Floors and roofs on mass timber buildings are constructed from large panels of engineered wood, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) or mass plywood. Designers join these prefabricated panels together on site to create a structural horizontal diaphragm to transfer wind and seismic loads to the...

Throughout the 1950s, plate manufacturers kept busy improving their plate designs, while they paid scant attention to the machinery that CMs needed to embed them. But, in the 1960s, they began focusing heavily on machinery and laid the foundation for developments that would shape truss...

Among our industry’s unsung heroes, Walter Moehlenpah takes a close second place behind Cal Jureit. Both built pivotal, pioneering businesses, Jureit through his truss plate and Moehlenpah through his truss machine. Yet Jureit was bound to have the upper hand, as he was the truss...

A challenge for the component industry is brewing no matter if you are located in an area where new home construction continues to be strong or your market is slowed by the combined effects of high interest rates and stubbornly high inflation. Be it single family or multi-family, new designers...

In my previous article, The Evolution of Glued Trussed Joists, in the August 2021 issue, I explain that glued trusses have potential in floors. The new G-joist has high resistance. The chord shear failure is eliminated as the web finger punches the chord. The web-chord glue area is big. The mean...

Trusses are designed as individual components to resist the in-plane stresses resulting from the loads applied in the same in-plane direction. To resist out of plane forces, adequate bracing/restraint is required. In absence of designed temporary and permanent bracing plans, BCSI (Building...

As builders began demanding Gang-Nailed trusses, imitators answered their call with little concern for violating Cal Jureit’s patent. Even though his claims were technical triumphs, vetted by D.C. patent experts, they were quickly contested by two now-familiar figures, Bill Black and...

If you have spent your truss career in one region, and even more so with just one company, you will have seen that, generally speaking, your competitors and co-workers tend to frame houses essentially the same way. Only when you are exposed to a different company or region do you start to see...

In his series on The Development of the Truss Plate, Joe Kannapell is recounting many interesting details on the evolution of truss plates in the U.S. For another perspective, this article will focus on eight relevant nail plate truss inventions from Finland —two made by Matti Turulin, two...

“Change is the only constant in life” and “When you are finished changing, you are finished” are quotes from the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus and Benjamin Franklin, respectively. I’m reminded of them as I review the numerous changes to codes and standards...