Technical Q&A

  • The following Technical Q&A has been updated from the version that appeared in the 2006 June/July issue of SBC.  
  • Lateral restraints are installed to reduce the buckling length of the web(s), but must be restrained laterally to prevent the webs to which they are attached from buckling together in the same direction.
  • BCSI-B3, Permanent Restraint/Bracing of Chords and Web Members, provides general industry recommendations and methods for restraining web members against buckling.
  • 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.
  • Current and past industry leaders, with the support of SBCA, have invested thousands of hours developing standards, warning documentation, training programs and other tools to help train industry employees.
  • As a salesman or general manager, knowing what to look for on contractual documents is critical even with long-time customers.
  • ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 2 can provide insight into market expectations, scopes of work, responsibilities and the value of your work.
  • 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.
  • The 2012 IRC does not provide sufficient details on how to connect wood trusses to braced wall panels.
  • SBCA has developed a couple of details and will continue to develop standard details that provide code-compliant connections between roof/floor trusses and braced wall panels.
  • Component manufacturers can provide framers with specialty or standardized blocking panel products to reduce the time needed to install the blocking between trusses for these connections.

 

  • Use of galvanized box nails may result in shear walls with a shear capacity significantly below the nominal unit shear capacities given in SDPWS.
  • Thus, the majority of WSP shear walls have a shear capacity with a high degree of design value variability. This may have unintended consequences that are unknown and unappreciated by the professional engineering and/or building design community.
  • Once SBCA and SBCRI were certain their testing and engineering analysis was consistent and repeatable, they were persistent in bringing all WSP shear wall performance issues to the attention of APA, AWC, ICC-ES and ICC.  
  • Understanding how the computer software automatically loads a truss can help designers avoid unintended consequences when optimizing trusses.
  • When fascia loads are missing from a project, there is incorrect loading on the jack trusses, sub girders and the corner girder/hip jack.
  • Missing loads can lead to extensive repairs and may even require that the trusses be revised. 
  • When analyzing a girder truss, the Truss Designer needs to keep in mind the assumptions the truss analysis program makes regarding reaction capacities.
  • It is the Building Designer’s responsibility to verify the capacity of the bearing surface, but the Truss Designer must ensure that the truss-to-bearing connection has a chance of being made without crushing.
  • The article provides a series of concepts to use if a truss needs to be designed without knowing the bearing surface type and its feasibility of providing adequate support for the trusses.
  • A good place to start a training program is by covering basic truss industry terminology, along with your company’s terminology and approach to serving customers’ technical needs.
  • Example math and complete truss design problems using sample plans are a good way to coach new designers and bring them up to speed with your business practices.
  • Each new hire and, in general, all staff needs to know who is responsible for client communication at each stage of a project.
  • When a stick of lumber's dressed size is less than the minimum required dressed size, the grading agency includes the size in the grade stamp as required by PS 20.
  • Reduced dimensions can result in actual design overstress, unless the actual size is put into the lumber inventory of your software provider’s program.
  • It is incumbent on the purchaser to decide whether or not to use specially marked lumber; buyer beware if there is a downstream design issue and the grade stamp was not accounted for in the design.