Engineering & Testing

Question: What are some challenges when insulating a basement or crawl space with spray foam? Answer: Basements and crawl spaces can benefit greatly from the application of spray polyurethane foam (SPF).

In 2000 and 2004 Alpine undertook a weathering study entitled Durability of Plates, R&D #90-07 dated January 3, 2000 and January 22, 2004. Mr. Stu Lewis provided this report to SBCA to aid SBCA with background information regarding the common notion that truss plates back away from lumber.

The structural building component industry was founded on taking responsibility for its engineering work, demonstrated through sealed truss design drawings.

An APA report entitled, A Review Of Large Scale Wood Structural Panel Bracing Tests, states there is a wide range of OSB shear resistance performance values given the wide variety of boundary conditions that exist in real buildings.

APA states, and the SBC Research Institute (SBCRI) agrees, that test results can be affected by test apparatus and real world boundary conditions.

Competition makes everyone in a market better. That is why SBCA continues to fight for a free and fair market place that has access to accurate and transparent information and facilitates good decision making.

On January 3, 2013, SBCA hosted a meeting with APA to address overstated OSB design properties in the building code. Mr. Elias, who attended the meeting, responded with a letter where he discusses the concept of “standard factors” for “product equivalency.

One quarter into SBCRI managing the TPI Third Party Quality Assurance (QA) Inspection Program has led to some interesting insights and opportunities for improvement.

Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) continues to capture the attention of the building engineering community.

The SBC Research Institute (SBCRI) is expanding its scope of accredited standards to include testing of cold-formed steel structural framing.