Engineering

The Story Behind the Story

  • The future holds great promise for component manufacturers, as we continue to evolve our collective engineering acumen.
  • Greg Brooks’ online blogs gave us an opportunity to share the great work taking place at SBCRI.
  • Our industry is at a pivotal moment in its history with regard to the value of the engineering that goes into producing structural building components

Design Values Matter: Make Sure You Fully Understand Why

Given that our industry is in the component design and engineering business, which is closely related to the building design business, accurate and reliable engineering is central to every CM’s future success.

Holes & Notches in Trusses

  • A repair may not be needed if, after adding the holes, visually graded lumber still meets an adequate grade according to the appropriate grading criteria.
  • The Combined Stress Index (CSI) is the summation of axial and bending stresses divided by their respective allowable stresses, which represents the structural “efficiency” of the member; the CSI shall not exceed 1.00.
  • Coordinating with trades before construction is a good way to avoid holes and notches in trusses, and the costly repairs associated with them.

Transforming the Future of Framing Through Testing & Technical Evaluation Reports (TERs)

 

  • Challenging times force hard and bold decisions that are risky. The survival of SBCA, BCMC, SBC Magazine and SBCRI were dependant on risk-taking.
  • Private contract testing business through SBCRI led to the creation of the new and very valuable concepts of benchmark testing and code compliance tools called the Technical Evaluation Report (TER).
  • The SBC industry can easily be the center of the universe for providing the structural framework of all light-frame construction and offering great value in engineering innovation.

 

Parting Shots

Affecting more than 20 states, the scope of Hurricane Sandy, and the rebuilding efforts underway and yet to come, are difficult to imagine.

The Consummate Gentleman: An Engineer of the Highest Caliber

Remembering the life and times of Bill McAlpine.

Sealed Code Compliance Reports: A Law-Abiding, Streamlined Alternative

When it comes to code compliance for your new product, consider a road less traveled that can be much quicker and more robust than the traditional path.

Going Beyond Green: Net-Zero Pushes the (Building) Envelope

Beyond super-sized energy efficiency, there are many other benefits to net-zero homes.

Wind Load Analysis: MWFRS vs. C&C

  • Based on the recommendations of the IRC, IBC and ASCE 7, truss or rafter uplift connections should be designed for applied wind loads using MWFRS analysis.
  • Individual truss and rafter members should be designed using C&C generated wind loads.
  • The SBCA Load Guide includes information about uplift connections for structural building components.

Readers Respond - Bearing Area

  • Two engineers involved in the design of structural building components respond to a previous Technical Q&A on bearing area.
  • Both give their perspective on bearing area and ways that component manufacturers and truss designers can help engineers with this issue.
  • Each engineer discusses his preferred method for dealing with insufficient bearing area.