iModel’s Dynamic New Tool to Simplify Truss Load Application Alpine Team Applying special load conditions to trusses is a tedious, repetitive, and time-consuming task for designers. Without a visual representation of the load in relation to the trusses on a plan, it can be a challenge to position the loads and determine the load magnitudes required for each truss. As... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 94
A New Wood Construction Connectors Catalog for the New Year Bryan Wert We just released our updated Wood Construction Connectors catalog (C-C-2024) which features our product line that has a legacy that started in 1956. This year’s 372-page version begins with a colorful, attention-grabbing cover design and is packed inside with all the technical details that... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 100
Design Connections: Where Does the Responsibility Lie? Geordie Secord In “Cost-Saving Measures and Memorable Debacles,” I discussed the problems encountered on a site where the owner was acting as general contractor for his new house build and problems that ensued when an inexperienced framer was tasked with installing a complex truss roof. In that... Read More January 2024 Issue #16294 Page 80
Developing High-Capacity Tension Straps for Mass Timber Engineering Paul McEntee Mass timber buildings use cross-laminated timber (CLT) or mass plywood panels to create horizontal diaphragms to transfer wind and seismic forces into the vertical elements of the lateral-force-resisting system. Spline connections resist shear forces at the panel joints, which I discussed in... Read More January 2024 Issue #16294 Page 100
Floor Truss Technology, Part VII: The Devil is in Those Details Joe Kannapell Building intricate floor truss details may bedevil a robot, but they provide the inherent advantage of floor trusses over I-joists. There are also things that floor trusses can do that I-joists cannot. And they facilitate the most efficient use of materials. Visiting an I-joist cut-off yard... Read More December 2023 Issue #15293 Page 10
The Last Word: The Concrete Truss Machine Joe Kannapell New inventions may fade away, but most provide valuable lessons, like the concrete truss machine. Not many of these were built, but they seemed to Cal Jureit to be the logical match for his new truss plate, and they set the course for all his future machines. Jureit had to have been... Read More December 2023 Issue #15293 Page 134
Floor Truss Technology, Part VI: The Last Round of Floor Machines Joe Kannapell Our contemporary floor machines were ready for the resurgence of demand that has followed the pandemic. These new models had many fascinating features, accumulated from the multiple iterations before them. They were more durable, they lessened labor, and they built a quality truss, embedding all... Read More November 2023 Issue #15292 Page 10
Floor Truss Technology, Part V: Current Machines Joe Kannapell Component manufacturers learned one very painful floor truss lesson in the 1970s that needed to be remedied in the 1980s – nightmare repairs can result from plates not being fully embedded. That predicament usually resulted from insufficient tonnage to fully press the larger plates found... Read More October 2023 Issue #15291 Page 10
Top Five Most Downloaded Engineering Letters Simpson Strong-Tie Staff Prior to joining Simpson Strong-Tie, I spent 13 years working as consulting structural engineer. As a specifier, I was amazed at the number of resources Simpson made available to me. From software, to blogs, to design guides, there were many resources to help me solve problems and streamline the... Read More October 2023 Issue #15291 Page 114
Job Site Success Begins with Good Communication Landon Boucher My favorite place to meet with a customer is on the job site. Always has been. I started in this industry approximately 20 years ago as a young truss salesman for UFP in Southern California. My training consisted of building trusses in the yard, creating estimates, and completing engineering... Read More September 2023 Issue #15290 Page 86