| Sustainable
Attributes Verification and Evaluation (SAVE) |
 |
On
October 1, 2008, International Code Council Evaluation
Services (ICC-ES) launched a new program called Sustainable
Attributes Verification and Evaluation (SAVE). Many
AF&PA member companies currently have ICC-ES Evaluation
Service Reports (ESR) that are used to demonstrate
how products meet provisions of the building
code. Under the SAVE |
program, ICC-ES
will issue Verification Attribute Reports (VAR), linking
environmental characteristics to criteria contained in green
building standards and rating systems. It is not mandatory
for a product to have an ESR in order to obtain a VAR, although
the fees are significantly reduced if that is the case. Manufacturers
will pay at least $5,000 for an initial report for products
not covered in an existing ESR, with a subsequent annual
renewal fee of $3,000. Fees for products covered by an ESR
are $3,000, with an annual renewal fee of $2,000. There are
additional fees in both categories, such as facility inspections,
third-party reviews, etc., which will further increase the
cost of obtaining and maintaining a VAR.
Currently
ICC-ES is offering VARs in nine environment categories.
They are:
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1. |
EG101 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Recycled Content of
Materials. Products are labeled with the percentage
of pre-consumer, post-consumer, and in-process recycled
material. |
| |
2. |
EG102 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Biobased Material
Content. Products meeting the standards in the
wood chapter of the International Building Code are
exempt from certain quality control submission requirements. |
| |
3. |
EG103 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Solar Reflectance,
Thermal Emittance, and Solar Reflective Index of
Roof Covering Materials. |
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4. |
EG104 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Regionally Extracted,
Harvested, or Manufactured Materials or Products. Manufacturers
of wood and wood-based products can have distances
between harvesting radius and plants verified. |
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5. |
EG105 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Volatile Organic Compound
(VOC) Content and Emissions of Adhesives and Sealants. |
| |
6. |
EG106 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Volatile Organic Compound
(VOC) Content and Emissions of Paints and Coatings. |
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7. |
EG107 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Volatile Organic Compound
(VOC) Content and Emissions of Floor Covering Products. |
| |
8. |
EG108 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Formaldehyde Emissions
of Composite Wood and Engineered Wood Products. Structural
products are exempt from large-chamber formaldehyde
emission testing, when certain types of adhesives
are used in the manufacturing process. |
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9. |
EG109 – Evaluation
Guideline for Determination of Certified Wood and
Certified Wood Content in Products. Products
are identified in a manner that is compatible with
the recognized wood certification programs, including
the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®). |
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|
The
Guidelines establish criteria a manufacturer’s product
must meet in order to be labeled with the ICC proprietary
SAVE logo. AF&PA and others commented extensively on
the draft Guidelines, in an effort to make the criteria applicable
to the needs of the industry. ICC-ES believes the SAVE program
will streamline acceptance and verification of manufacturer’s
products in determining whether a product should be awarded
points in LEED, Green Globes, National Green Building Standard,
or any other appropriate green building program. For example,
manufacturers or fabricators of wood products can obtain
a VAR to verify the distance from the facility that is used
to source logs or other raw materials. Since all of the rating
systems provide credits or points for “regionally manufactured/fabricated” products,
the VAR provides support for the distance claimed by the
manufacturer. In the case of certified wood products, manufacturers
can further identify SFI compliant products with the logo
of the SAVE program. This provides the third-party verifier
or the building official with an additional identifying mark
on the product.
At
this time, it is difficult to assess the impact the SAVE
program will have on wood and wood-based products. The
real value of the program will need to be assessed on
a product-by-product basis. It is reasonable to conclude
that products bearing a SAVE label will be well received
by green product specifiers and third-party rating system
verifiers, since it provides much of the information
they would otherwise need to gather themselves.
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| |
| For
more information, contact Kenneth Bland at 202-463-2765
or Kenneth_Bland@afandpa.org. |
| Revised
ICC-ES Acceptance Criteria Clarifies Applicability of Vinyl
Siding Wind Ratings |
|
Required
use of structural sheathing to resist out of plane wind
forces has been clarified in ICC-ES acceptance criteria
for vinyl siding. Approved wording clarifies that wind
load ratings are applicable where siding is applied over
solid sheathing capable of independently resisting the
full design wind pressures (both positive and negative).
Additionally, wind categories for which prescriptive
installation methods for vinyl siding are applicable
under the International Residential Code (IRC) were
clarified. This will result in increased use of structural
sheathing that had been omitted under previous interpretations.
