Civil engineer Cal Jureit had moved on from wood structures to concrete foundations, but not completely. While he was engaged with the problem of building houses on Miami’s marshes near the Everglades, he had left the problem of wood connections unresolved. Perhaps his ongoing work on Dade...

We all know the future belongs to off-site construction and the increasing use of components. Although it’s a small percentage now, it is projected to grow exponentially. It is a more efficient use of materials with less waste and reduces labor requirements – and this adds up to more...

I sometimes wonder if I am at risk of becoming the truss designer version of the grouchy old man that sits on the front porch yelling at the neighborhood kids to “get off my lawn.” When I hear some newer designer criticize the limitations of today’s truss layout and design...

Every year, Simpson Strong-Tie awards scholarships to students in the fields of engineering, architecture and construction management to help them on their educational journey. The company also flies all the scholarship winners out to Northern California to spend a whole week learning about the...

A nearly perfect confluence of circumstances combined to create the truss plate in South Florida. The wartime home-building hiatus, the post-war baby boom, and the northward (from Cuba) and southward (snowbird) migration to Florida all combined to skyrocket the demand for new housing. But what...

The development of the 4 x 2 floor truss system revolutionized the truss industry. Plating to the narrow edge of the chord members presented some issues, but all in all it allowed component fabricators another product offering, expanding their potential business. In the original designs, it was...

In any industry, even ours, people make the difference. If one product or service in any industry was overwhelmingly better than another, there wouldn’t be a choice for very long. This is an example of entrepreneurial spirit and culture building in its very definition. Most people...

As I mentioned in last month’s article, My Road to The JobLine, there was a time when I thought I had seen everything in the truss and component world. But here I am 37 years in, and architects, builders, and do-it-yourselfers still surprise and amaze me. The applicable building code...

For most of history, wood structures had been constrained by their connections. Nailed or bolted joints could only carry about half of what the wood could. As a result, our most abundant natural resource went mainly into homebuilding, where spans were short and stresses were low. That began to...

With component lead times being extremely long in our industry today, every manufacturer is scrambling to increase capacity. Some need more space, some need additional equipment, some simply need a labor force that is willing to work all day every day. Mostly, these needs can be met with capital...