National Forest Products Week Recognizes Wood Products and Proper Forest Management Robert Glowinski At the American Wood Council (AWC), we celebrate the role wood products play in our lives every day. However, once a year, the rest of the nation has the opportunity to join us and commemorate the importance of forest products during the third week of October. During National Forest Products... Read More October 2019 Issue #11243 Page 94
Enhancing Product Neutrality in Building Energy Codes Robert Glowinski The wood products industry has taken great leaps in generating greater awareness regarding the advantages of wood products in construction; however, people often overlook wood’s good performance in building energy efficiency. With pressure mounting to combat carbon emissions and reduce the... Read More September 2019 Issue #11242 Page 92
Flame Spread and Code Conformance Guides for Wood Updated Robert Glowinski The work the American Wood Council (AWC) carries out makes it easier for code officials, engineers, designers, and builders to ensure that wood products are used in accordance with the most up-to-date consensus-based building codes. Two AWC publications that support the code and design community... Read More August 2019 Issue #11241 Page 82
Designing Resilience: NEESWood Capstone a Decade Later Jesse Russell In 2009, Simpson Strong-Tie participated in an unprecedented research event to highlight the importance of earthquake-resistant wood construction. The event, the world’s largest earthquake test, was a collaborative Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation project. It teamed... Read More August 2019 Issue #11241 Page 104
Post Frame at a Crossroads—Is This the 11th Hour for the Industry? Sharon Thatcher For several years, there has been a foreboding trend in the post-frame industry: the disappearance of post-frame engineers. At once a strong coalition of devoted proponents who worked diligently on both personal and professional time to promote the industry through research, education and... Read More July 2019 Issue #11240 Page 56
Opening the Lines of Communication with the Fire Service Robert Glowinski Last year’s passage of Tall Mass Timber code provisions for inclusion in the 2021 International Code Council’s International Building Code will usher in a new era in construction, allowing for tall mass timber buildings to be constructed up to 18 stories. With these new... Read More July 2019 Issue #11240 Page 82
All Things Wood: The Critical Job of Truss Builders Frank Woeste Last month’s fine article by Glenn Traylor, “How Do I Choose Which Plates for a Critical Plate Inspection?”, reminded me of investigative experiences I’ve had throughout my career. The work of truss builders is extremely important, as evidenced by instances of truss... Read More June 2019 Issue #11239 Page 56
AWC Joins Second Year of Timber-Strong Design Build Competition Robert Glowinski Eighteen teams from colleges throughout the Southwest United States and Hawaii gained hands-on experience in wood design and construction during the second annual Timber-Strong Design Build competition. AWC joined APA–The Engineered Wood Products Association (APA) and Simpson Strong-Tie... Read More June 2019 Issue #11239 Page 82
The Last Word: I-Joists vs. Floor Trusses Joe Kannapell The advantages of open-web floor trusses are beginning to decelerate the growth of EWP. Though I-Joist sales per housing start have increased about 6% over the last two years, the trend has slowed considerably. Some of the small gain is due to the continuation of the replacement of solid-sawn... Read More June 2019 Issue #11239 Page 113
AWC Celebrates Building Safety Month Robert Glowinski With environmental sustainability becoming the focal point of national discourse, and extreme weather intensifying and occurring more frequently, our buildings need to be sustainable and resilient to mitigate damage to both the built environment and surrounding ecosystem. Researchers are... Read More May 2019 Issue #11238 Page 76