For
more information, contact Phil Line at 202-463-2767
or Philip_Line@afandpa.org.
|
| Wood
Frame Wood Structural Panel Shear Wall Parameters used to
Establish Seismic Equivalency in ICC-ES Acceptance Criteria |
|
Seismic
performance parameters based on cyclic tests of wood frame
wood structural panel (WSP) shear walls continue to be
used to define the minimum performance level for alternative
systems seeking equivalency for seismic design. The equivalency
approach implemented in recently approved ICC-ES acceptance
criteria will require similar performance from alternative
systems before establishing equivalent seismic design coefficients.
The mere presence of similar materials and construction,
such as non-wood framing and wood structural panel sheathing,
is not enough under new acceptance criteria to achieve
ICC-ES recognition for equivalent seismic design coefficients
and use in high seismic areas of the U.S.
For
more information, contact Phil Line at 202-463-2767
or Philip_Line@afandpa.org.
|
| New
ASTM Committee E60 on Sustainability |
ASTM
recently announced the establishment of a new Committee
E60 on Sustainability. E60 is charged with the acquisition,
promotion, and dissemination of knowledge, stimulation
of research, and development of standards relating to sustainability
and sustainable development. The work of the Committee
shall include environmental, social, economic, and other
issues relating to sustainability.
This
Committee shall support and serve as a resource for other
ASTM committees in their sustainability activities. The
committee does not duplicate efforts of existing ASTM
technical committees, but rather, works with and coordinates
with other ASTM committees and organizations having interest
in sustainability.
E60
will meet twice a year, usually in April and October,
with about 70 members attending three days of technical
meetings. The Committee, with a current membership of
approximately 350, has four technical subcommittees:
E60.01 Buildings and Construction; E60.02 Hospitality;
E60.03 General Sustainability Standards; and, E60.90
Executive.
AF&PA’s Dr. Jeffrey Stone was elected membership chairman of
the new committee.
|
| |
For
more information, contact Dr. Jeffrey Stone at
Jeffrey_Stone@afandpa.org or
727-367-0531. |
| ASCE
7 Seismic Subcommittee votes to approve update of reference
from 2005 SDPWS to 2008 SDPWS |
| At
its November 14 meeting, the ASCE 7 Seismic Subcommittee
unanimously approved updating the Special Design Provisions
for Wind and Seismic (SDPWS) reference to the 2008 edition.
This step is one of several needed in order for the latest
design information for wood products in SDPWS to
be recognized for seismic resistance in the 2010 edition
of ASCE 7 Design Loads for New Buildings and Other Structures.
The AF&PA Wood Design Standards Committee made several
notable changes to the 2008 SDPWS specifically focusing
on cyclic testing and analysis of cyclic data. ASCE 7 Main
Committee action on the update proposal is expected in spring
2009.
The ASCE
7 Seismic Subcommittee also approved a proposal
clarifying that stress increases in accordance with
the National Design Specification® (NDS®)
for Wood Construction are permitted for use with
allowable stress load combinations including overstrength
design. Previous wording only allowed for stress increases
due to duration of load.
For
more information, contact Phil Line at 202-463-2767
or Philip_Line@afandpa.org.
|
| ASTM
D07 on Wood |
|
AWC
recently participated in the semi-annual meeting of ASTM
Committee D07 on Wood. Highlights of the meeting included:
Green
Attributes: Recognition of green attributes
within D5055 for pre-fabricated wood I-joists and D5456
for structural composite lumber will be balloted at Subcommittee
prior to the next meeting of D07.
End-joint
lumber adhesive standards: D07 completed the
process of balloting two new standards for evaluating
elevated temperature performance of wood adhesives. The
new ASTM standards, D7374-08 Practice for Evaluating
Elevated Temperature Performance of Adhesives Used in
End-Jointed Lumber and D7470-08 Practice for
Evaluating Elevated Temperature Performance of End-Jointed
Lumber Studs, were developed to assist the American
Lumber Standard Committee in its task of qualifying heat
resistant adhesives. Both standards have been typeset
and are available from ASTM. Approval as ASTM tests will
allow AWC to drop similar tests it had been maintaining
as an interim measure.
Forests: The
new standard on forest sustainability was balloted simultaneously
at the Subcommittee and Main Committee level. Comments
received on the ballot will be addressed during subsequent
revision of the standard.
Next
Meeting: April 21-23, Vancouver, BC.
For
more information, contact Phil Line at 202-463-2767
or Philip_Line@afandpa.org.
|
| New
Model Guide Specifications for Post-Frame Buildings |
The
National Frame Building Association (NFBA) has developed
a Model Guide Specification in CSI-three-part
format for post-frame building systems. The association
has now posted the specification online for download in
Microsoft Word format at: www.nfba.org.
