When I graduated from university in 2013, British Columbia had already been allowing six-storey light-frame wood buildings via its provincial building code for a few years. Shortly thereafter, I joined Simpson Strong-Tie and became more familiar with practices in the other western provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) which took a bit longer to embrace these six-storey structures. Over the past twelve years, it’s been interesting to watch their popularity rise due to increased demand for housing and sustainability, with the industry’s confidence growing alongside this evolution.
Author: Tim Wagner
Tim Wagner is a senior engineer at Simpson Strong-Tie. Since 2014, he has educated designers and builders on creating safer and stronger structures and spoken at various conferences across Canada. He has a bachelor’s degree in applied science, a professional engineering license in British Columbia, and an MBA