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From BCMC 2012 Educational Session: “Lumber Production, Grading & Design Values Part 2: From Stick to Truss”
From BCMC 2012 Educational Session: “Metrics for Managers”
From BCMC 2012 Educational Session: “Preparing for the Future of Hiring”
From BCMC 2012 Educational Session: “Changing Codes & Planning Ahead”
It was nothing but sunny skies (a first!) at the BCMC Build jobsite in New Orleans this October. In just one and a half days, a team of volunteers from the structural building components industry framed this three-bedroom home.
- Examine each operational area for changes that could help improve overall economics.
- Make sure the design department is up to date on price changes of stock lengths of lumber, especially changes due to design value adjustments.
- Factor customer needs into optimization, along with producing a more efficient truss using less material and plant labor.
- WorkForce Development will need to be a corporate focus as the economy continues to improve.
- Showcasing the world of components, its unique characteristics and many career opportunities can be a powerful way to entice fresh faces into our industry.
- SBCA’s WorkForce Development website, wfd.sbcindustry.com, is a great tool for posting jobs and reviewing resumes, with new site enhancements coming soon.
Floor systems have long been the bread and butter of building material dealers offering pre-cut structural frame components. Wood product manufacturers have offered dealers tools and support for precision end trim (PET) floor framing for several years, and now are expanding their offerings to encompass other parts of the structure. For example, advances in design and fabrication software are enabling dealers and other fabricators to more efficiently produce PET roof components.
If you do a web search for current trends in U.S. urban planning, article after article will discuss similar issues. Urban planners face new challenges as a result of the recent economic downturn, and subsequent sluggish growth. A few examples include: a higher percentage of renters over owners due to foreclosures and defaults; delayed housing purchases by Generation Y; a growing desire for alternative transportation choices and shorter commutes; all coupled with a decreasing availability of urban land.
Meet Steve Baker from Plum Building Systems, LLC in Waukee, IA.
In case you ever needed a picture to define the importance of diagonal bracing in the context of lateral restraint (i.e., top chord purlins as well), these photos of long span trusses say it all.
- The contractor should examine the trusses when they are delivered and determine if there is any damage that would impair the structural integrity of the trusses.
- BCSI recommends that trusses stored outside for more than a week be stacked on blocking and have a cover that provides adequate ventilation.
- The contractor is responsible for the construction means, methods, techniques, sequences, procedures, programs, and safety in connection with the receipt, storage, handling, installation, restraining, and bracing of the trusses.
- SBCA President Scott Ward grew up in the business and credits industry pioneers for laying the foundation CMs can continue to build upon today.
- As the housing market improves, CMs need to focus on bringing new and skilled labor back into the industry.
- Technical schools, community colleges, high schools and wfd.sbcindustry.com are excellent resources for finding employees.
Don't miss all that this year's show has to offer in New Orleans!
Apparently, the secret to surviving 50 years in the truss business is to begin by selling lumber, and then working your way into it. Heart Truss & Engineering in Lansing, MI, and Littfin Lumber (Truss) Company in Winsted, MN, are both celebrating half a century of success this year, and they share some common characteristics: one, they both hail from Midwestern states; two, their founders all started by selling lumber and building materials; and three, they all resisted the urge to expand beyond their means.
No, this isn’t the latest haul from a fishing expedition; it’s actually trusses on their way to a jobsite. Northwest Building Components, Inc. in Rathdrum, ID, designed, manufactured and delivered the trusses for this project expecting to drop them off at the jobsite, which was a fishing cabin. Only when the driver arrived at the delivery location, a boat dock, did he realize this wasn’t a run-of-the-mill delivery.
- When comparing the energy efficiency of cold-formed steel and wood components, the R-value and U-factor are a good place to start.
- The R-value measures thermal resistance; it is the inverse of the time rate of heat flow through a building thermal envelope element from one of its bounding surfaces to the other for a unit temperature difference between the two surfaces.
- The U-factor measures thermal transmittance, the coefficient of heat transmission (air to air) through a building component or assembly, equal to the time rate of heat flow per unit area and unit temperature difference between the warm side and cold side air films.
- President Steve Stroder looks back on the pace of change and some of the industry's top issues.
- SBCA took the tough stands that strong leadership requires to serve the best interests of all CMs when addressing the Southern Pine design value issue, which resulted in SBCA hosting the first Lumber Summit and the formation of the Lumber in Components Council.
- A revamped BCMC may very well turn out to be one of the best shows we have had in some time.
- Scott Ward takes on the leadership of SBCA and is the second father-son combination to serve WTCA/SBCA (Bob Ward President 1991, Scott 2013). The first pair was Don (1992 and 1993) and Ben (2009) Hershey.
* moving average applied to smooth out the data
Remembering the life and times of Bill McAlpine.
Take raw ore, throw it into the fires of hell & out comes steel.
- The inaugural Lumber Summit held May 14-15 in Charlotte, NC, brought together key lumber industry leaders, the top five lumber producers in North America, and component manufacturers representing approximately 700 million board feet of U.S. structural lumber purchases.
- The SBCA Lumber Collaboration Council (LCC) resulted from the success of the summit.
- A recent industry plant tour furthered relationships with the fire service and is a strong reminder to embrace plant tours as our most effective outreach tool.
- The exception to IRC Section R602.3.2 allows for the use of a single top plate in a wood stud wall if the design meets specific requirements.
- By cutting the volume of lumber in the top plate in half, a single top plate allows more space for insulation and can reduce thermal bridging through the lumber, which increases the thermal efficiency of the wall system.
- When trusses are centered over the studs with a tolerance of not more than 1", the stud spacing can be increased to 24" o.c., which removes more lumber, improves energy efficiency and still provides a continuous load path.
- To determine if the use of a single top plate is beneficial, a number of factors must be weighed.
The modern truss was invented in the 1900s, but using triangles in construction has been a common practice for ages. While on vacation, a member of SBC staff stumbled upon this interesting truss-like ceiling at the Duomo di Pistoia or Cattedrale di San Zeno in Pistoia, Italy. This ornately decorated portion of the roof spans a large section of pews running from an entrance up to an altar.
At the inaugural summit, 71 participants, including key lumber industry leaders, the top five lumber producers in North America, and component manufacturers representing approximately 700 million board feet of U.S. structural lumber purchases, attended.
There was general agreement by those in attendance that the short-term goal of this group was to prepare for upcoming and anticipated Southern Pine design value changes. The aim was to forego the traditional adjustment process that can take years and is typified by the circular questions of component manufacturers asking, “what grades and sizes can you sell me?” and lumber suppliers replying by asking, “what grades and sizes do you need?”
Focusing on that short-term goal, summit participants discussed creating a series of standard grades or design value ranges that manufacturers could use and lumber producers could readily produce.
How often do you open and read an article in SBC Industry News?
A total of 85 submissions have been received.
From a sales perspective, do you anticipate 2012 will be better or worse than 2011?
A total of 50 submissions have been received.
This project first featured in SBC Industry News piqued many readers’ interest. Now back by popular demand, this amazing 80'-wide Ponderosa Pine log truss built by Deadwood Log Homes shows that trusses come in all sizes—including enormous. So enormous, in fact, that Deadwood’s owner, Rick Johnson, has applied to have the truss considered by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest log truss in the U.S.
Building Communities | Making Connections
Name: HB Simpson
Company: Allied Systems (VA)
Position: Safety Coordinator
Years in the industry: 17