future success of a business directly relates to its...

Recently while traveling, I photographed a load of structural components being delivered to a jobsite. It was a little of a double-take to comprehend what was on the truck, because our products really shouldn’t be that curved when they’re designed to be flat. As shown in the photo...