Engineering & Testing

America's largest builder of manufactured houses, Clayton Homes, has been selected by the Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA) to build three homes for a 15-month energy performance test.

This month, SBCA Marketing Chair Jess Lohse considers "innovative framing" and the potential it holds for the future of component manufacturing.

Braving a harsh winter with snow-covered solar panels, the Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility in Washington DC has come up trumps in a year-long study of its energy harvesting capabilities.

The wind load provisions in ASCE 7 can seem overly complicated and confusing. One common criticism is that more than one method is permitted to compute the main wind force resisting system (MWFRS) loads for rigid low-rise buildings.

Following is a chronological summary of the correspondence between SBCA and AWC regarding its Special Design Provisions for Wind & Seismic (SDPWS) consensus standard.

Without transparent knowledge, SBCA argues the “at least the equivalent” language in the IBC wood shear panel with regard nominal unit shear capacity (NUSC) values has been, and can continue to be, used to severely limit competitive access to a market.

Mother Nature is teaming up with a collection of green building advocates and industry groups to propel a movement that home builders generally support but that they also fear could give rise to onerous new codes.

The Truss Plate Institute (TPI) announced today the opening of a Public Review & Comment period for the draft BSR/TPI 2-201X “Standard for Testing Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses.

A Swedish-German research team has successfully tested a new method for the production of ultra-strong cellulose fibres stronger than steel by weight.

Steven M. Cramer, professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering, has been named UW-Madison vice provost for teaching and learning.