The
document, titled Guide Specifications for Post-Frame
Building Systems, is listed as part of Construction
Specifiers Institute Division 13 - Special Construction.
The Guide
Specification is intended to be used for the development
of an office master specification or in the preparation
of specifications for a particular project. In either
case, the Guide Specification must be edited to fit
the conditions of use. A construction specifier may
use the document by deleting provisions inapplicable
to the project they are working on, choosing appropriate
options where indicated, and including necessary requirements
where blank spaces are provided. The specifier includes
the necessary items appropriate to a particular project.
NFBA
is now developing a more user friendly version of the
guide specification. The current Word format, while technically
correct and technically complete, still requires the
specifier to write the spec document. NFBA is now working
to program an online application to streamline development
of specifications for unique projects. Design professionals
will be able to complete a questionnaire using an online
form, which will export a finished specification for
their project as a rich text formatted document.
For
more information, visit www.nfba.org.
|
| Proceedings
of the 15th International Symposium on Nondestructive Testing
of Wood |
| The
papers presented in these proceedings are an excellent
source of technical information on a wide range of
topics - from the basics of nondestructive testing
(NDT) to its application for assessing seedlings and
trees through historic structures. The general session
included keynote presentations on stress wave, transverse
vibration, and near infrared NDT techniques. A presentation
on the importance of technology transfer was a highlight
of this session. Additional session topics included:
standing tree decay detection and hazard |
|
analysis,
standing timber quality assessment, nondestructive evaluation
for grading and quality control, and wood condition assessment.
In addition to the papers, abstracts from the technical forum
(poster) session are included.
Visit www.forestprod.org/mycart or
phone 608-231-1361, ext. 202 to order these
publications.
|
| WoodWorks
Announces Educational Partnership |
WoodWorks,
an initiative of the Wood Products Council, has announced
a partnership with California State Polytechnic University
(Cal Poly) to develop a set of virtual educational courses
covering the use of wood in non-residential building design.
Courses are intended for initial use in undergraduate and
graduate-level engineering programs, and for the continuing
education of industry professionals. Design of commercial
and other non-residential buildings with wood is typically
not included in university curricula and this effort represents
a unique cooperation between the forest products industry
and educational institutions.
Initiated
by WoodWorks as part of its program to support the use
of wood in non-residential buildings, the agreement includes
development of 30 learning modules for use as part of
basic and advanced wood design courses. Courses are being
developed under the umbrella of a newly established Wood
Education Institute that consists of an advisory and
development committee represented by a number of universities,
design professionals, and wood industry representatives.
Courses will be available for use by colleges nationwide
and will be offered to practicing professionals as online,
hybrid, or conventional courses.
Participating
universities currently include:
|
University
of Wisconsin (Madison) |
|
Washington
State University |
|
University
of Buffalo |
|
Oregon
State University |
|
University
of California (Berkeley) |
|
Colorado
State University |
|
University
of Massachusetts (Amherst) |
|
Cal
Poly University (San Luis Obispo) |
|
Cal
Poly University (Pomona) |
|
San
Diego State University |
|
California
State University (Los Angeles) |
|
Santa
Clara University |
For
more information, visit http://woodeducationinstitute.com.
|
| Adopt-a-University
Program: Iowa State + AWC |
| The
American Wood Council is sponsoring the CE 536 course
titled Masonry and Timber Design at Iowa State University
this semester. AWC donated 22 electronic copies of
the 2005 Wood Design Package for the class
taught by Max Porter, Professor, Civil, Construction,
and Environmental
Engineering |
|
Department. “We
appreciate very much your help in the education of students
taking this important elective course. This education
should benefit both the students and the wood industry in
providing knowledge to allow for design of structures for
utilization of wood products,” wrote Dr. Porter.
For
more information on how your company can
sponsor university students, contact Buddy
Showalter at 202/463-2769 or Buddy_Showalter@afandpa.org.
|
| AF&PA
Hosts Japanese/Canadian Delegation |
|
Japanese
and Canadian government officials were part of a government-to-government
50 member delegation, hosted by AF&PA, that meets annually
to discuss building codes and ways to use wood in residential
and commercial construction. Thevisit
was organized through the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service
to encourage Japan to use more wood in their construction.
The delegation was formed to introduce them to the way U.S.
regulations promote use of wood in residential and commercial
construction. The group has been meeting for 18 years since
the U.S. and Japan negotiated a wood product agreement.
The
home of Alberto Goetzl, an AF&PA consultant,
was selected for the first stop in the delegation's
field trip. The wood frame house under construction
offered a good example of residential wood
construction for visitors because it uses wood
trusses to maximize strength and allow flexibility
for interior design.
