Library

This series of articles, Wood Structure Design Basics, is intended to serve truss designers (TDs) and others who are new to the wood construction industry and/or may not have the opportunity to study the basics of wood design in a formal setting such as a university. The mix of basics will...

One of the words most often heard when talking about the modular construction industry is “capacity.” Webster defines it as “the amount that something can produce.” Somehow that just doesn’t seem like the right definition for modular construction. One of the...

Panels are the quandary, rather resins and glue. Widespread announcements of further supply disruptions and declarations of Force Majeure are crippling OSB flooring, siding, and roofing panels. I must step in right here to call B.S. Force majeure is a common clause in contracts which...

You probably wouldn’t ignore a “warning sign” on the highway, as you can easily imagine the consequences of doing so. We can face similar situations when designing trusses, and the end result is that whatever we do in the software can end up in the real world somewhere on a...

After years of development, we’re excited to introduce the newest member of the Strong-Wall® shearwall family – the Strong-Wall high-strength wood shearwall (WSWH). The Strong-Wall High-Strength Wood Shearwall Lineup The WSWH is a high-strength prefabricated shearwall...

While admiring a Mass Timber building rising nearby, I wanted to find out if CMs can benefit from this business. Katerra apparently thinks so, first becoming a CM and later a CLT manufacturer. So far, the supply of CLT is limited – the Katerra plant is 2500 miles from this Virginia jobsite...

The urge to follow our habits is natural for everyone, but sometimes it’s important to think about what exactly those habits are and if they really are something that we need/should do. For example, given the context of recent events, I am wondering how far beyond Oklahoma this car-washing...

As I stood in the small office waiting for the saw deposit check, the fax machine began running. I was stirred by the bold headline on the unfurling document, “…Timbermill’s Advantages Over Easy Set ...” Then I watched large bullet points cascading out of the machine. At...

Today’s environment has created supply chain disruptions throughout the world. Nearly every customer and supplier I have spoken with over the last few months has indicated production delays are prevalent or imminent. Of course, the pandemic has caused much of the recent impact, while the...

There are several companies both in and outside of our industry who really understand costs. It is not some academic classroom “let someone teach me from the boardroom” but hands-on experience in knowing what their costs are in their operation. In the building industry, we think we...