Engineering & Testing

Why Spray Foam Excels in Basements & Crawlspaces

September 19, 2018

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).

SBCA Testing Impact of Weather on Trusses

August 6, 2018

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.

Does Your Teammate Sign and Seal Their Testing and Engineering Work?

July 30, 2018

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

APA Confirms Wide Range of OSB Design Values

July 26, 2018

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.

Benchmark Comparison & Boundary Condition Testing Are Important

July 26, 2018

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

Competition Improves Everyone; APA Disagrees

July 26, 2018

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.

APA Introduces "Standard Factors for OSB Equivalency" Concept

July 25, 2018

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.

TPI/SBCRI QA Inspection Program Evolving & Gaining Momentum

July 23, 2018

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

Video: Watch CLT Pass the Army’s Real-World Blast Test

July 9, 2018

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

SBCRI Adds Cold-Formed Steel Framing to its Accreditation

July 9, 2018

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