Goetzl,
who also is president and managing member of
Seneca Creek Associates, LLC, a natural resources
economics and trade company noted, "The
extensive use of wood framing and trusses stores
carbon and therefore offsets carbon emissions
produced when other kinds of materials are
manufactured."
Japanese
delegates showed a lot of interest in the home
as they snapped pictures and posed questions
through an interpreter.
WCS
Construction hosted the second stop of the
tour at a 4-story wood frame, 267-unit, luxury
apartment complex being built in Vienna, VA.
The Reserve at Tyson’s Corner includes
322,000 square feet of wood frame residential
space situated over a 2-story below grade,
444-space concrete parking structure.
Designed
to the 2000 International Building Code,
the wood structure is categorized as use group
R-2, residential multi-family, with an NFPA
13R fire sprinkler system, which permits Type
5A conventional wood construction up to 4-stories
in height. The single over-all building at
Tyson’s Reserve is vertically partitioned
with two-hour rated fire walls and masonry
stair towers for fire egress, which provides
for building floor areas of up to 9,000 square
feet in each 36,0000 square foot 4-story building
module. Other factors such as building site
frontage, more extensive fire-sprinkler systems,
and fire rated construction, yield increases
to the allowable square footage per floor/building
module and can increase the use of wood frame
construction to 5-stories.
Jim
Anglemyer, President of WCS Construction, expressed
the significance of hosting this group, “The
timing of sharing this major wood frame project
with the Japanese delegation could not have
been better. With 40% of the project’s
wood framing in place, and two buildings under-roof,
the delegation was able to experience the production
benefits of a well-run, major wood frame, construction
project and see, first hand, the internal building
structure, framing components and interfaces,
hurricane and shear force structural provisions,
building fire-separation details, as well as
view the roughing-in of plumbing, mechanical,
and electrical trades in a wood frame structure.
Most importantly, the delegation was able to
see the significant benefits of maximizing
land usage density (90-units per acre on this
site) with multi-story wood frame construction,
which can be built for up to 30% less cost
than conventional steel or concrete building
construction, with the added benefit of utilizing
renewable resource products.”
Japan’s
wood housing sector remains the second largest
in the world, behind only the United States.
This fact is particularly significant since
the population of Japan is about 125 million;
equal to about half the population of the U.S.
As a result, Japan continues to be a major
consumer of wood construction materials.
The
residential housing sector accounts for an
estimated 85% of wood use in Japan, and this
percentage approaches 90% if wood used in all
forms of construction is included.
The
U.S. Government has been working closely with
the U.S. wood products industry to ensure full
implementation of the 1990 Wood Products Agreement
designed to open the Japanese wood market.
Through regular consultations between the U.S.
and Japanese governments and consistent U.S.
industry pressure and technical exchanges,
some progress has been made in the areas of
standards, regulations, and certification.
Obstacles to increased value-added exports
due to tariffs and non-tariff barriers however,
remain and deny U.S. producers fair and open
access to the Japanese market.
AF&PA
participates in the annual Building Experts
Committee (BEC) and Japan Agriculture Standards
(JAS) Technical Committee meetings. One goal
is to maintain a dialogue with Japanese authorities
with regard to building code fire performance
ratings that continue to be unreasonably restrictive
in several applications where wood has proven
to be an optimal material. Wood frame assemblies
are held to a much higher standard than competing
steel assemblies. This leads to discrimination
not only against U.S. wood products but all
wood products in favor of competing materials
such as steel.
The
BEC and JAS Technical Committee meetings, now
in their 19th year, continue to act as an invaluable
forum to address important codes-and-standards-related
issues in a government-to-government setting
that allows for input from industry experts
and also provides a venue to receive the latest
information.
For
more information, contact Anne Divjak
at 202-463-2721 or Anne_Divjak@afandpa.org.
|
| Earn
Education Credits in 2008 |
It’s
not too late to earn valuable education credits for
2008. When used with AWC’s online eCourses,
the eQuiz system provides users with the additional
feature of accredited continuing education units.
Many users have expressed appreciation for the convenience
of earning valuable continuing education credits
in the comfort of their own surroundings on their
own schedule.
|
|
| |
|
Registration
for eQuizzes is straightforward and is required for participation.
The system is designed so that eCourse materials and eQuizzes
can be displayed in separate windows, much like an open-book
test, as permitted by the accreditors. Taking the eCourses
and tests is free of charge and provides an informative and
integrated learning experience. For each eCourse, users are
queried on the subject matter with feedback immediately provided
for all answers.
