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It seems that each major hurricane tends to teach those of us in the construction industry some lesson. With Hurricane Andrew, the lessons were the importance of protection from windborne debris, and the importance of proper construction of gable ends. There are two main areas where gable...

After working in the Truss and Component Industry for 4½ decades, I was looking forward to retirement. Fishing when I wanted to, golfing when I wanted to. Well, after getting up at 4 o’clock in the morning for 46 years, it has come to an end. No place to go at 4 am, so I guess...

Dear Anna: A recent long span truss collapse during installation reminded me of the new 2009 (and later) IBC bracing requirements for the Owner of a project with metal plate connected (MPC) wood trusses spanning 60 ft. and greater (churches, schools, commercial, retail, and so on)....

At BCMC, we learned that a recession often follows a presidential election, but that housing may not be much affected this time (per Mark Vintner of Wells Fargo). Many of us shrugged this off, especially after observing the brisk sales activity on the show floor, though our past experience...

Why are we seeing all the code change proposals regarding wood trusses in the current ICC code change/update process? It is true that there were several proposals submitted pertaining to wood truss restraint and bracing and another requiring special inspection of the installed truss...

Our new website has been up and running for a few months now. We are continuing to compile data at www.Square1design.com. As we continue to upload additional technical support documents and new product offerings, we are seeing the traffic grow exponentially. Along with a wealth of information...

Yes, it’s true, I have not been in attendance at many BCMC shows. But over the years, I’ve been involved with lots of them, so I know they can be a lot of work and a lot of fun. Building Community, Making Connections I remember the day that slogan came into being, because I was...

It is with a great deal of thought and careful consideration that I am thinking this may be my last story. I have enjoyed being back in this game and offering perspective. The strong, positive responses to my stories and articles is making this decision that much more difficult. First, let me...

An often repeated statement made by many managers this year has been that they do not have enough time or people to accomplish their stated goals, so in other words, they face time constraints. These time constraints are causing delayed improvements in processes, which negatively affect every...

The plate placement method of evaluating defects in the plated area is a good approach to use when inspecting your installed connector plates. But are you recording the results correctly? Using the plate placement method, it is common to record folded teeth or damaged teeth with a rectangle...