Design

Knowledge Is Power: Quantifying the Value of SBCRI through SP Design Value Changes

Knowledge is power when it comes to making decisions, so the more knowledge the better. SBCRI unequivocally gives us access to knowledge no one else has.

Seismic Design Coefficients: How they are determined for light-frame components Part 2

More on why Seismic Design Coefficients (i.e., factors) are important to engineering innovation

Innovative Framing Requires Collaboration

  • Even with its many benefits, innovative framing faces resistance. Prescriptive codes don’t directly promote innovative framing, and markets are slow to adopt for many reasons.
  • The earlier in the process CMs can get in front of building designers, the greater their ability to influence the use of innovative framing techniques to design buildable structural framing. 
  • In order to get innovative framing ideas into the market effectively, you need to have your ducks in a row prior to approaching the building designer.

Seismic Design Coefficients: How they are determined for light-frame components

Why Seismic Design Coefficients (i.e., factors) are important to engineering innovation

Isolated Testing Helps Understanding of Heel Height Load Paths: Downstream Improvements Probable

  • Couple the IRC requirements with energy code requirements that are pushing more buildings to utilize a higher heel, and it is apparent the connection of high heels to walls is a key application issue.
  • The SBC Industry Testing Task Group and the TPI TAC/SBCA E&T Testing Review and Vetting Group has begun to evaluate the needs and priority of testing the performance of assemblies to quantify the effect of heel blocking. 
  • It is clear from the very specific and isolated heel height testing already performed that there is an opportunity to provide revisions to 2009 and 2012 model code blocking requirements to transfer the lateral load resulting from wind and seismic events into braced wall lines.

Engineering, Knowledge & Building Relationships

  • By approaching engineering and testing through the eyes of framers, NFC can make the framing process more reliable and cost effective.
  • SBCRI is fully capable of testing any type of full-scale assembly, which can provide framing contractors great insight into the performance of the products they use on a daily basis.
  • Testing raw materials, products and structural systems will ensure that framers understand real performance and derive maximum value from the product or engineered solution.

Find Your Niche: Putting Your Expertise on a Pedestal

Involvement in the initial design and engineering phase of each project helps UTS set itself apart as a true partner instead of just another supplier.

Connecting Wood Trusses to Braced Wall Panels

  • The 2012 IRC does not provide sufficient details on how to connect wood trusses to braced wall panels.
  • SBCA has developed a couple of details and will continue to develop standard details that provide code-compliant connections between roof/floor trusses and braced wall panels.
  • Component manufacturers can provide framers with specialty or standardized blocking panel products to reduce the time needed to install the blocking between trusses for these connections.

 

Framing a House in Three Days: Optimization Is a Key Component

When designed and installed correctly, components can greatly reduce the time and materials required to frame a structure. 

Perfect Form: The Value of Engineering & a Well-Executed Plan

Last summer, Superstorm Sandy caused an estimated $65 billion worth of damage in the U.S., a total surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina in American history. Sandy was the largest hurricane on record to hit the Atlantic Coast, at over 1,100 miles in diameter. So while it hit the New Jersey shores the hardest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, its disastrous effects were felt as far inland as Wisconsin and Michigan.

While the chaos and destruction wrought by this powerful natural force is sobering, it’s hard not to simultaneously focus on the positive stories that came out of such events. One such story is that of Cussewago Truss LLC in Cambridge Springs, PA. It’s a tale of the marvels of wood, the value of engineering and the fruits of a well-executed plan.