You searched for high wind

Habitat for Humanity Introduces Habitat Strong Program

You’re probably already familiar with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit builder of simple, decent and affordable homes for low-income families around the world. According to builderonline.com, they were the 15th-largest builder in the country in 2015 when ranked by number of closings. Simpson Strong-Tie has been an official national partner with Habitat for Humanity since … Continue reading “Habitat for Humanity Introduces Habitat Strong Program”

Educated in a FLASH, Part 2

This week’s blog was written by Branch Engineer Randy Shackelford, P.E., who has been an engineer for the Simpson Strong-Tie Southeast Region since 1994. He is an active member of several influential committees, including the AISI Committee on Framing Standards, the American Wood Council Wood Design Standards Committee, and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes Technical … Continue reading “Educated in a FLASH, Part 2”

Educated in a FLASH, Part 1

Happy New Year! This week’s blog was written by Branch Engineer Randy Shackelford, P.E., who has been a guest speaker at numerous outside seminars and workshops as a connector and high wind expert. As part of our mission to “help people build safer structures economically,” Simpson Strong-Tie works with many non-profit groups around the country, … Continue reading “Educated in a FLASH, Part 1”

Hurricane Sandy, One Year Later

[Simpson Strong-Tie note: Shane Vilasineekul is the Simpson Strong-Tie Engineering Manager for the Northeast U.S. and one of our guest bloggers for the Structural Engineering Blog. For more on Shane, see his bio here.] The end of this month will mark the one year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy hitting the coastlines of New Jersey, New York, and … Continue reading “Hurricane Sandy, One Year Later”

Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy

I confess that I listen to a lot of pop music while driving to work, mostly because I forget to change the station after dropping the kids off. It can be slightly embarrassing if I drive with a coworker and I’m tuned into the “all Bieber, all day” station when I start the car. On … Continue reading “Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy”

Storm Shelters in the Wake of the Oklahoma Tornado

As we continue to learn more about the devastation in Oklahoma from the EF-5 tornado that struck the city of Moore and surrounding areas on Monday, many building professionals and homeowners are questioning the safety of their homes and other structures in tornado-prone areas. Winds of the recent storm reached speeds up to 210 miles … Continue reading “Storm Shelters in the Wake of the Oklahoma Tornado”

Overview of Code-Plus Programs

We all know that the purpose of a building code is to provide minimum requirements for the health, safety, and welfare of the occupants of buildings built under that code. But what if the owner wants a building that will perform better than the absolute minimum allowed by the code?

Building Drift – Do You Check It?

[Simpson Strong-Tie note: Sam Hensen is the Simpson Strong-Tie Engineering Manager for the Southeast U.S. and the latest blogger for the Structural Engineering Blog. For more on Sam, see his bio here.] Just as bending and shear checks performed on gravity loaded beams do not ensure that the beam will comply with required deflection limitations, adherence … Continue reading “Building Drift – Do You Check It?”

Designing Steel Roof Deck Attachment for Combined Tension and Shear

In last week’s post I made a reference to California’s golden sunshine. Californians may have to deal with wildfires, earthquakes, and wearing sunscreen year round, but we generally don’t have high wind to worry about. In a previous blog post, Roof Deck Design Considerations for High Wind Events, I discussed some of the general challenges … Continue reading “Designing Steel Roof Deck Attachment for Combined Tension and Shear”