This year’s hurricane season has been brutal with damage to property and loss of life causing many whose homes have been affected to rethink their rebuilds. As construction professionals, offering raised-wood flooring options could really level up your game.
Raised-heel trusses provide a cost-effective way to meet more stringent energy efficiency codes. It’s not surprising that four out of five modern homes are built with pre-fabricated trusses as they offer a lot of advantages; a more uniform pitch and size, increased spans mean fewer internal load-bearing walls and they can be installed quickly, with less labor.
The APA has helped to promote ingenuity in the building industry for over 70 years. It has become the gold standard in engineered wood products and industry professionals the world over turn to the APA as their trusted partner in building excellence. We get an exclusive look into how this incredible organization works with its partners to find building solutions for the changing market needs.
Keeping your home well maintained will mean that you are able to catch issues when they start and before they inflict too much damage.
I-Joists are engineered wood products that are gaining popularity with building professionals. Engineered I-Joists are manufactured under exacting conditions to ensure consistent strength that provides long span and high load capabilities. These installation tips are supplementary to your manufacturer’s instructions and technical guides.
Homes built in high-wind areas must be able to withstand the wind forces known as uplift (which try to roll the structure over) and shear (which tries to push the structure sideways). Catastrophic damage to property and tragic loss of life have prompted industry professionals to look for cost-effective ways to build homes better able to withstand combined shear and uplift using products trades are familiar with. Now structural wall sheathing can provide the required continuous load path needed to resist high winds and meet high wind codes.
Raised heel trusses provide additional attic space which allows you to add cheaper batt insulation. This means you increase the efficacy of your building envelope. Throw in some taller wall panels like Windstorm or TallWall and you have a recipe for building envelope brilliance.
Framing is the single biggest contributor to the construction budget, accounting for (on average) around 18%. With rising costs and labor shortages, framing is becoming increasingly expensive. It behooves the small to medium construction firm to find ways in which to make the framing as efficient and cost effective as possible. You can mitigate some of the framing costs with careful planning, an efficiently run jobsite and the right tools.
Wall panelization or stick building homes? We asked a couple of pros for their opinions on this issue and got really great answers.
Intersecting walls pose an energy-efficiency conundrum. The usual way to address the situation is through ladder backing (as opposed to 3-stud wall bucks) and continuous sealant for the top and bottom places along the stud edges. But this incredibly clever solution is easier, and provides room for more robust insulation.
