The International Code Council (ICC) building code update process for the 2021 code cycle is officially underway! In late December, the ICC Tall Wood Building Ad-hoc Committee submitted a package of 19 proposed changes for the 2021 edition of the building code that would collectively allow...

While the International Residential Code (IRC) gives the structural requirements and prescriptive design data for residential framing, additional help for the non-engineer is available through the Wood Frame Construction Manual for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (WFCM) published by the American...

The American Wood Council hosted a webinar in July sharing best practices for fire protection during construction to help mitigate and reduce construction fires. The 90-minute presentation introduced attendees to several recent major construction fires and their reported causes, the many...

One of the questions I am asked most frequently is “Who is responsible for the truss-to-(fill in the blank) connection? One such example is the truss-to-wall connection. To answer this question, it helps to recognize there are two types of connections: a truss-to-truss connection and a...

Building officials are the gatekeepers to building construction. To approve any construction, including where wood is the principal product, they need to know a lot of information. The American Wood Council aims to make the job of building code official a little easier when it comes to knowing...

In early December, ICC posted the preliminary results of the Group B Online Governmental Consensus Vote, which included structural changes to the IBC, IEBC and IRC. ICC reports that there were more than 162,000 votes cast by eligible Voting Members during the three-week online voting...

“Winning is about having the whole team on the same page.” Bill Walton You might wonder what a quote about winning basketball games could possibly have to do with snow loading on trusses.  As with basketball, the importance of close teamwork also applies to a project...

Take two trusses with identical profiles and environmental surroundings, and they should have the same design loads, right? Early in my career, I recall hearing a story about two identical buildings right next to each other that were designed for two different magnitudes of environmental loads....

Can organizational self-assessment and critical reflection help my business? Following-up on last month’s article, which garnered more comments than usual, I think that we should take a bit deeper dive into metal plate connected wood truss permanent bracing from “the...

Modern technology helps to simplify our daily lives in many ways with the touch of a button—and now, today’s technology plays an important role in the way the wood construction industry is improving speed, efficiency and safety, and even compliance with the latest building...