Performance

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.

A Framer’s Perspective on Innovative Framing

  • It takes a creative approach to using material to meet customer’s needs, while still providing good quality structures. 
  • Once innovative framing methods are learned, and framers experience the ease of installation, and discover how all the parts of the framing fit together well, they quickly become comfortable with the techniques.  
  • Framers must be involved in creating industry standard details, because we are the ones most familiar with actual building construction.

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.

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.