Flipping through the pages of this month’s issue of SBC Magazine, I was immediately intrigued by the “Perfect Form” article. I’m always excited to learn about new ways to use (and sell) trusses. This instance of ingenuity utilizes four-ply round top trusses as cement forms over a creek in Pennsylvania. The article goes into great detail about the communication throughout the supply chain, from the lumberyard salesman at Carter Lumber, to the truss designer at Cussewago Truss, to the professional engineers at Eagle Metal. Any one of those individuals could have sunk the project with a hurried “we don’t do that” scoff. I plan on forwarding this article to a few concrete guys I know hoping they keep our capacities as a truss manufacturer in mind the next time they are up against a challenging project.
It’s always the truss guy’s fault. That’s a common theme I hear from our customers, and evidently Bob Mochinksi at Littfin Truss has heard it, too. I sometimes feel like we are the Rodney Dangerfield of the construction industry, “We get no respect!” The “Long Attention Span” article points out the need for bracing and the greater need for Long Span Jobsite Packages before the trusses are ever hoisted. After reading this article, I immediately went to sbcindustry.com and purchased some long span documentation to have on hand. I recently ran out after sending out a long span package with a quote for some 60’ trusses to a guy who “only wanted a price.” He didn’t know if he wanted his price to include bracing or any other products, he just wanted a number—a low number—to throw at a project with no concern with how the actual work will get done. That customer could run into the same problems Mochinksi’s framer did when installing long span trusses. He has set tons of trusses, the number growing rapidly by the day, but has never set trusses this long and doesn’t understand the intricacies and potential hazards with trusses 60’ and longer. Hopefully, my customer will at least ask the question, “what is this for,” when he’s looking for his number to pass along to his customer, and we’ll start a dialogue about installation challenges.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million pictures. Recently a YouTube video of a condominium collapse in North Carolina went viral, popping up everywhere from The Weather Channel to SBC Industry News. I’ve heard a lot of theories as to why the building fell down, with the most likely theory stating the OSB sheathing wasn’t fully nailed off. In this month’s Technical Q & A, Daniel Lawless looks into the effects of installation methods and nail sizes on sheathing strength. He looks at common varieties of nails, along with results from testing conducted at the SBC Research Institute (SBCRI) on braced wall panels. I know those of you with an engineering background are really interested in this stuff, but at this point I found myself looking for Cliff Notes on this subject hoping to process it more efficiently. Suffice to say, you will get some food for thought when you dig into the article further or will have something to talk about at the next cocktail party when a friend asks if those were your trusses in the video!
I recently asked my wife Elizabeth if she thought I would one day look good with grey hair. She fulfilled her wifely duty and immediately responded with a “yes.” Relieved, I replied, “Good, cause those little grey hairs may be coming sooner rather than later!” I base my reasoning on two things. First, the grey- haired attendees at the OQMs strongly outnumber all other hair colors combined; and second, truss repairs, specifically truss repairs for customers who make egregious alterations. I’m still shaking my head at the “project supervisor” in “Holy Truss.” I can see someone drilling a hole in a bottom chord of an attic truss by mistake, even a few holes, but dozens of holes in multiple trusses? Maybe somebody got a new angle drill for Christmas and really wanted to try it out. Check this article out and know you aren’t alone the next time you’re dealing with a challenging truss repair.
I read this issue from cover to cover, and I must admit I found a lot of “meat” on every page. I strongly recommend devoting time to reading it, then passing it around the office.