Simpson Strong-Tie recently released an updated model of our H1 – now the H1A. As a consulting engineer, I remember how much I disliked updating my standard details when products were discontinued. I thought it would be informative to explain the modifications and some of the reasons for...

Our Simpson Strong-Tie New Zealand branch was established in 2010 and helps provide Simpson Strong-Tie products to our friends in New Zealand. Recently, the branch had the opportunity to help a local scouts club build a new den to accommodate their growing club. [For all photos, See PDF or...

Four distinctly different types of truss plates came onto the market in the 1950s, but only two made it into the 1960s: the short toothed and the long toothed, neither requiring nails. These two types continued to evolve over the next decade, although along distinctly different paths, and under...

Floors and roofs on mass timber buildings are constructed from large panels of engineered wood, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) or mass plywood. Designers join these prefabricated panels together on site to create a structural horizontal diaphragm to transfer wind and seismic loads to the...

Throughout the 1950s, plate manufacturers kept busy improving their plate designs, while they paid scant attention to the machinery that CMs needed to embed them. But, in the 1960s, they began focusing heavily on machinery and laid the foundation for developments that would shape truss...

Among our industry’s unsung heroes, Walter Moehlenpah takes a close second place behind Cal Jureit. Both built pivotal, pioneering businesses, Jureit through his truss plate and Moehlenpah through his truss machine. Yet Jureit was bound to have the upper hand, as he was the truss...

For several years, the Simpson Strong-Tie Strong-Wall® research and development team has kicked around the idea of developing an “adapter” that would allow for field substitutions or accommodate misplaced Strong-Wall anchorage. The Strong-Wall WSWH high-strength wood shearwall...

As builders began demanding Gang-Nailed trusses, imitators answered their call with little concern for violating Cal Jureit’s patent. Even though his claims were technical triumphs, vetted by D.C. patent experts, they were quickly contested by two now-familiar figures, Bill Black and...

“Change is the only constant in life” and “When you are finished changing, you are finished” are quotes from the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus and Benjamin Franklin, respectively. I’m reminded of them as I review the numerous changes to codes and standards...

The plated truss industry went bonkers around 1961. Truss fabricators were besieging suppliers for product and were willing to try nearly any plate or machine. Plate suppliers had to conform to the new testing and QC required by TPI-60, but machinery vendors had no guidelines beyond satisfying...