This article appeared in the 2012 May issue.
The March 2012 issue of SBC highlighted the benefits of assembling wood roof trusses on the ground. Here, we see an example using cold-formed steel trusses for a Winco Foods Store in Mesa, AZ. Westco Steel Systems designed the store’s roof so the contractor could build each section on the ground and hoist it into place as a fabricated section.
This article appeared in the 2012 April issue.
You’re never too young to start designing and engineering structures. John Gruber, P.E. of Sheppard Engineering submitted this photo of his son Alex’s wood tower for his high school physics class. The project, which called for students to construct a tower of balsa wood (G=0.15), limited the tower’s height to 50 cm, with a maximum 8 cm diameter above 15 cm, and required the base to span a 20 cm opening with any orientation. The tower was loaded vertically from the top with both a hanging weight and weights applied to the top. While the tower only weighed 66.7 g (2.35 oz), it certainly stood up to the challenge, resisting 160 lb of applied load without failing—1,089 times its weight!
This article appeared in the 2012 March issue.
Congratulations to Truss Systems Hawaii, Inc. whose photo received the most votes in SBC’s Online Photo Contest.
This article appeared in the 2012 January/February issue.
Most holiday trees have probably been taken down by now, but when we received these photos from Sun State Components, we just had to run them. A few years ago, a production manager at the Surprise, AZ, facility created these ingenious truss ornaments from balsa wood and silver gum wrappers. “We wanted to add something unique to our tree and customize it for the truss industry,” said Davi-Ann Farmer, Engineering Department Manager at Sun State. She added that these ornaments are a favorite every year, and always receive comments from customers.
This article appeared in the 2011 December issue.
This article appeared in the 2011 November issue.
This article appeared in the 2011 August issue.
What kind of energy bill might an owner receive the first year in a LEED Platinum home? Try a $50 surplus!
This article appeared in the 2011 June/July issue.
As of June 16, OSHA intends to begin enforcing residential fall protection guidelines first put in place in 1994. The change comes from a 2010 decision to lift a set of interim guidelines OSHA imposed in December 1995.
This article appeared in the 2011 Sept/Oct issue.
It’s the end of an era for the structural building components industry. Richard Brown, former President of Truss Systems (Oxford, GA), retired May 31. The industry sends its best wishes to a “true Southern gentleman.”
This article appeared in the 2011 May issue.
