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Xoom. Galaxy. Slate. Iconia. iPad. Unless you’re a technology enthusiast, it’s likely you wouldn’t recognize the products these names refer to (except for perhaps the last one). They are all the latest and greatest tablet computers produced by the computing industry, and they offer a very simple, yet seductive advantage to the business community: mobility. For you, mobility translates into easier sales, quicker response times, more effective repairs, better marketing, streamlined manufacturing processes and, most importantly, more efficient communication and collaboration.

Remember back, if you can, to the last time this country’s housing market’s sluggishness resembled what we’re experiencing today. From 1988-1992, the U.S. experienced an economic recession. It wasn’t nearly as profound or prolonged as our current situation, but nonetheless many of you probably remember (or have been told) how bad the housing market was. Housing starts experienced a 45 percent drop over that timespan. When housing recovered swiftly from 1992 through 1994, lumber prices skyrocketed.

What kind of energy bill might an owner receive the first year in a LEED Platinum home? Try a $50 surplus!

In stand-up comedy, timing is everything. Bringing an issue before Congress works much the same way. If you present your stance on an issue too early, lawmakers and their legislative assistants will look at you with confusion evident on their faces. If you present your views on an issue after they’ve already addressed it, you fail to engage them in a meaningful conversation. However, if you present a problem just as they are beginning to hear it from other sources as well, you can hook them just the way a good one-liner can.

• The strength axis of a structural panel is the direction parallel to the grain of the wood fiber in the face and back surfaces of the panel.
• The strength axis is usually the long dimension of the panel.
• The IBC provides two tables with the allowable spans and loads (psf) for wood structural panel sheathing installed continuous over two or more spans with their strength axis perpendicular and parallel to the supports.

• Plywood and OSB design values are given; those that are doing repairs in your office should have a good feel for the similarities and differences.
• Plywood and OSB generally have similar design properties with a key exception of fastener strength where plywood will require more fasteners to be used.
• If a truss repair specifies only OSB, plywood should not be substituted without written permission from the registered design professional who prepared the truss repair design drawing.

We received a lot of positive feedback from readers about an article in the April issue regarding a component manufacturer’s product defect negligence lawsuit. While this is not the industry’s first escape from a negligence or breach of warranty finding as a result of proper risk management procedures, it’s a very timely lesson for us. As SBCA Legal Counsel Kent Pagel explains in Important Legal Trends for 2011, the building industry is in another litigious cycle. Many of you pointed to the moral of the story: That the value of providing SBCA Jobsite Packages with all component orders cannot be overstated.