Now that one third of owner-occupied housing is tightly packed into metro areas, several challenges face our industry. Estimating requires more attention to architectural features and options. Engineering is critical on taller structures, and often requires consideration of mechanical...

Part VIII: Layout Without Windows At BCMC in Jacksonville in 1990, the PC had begun to “steal the show,” especially that of the upstart A.C.E.S. Their layout program was a quantum leap over the decade old work of C&G Micrographics on the Apple Computer. It also had several...

The Simpson Strong-Tie® 2019–2020 Wood Construction Connectors catalog is the first in the industry with updated connector allowable load tables to meet the new ASTM test standards required by the 2015 and 2018 International Building Code® (IBC®). It is designed to...

Part VII: A Computer for Every Designer In 1980, for the first time, I witnessed the PC doing trusses. Then, over the next 10 years, I watched that machine take over every designer’s desktop. Getting to that end, though, wasn’t easy. Unprecedented technological change roiled our...

As discussed in last month’s article, “Addressing the Roof Truss Design Note: 'Provide adequate drainage to prevent water ponding.’,” by Frank Woeste and Scott Coffman, ponding is an issue not always addressed adequately. Ponding is a design issue, a mishap, or an...

The purpose of this article to examine the significance and implementation of a typical note that appears on metal plate connected roof-truss drawings when a top-chord-pitch of ¼:12 or less is specified by the Construction Documents. Three questions will be addressed: What is the...

In this article, Paul McEntee follows up on our July 25 webinar, Making Wood Connections Work for Two-Hour Fire Walls, by answering some of the interesting questions raised by attendees. We presented an hour-long webinar recently about using fire wall hangers in Type III wood-frame buildings,...

Eliminating downtime associated with Requests for Information (RFIs) when clashes or questions come to light during the building phase saves significant time, money, and – of particular interest in our current supply-constrained labor market – construction labor. Many in the...

Wood products are one of the most widely used construction materials in the United States, especially for low- to mid-rise residential structures. However, surveys conducted by the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) indicate that while many structural engineers...

One of the mandates of the American Wood Council is to make the job of code officials, engineers, and designers easier.  To do this, we provide the technology that is needed to best understand the use of wood in construction. For example, we develop wood design standards to ensure the...