Loads

Sealed Truss Placement Diagrams - IRC

It can be often misunderstood whether a Truss Design Engineer has the responsibility to seal a Truss Placement Diagram (TPD). The purpose of this Research Report is to provide the relevant code sections from the latest editions of the International Residential Code (IRC) for thorough analysis and interpretation. 

Industry Testing at SBCRI Is Multi-ply-ing

What will happen if the plies of a multi-ply girder truss are not fastened together properly? Overloading and, potentially, chord fractures can occur.  

Why Lumber Variability Is a Problem for CMs

ALSC’s PS 20-15 has fundamentally changed what this grade stamp represents.

Few issues have demanded the attention of the SBCA Board of Directors more over the past five years than the variability of lumber design values. SBCA Legal Counsel Kent Pagel provided guidance to component manufacturers (CMs) on ways to mitigate the potential risk and liability that have arisen in the market as a result of how the lumber industry has chosen to deal with the issue of variable design properties.

Sprinkler Systems and Wood Trusses

The goal of this Research Report is to assist in designing safe buildings economically, especially when sprinkler systems are required or desired in the design.

Sealed Truss Placement Diagrams - IBC

It can be often misunderstood whether a Truss Design Engineer has the responsibility to seal a Truss Placement Diagram (TPD). The purpose of this Research Report is to provide the relevant code sections from the latest editions of the International Building Code (IBC) for thorough analysis and interpretation. 

Truss Uplift Design

ASCE/SEI 7-10, Minimum Design Loads of Buildings and Other Structures, lists two methods for calculating wind pressures: Main Wind Force Resisting System (MWFRS) and Components & Cladding (C&C). This report will provide information to assist the building designer in deciding upon the appropriate analysis method for uplift due to wind loading.

Lay-On Gable Connection: An Analysis of a Toe Nail Connection Visible After Sheathing is Installed

A lay-on gable frame is typically connected from the top during truss placement, but after sheathing is installed, this connection is no longer visible for the building inspector to verify. This creates a need for an alternate connection that is visible from below. The goal of this Research Report is to analyze a simple, cost-effective, toe nail connection between the lay-on gable frames and supporting truss system that is visible after sheathing is installed.

Cantilevered Sill Plates: Use with Wood Trusses to Align with Varying Thicknesses of Exterior Sheathing

The prescriptive residential energy code requirements found in the 2009, 2012 and 2015 International Residential Code (IRC) include requirements for continuous insulation at foundations in several climate zones. This Research Report discusses the issue of cantilevered sill plates supporting metal plate connected wood trusses installed parallel and perpendicular to the foundation walls where there is a potential for discontinuous planes between the exterior wall above the sill plate and the foundation insulation planes. 

Engineered vs. Prescriptive Wall Panel Design

Explore the two different methods used to calculate a wall panel’s capacity to resist applied lateral loads.

Truss Industry Standard of Care: Part 5

Editor’s Note: The purpose of this article series is to identify truss-related structural issues sometimes missed due to the day-in and day-out demands of truss design/production and the fragmented building design review and approval process. This series will explore issues in the building market that are not normally focused upon, and provide recommended best-practice guidance.