This week’s post was written by Kevin Gobble of Habitat for Humanity. Kevin is the Program Manager for Habitat for Humanity’s new Habitat Strong initiative. Kevin has spent over 22 years in residential construction building energy-efficient, high-performing home, and has consulted with several sustainable building programs on ways to develop their own best practices. As a … Continue reading “Habitat STRONG Blog”
A few years ago, we did a post on creative uses of our products. Most of the uses shown were artistic, or functional do-it-yourself projects, with one odd car spoiler modification. This week, I was reviewing some slides in a presentation that I give a few times a year regarding product installation errors. I call … Continue reading “Installation Errors – They Happen”
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of watching my daughter in her cheer competition. I was amazed at all the intricate detail they had to remember and practice. The entire team had to move in sync to create a routine filed with jumps, tumbles, flyers and kicks. This attention to detail reminded me of … Continue reading “Shrinkage Compensation Devices”
This week is the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and we have all seen articles on the lessons learned from the storm. Engineers learn something new from every storm. However, I think that Hurricane Katrina just gave us some very strong reminders of things we already knew. Hurricane Katrina reminded us that hurricanes are flood … Continue reading “Reminders from Hurricane Katrina”
This year, the new 5th Edition of the Florida Building Code was released and is now in effect statewide. First printed in 2002, the Florida Building Code was developed as part of Florida’s response to the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew and other hurricanes in the state. Another component, which I would like to take … Continue reading “Florida Product Approvals Made Simple”
How often do you get the opportunity to high five a co-worker in the office? Maybe it’s when you just worked through a complex calculation, or finally figured out that tough detail. Whatever it might be, there are times when we should raise a hand and celebrate the hard work that we do. So when … Continue reading “Anchor Reinforcement for Concrete Podium Slabs”
This week was our new employee Sales and Product Orientation class. It reminded me of the post A Little Fun with Testing where we broke a bowling ball. Although breaking stuff is fun, my second favorite part of the class is teaching about the importance of a continuous load path. I think it is really … Continue reading “Continuous Rod Restraint Systems for Multi-Story Wood Structures”
There certainly seems to be increased awareness of the potential for damage and injury from tornadoes these days. Recent information published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) help explain that. This increased awareness has led to a growing interest in tornado shelters for protection of life … Continue reading “Which Tornado Saferoom is Right for You?”
While 54 inches is a good height and will get you on most amusement park rides, what about this dimension for the width of a footing? We did some tests recently — actually a lot of tests — that answered that question. Steel Strong-Wall® narrow panels are great for resisting high seismic or wind loads, … Continue reading “Steel Strong-Wall® Footings Just got a Little Slimmer!”
This post is the second of a two-part series on the results of research on anchorage in reinforced brick. The research was done to shed light on what tensile values can be expected for adhesive anchors. In last week’s post, we covered the test set-up. This week, we’re taking a look at our results and … Continue reading “Part II: Tensile Performance of Simpson Strong-Tie® SET-XP® Adhesive in Reinforced Brick – Test Results”
