Because of their limited structural redundancy and exposure to weather, cantilevered balconies require special attention by design professionals, contractors, permitting and inspection departments, and owners in-service. As shown in the photos, modern wood-framed, multi-family projects often...

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...

The lack of attention to the moisture content (MC) of lumber used in truss manufacturing can cause or contribute to in-service performance issues. Mr. Glenn Traylor’s fine article in the September issue of The Advertiser, “Does Your Lumber Have a Shelf Life?”, was greatly...

Just like some foods, lumber kept in the right environment will store for an indefinite length of time. But just like food, lumber kept in sub-par conditions will have a shortened storage period. If you’re not storing your lumber properly, you may have to question whether it can/should...

The answer might surprise you. During the course of fabricating trusses, on occasion a plate is not completely pressed. As the truss comes out of the finish roller or hydraulic press, the plate sometimes does not get pressed all the way. Sometimes the plate is missed or removed and up plated....

Vertical deflection resulting from live and dead loads – of both roof and floor framing components – is an important serviceability consideration in the overall design of the building. And while this could be a topic in and of itself, this article is instead going to focus on two...

Decay, or wood rot, requires three conditions to be present: liquid water, oxygen, and a favorable temperature (generally between 35 and 100 degrees F). Of the three, the only factor that can be managed by building design is liquid water. Hence, overhangs of sufficient width are critical to...

What do a chicken house, a water treatment plant and a raised wood floor system all have in common? Very likely, they all involve preservative-treated lumber. They’re also all examples of common environments in which preservative-treated, metal-plate-connected (MPC) wood trusses may be...

Unlike solid-sawn lumber, the mechanical properties of some materials are greatly affected by ambient temperatures and solar-radiation heating, as depicted by the photograph. However, while the engineering design properties of solid-sawn lumber are not affected by ambient temperatures, they can...