Library

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned professional, there’s always more to learn, especially as construction practices continue to evolve. That’s why our colleagues at Virginia Tech are pleased to be able to offer continuing education each spring. In addition, for many course...

March 29, 2020 We are just days away from the sharpest lumber market price reversal ever experienced. It began last week with unreasonable mill panic selling in an attempt to secure short-term operational cash and a $50 drop. Next week and the following week, there will government mandated...

Brick or masonry veneer has traditionally posed a problem to homeowners and contractors seeking to attach a deck to a home without removing large portions of the veneer or siding. No longer is that the case, thanks to the innovative BVLZ brick veneer ledger connector from Simpson Strong-Tie. In...

From four stories up, I realized how far wood components have come. I was atop 170,000 sq. ft. of trusses, viewing the Minneapolis Basilica, and couldn’t help thinking back 47 years to my first jobsite visit. [See PDF or View in Full Issue for photos.] Back then, floor trusses were brand...

We’ve all done a fair amount of explaining—after something doesn’t happen as planned, we explain why not. Sometimes, providing the explanation is as simple as that. The when or the how is different than expected, so we set the record straight. But, what about those times when...

The roller gantry dominates today’s truss production, but it hasn’t always done so, despite the fact that it hasn’t changed much over sixty years. The reason for its relatively slow ascendency is found in its origins and in its adaptations over this period. And along the way...

We’re now starting the daunting but exciting task of planning for the next Building Component Manufacturers Conference, being held September 22–25 in Indianapolis, IN. As we gear up, we ask ourselves – what is the most important piece of equipment to show, what is the message...

Building components is really great! It was a lot of fun in the 1970s when several plants had competitions on who could build the fastest run of trusses (for example, see Joe Kannapell’s article, Vertical Presses—The World Record). Back then, it was really easy to calculate cycle...

Back in the days before Autoset C®, Matchpoint®, and Wizard®, truss set-ups and the truss profile were dependent on the truss builder’s ability to accurately jig the truss being built using cross reference information and data. For example, a heel to peak measurement was taken...

One of the many realities of living in the upper Midwest is dealing with the cold and icy conditions of its sometimes perilous winter. So you can imagine as an Australian native, where the temperature rarely drops below 32° (or 0°C for the rest of the world), this was quite the...