Design

Engineered vs. Prescriptive Wall Panel Design

Explore the two different methods used to calculate a wall panel’s capacity to resist applied lateral loads.

A Good Partnership

True House & Apex Technology find the right fit for trusses & HVAC

 

Truss Industry Standard of Care: Part 5

Editor’s Note: The purpose of this article series is to identify truss-related structural issues sometimes missed due to the day-in and day-out demands of truss design/production and the fragmented building design review and approval process. This series will explore issues in the building market that are not normally focused upon, and provide recommended best-practice guidance.

Truss Blocking Panels

Learn more about a future industry testing concept for the SBC Research Institute.

The Beauty of Components: Windsor Building Systems Shines on Custom Home & LEED Project

How does a business go from stick building in the 1960s to a growing component manufacturing operation today? 

Moment Resistance: Why Bigger Plates Are a Good Thing

Consider for a moment the basics of manufacturing a truss. Based on SBCA’s 2012 Financial Performance Survey, lumber accounts for roughly 40 percent of the total cost. Plates account for about eight percent of the total cost. Design and production labor account for 30 percent, and delivery, sales and overhead account for the remaining 22 percent (these are rough industry averages). All other things being equal, if you could decrease your lumber costs by a few percentage points while raising your plate costs a small amount, would you take the trade-off?

Taking Trusses to New Heights

Things are looking up for The Truss Company. Overall, sales are strong, and a new location will soon open its doors in Pasco, WA.

Sprinkler Loads on Trusses

Building Designers need to account for the dead and live loads of fire sprinkler systems, in addition to the other load requirements imposed under the model building codes. Truss Designers are responsible for incorporating the additional load from the fire sprinkler systems into the truss design. The information in this Research Report is applicable to both floor and roof systems. Only vertical loads from fire sprinkler systems are discussed; lateral loads, where required, should be evaluated separately by a Registered Design Professional. 

Truss Industry Standard of Care Issues: Part 4

Truss industry standard of care items are contained throughout ANSI/TPI 1,* The National Standard for Metal Plate Connected Wood Truss Construction. The focus of this article is ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 2, Section 2.3.5.1 and companion Section 2.4.5.1, which require a truss designer to prepare truss design drawings (TDD) based on design criteria and requirements set forth in the construction documents. The truss industry should expect to get this information from the building designer (BD), which may include the building owner, contractor or a registered design professional (RDP). Particularly when there is an RDP for the building, the design community expects the truss industry to design components that conform to the truss framing plan and specified design parameters within the construction documents, unless instructed otherwise in writing.

 

Good Information Leads to Good Decision-Making

SBCRI Testing & SBCA Research Reports can transform your market.