Once
a learner has successfully completed an eQuiz,
a low-cost option is provided to purchase and print
a continuing education certificate if desired.
Pricing varies among courses based on their length
(1.0 to 4.0 CEU’s), but typically cost about
$25 for 2.5 CEU’s.
Continuing
education certificates are honored by any agency
accepting AIA (American Institute of Architects),
IACET (International Association for Continuing
Education and Training), and the AIBD (American
Institute for Building Design) protocols for online
training. As required, AWC reports awarded continuing
education credits to accrediting agencies at the
beginning of each month for the previous month’s
online activity.
For
more information about the eQuiz system, contact Dr.
Robert Taylor at Robert_Taylor@afandpa.org.
|
| AWC
Standards and Design Tools Updates |
 |
Users
of the AWC Standards and Design Tools program
can update their software with the latest revisions
to AWC standards. These updated PDF files contain errata/addenda
indentified after production of the original electronic
files. Updated PDF files can be copied over existing
PDF files on your computer. If you already have a working |
keycode,
you do not have to obtain a new keycode for your software.
To
determine whether you have the latest PDF file, open
the Standards and Design Tools software, select
the standard or manual you wish to check, and navigate
to the back cover. In the lower right-hand corner of
the back cover, there will be a month-year code (MM-YY).
Compare this code to the date code of the file on the
website. If you determine that you need to update one
or more of your files, download the update files and
follow the installation instructions. Here’s the
direct link to the updates:
http://www.awc.org/software/CD/index.html#updates
For
more information, contact Lacey Merriman at 202-463-2766
or Lacey_Merriman@afandpa.org.
|
| Florida
Governor Charlie Crist Appoints AF&PA's Stone to Florida
Building Commission |
 |
Governor
Charlie Crist recently announced the appointment of
Dr. Jeffrey Stone, AF&PA's Southeast Regional Manager
to the Florida Building Commission (FBC). The appointment
is for a term beginning July 1, 2008 and ending July
27, 2011. Senate confirmation is required. The FBC
is responsible for development of the Florida Building
Code which was authorized by the 1998 Florida
Legislature to be the sole document incorporating all
building standards adopted by all enforcement agencies
and state agencies that license different types of
facilities. |
|
|
For
more information, contact Jeffrey Stone 727-367-0531
or Jeffrey_Stone@afandpa.org.
|
| Bland
Elected Chair of ICC-IAC |
Kenneth
E. Bland, P.E., AF&PA Senior Director of Codes
and Standards, was elected to serve a two-year term
as chair of the ICC Industry Advisory Committee (IAC).
The IAC is comprised of 98 organizations representing
professional, labor, trade, voluntary standards,
public interest organizations, and public agencies.
The IAC provides a forum for industry to develop
and make recommendations for consideration by the
ICC Board of Directors.
The
IAC is currently developing recommendations based
on efforts of its Green Building Task Group.
|
|
The
IAC previously
expressed concern to the Board that ICC is moving too quickly
to align its mission with those of green building rating
systems. ICC claims to be responding to pressure from its
building official members, who are increasingly being asked
to enforce green building provisions, in addition to their
current duties. It is the hope of the task group to find
balance between ICC’s historic role of developing codes
and standards to protect the health, safety, and welfare
of the public and the emerging opportunity for sustainable
building requirements.
Additional
issues facing the IAC include developing recommendations
on revisions to ICC’s 3-year code cycle. The code
cycle schedule has financial implications on industry
groups representing material interests, including AF&PA.
For
more information contact Kenneth Bland at 202-463-2765
or Kenneth_Bland@afandpa.org.
|
| WPC/WoodWorks
Announces Agreement with RISA Technologies, LLC |
The Wood Products Council's WoodWorks educational
program announced an agreement with RISA Technologies, to incorporate
advanced wood design features into their building design software
to offer greater flexibility in non-residential design.
Once
the RISA software is updated, it will incorporate information
on building code requirements, gravity design, diaphragm modeling
and design, shear wall modeling, analysis and design, lateral
force design, hybrid design, and several other features. The
upgrade will be Building Information Modeling (BIM) compatible
and will
be released in two stages. The first software release, set to
occur this month, will incorporate flexible shear wall design.
The second release, slated for December, will allow the design
of wood diaphragms.
For
more information, contact Jim Jaquish, JACKSON SPALDING
at 404.419.9344 or www.jacksonspalding.com
|
| Wood
Engineering Achievement Award to Dr. Ghasan Doudak |
|
AWC sponsored
and presented the 2008 Wood Engineering Achievement Award at
the 62nd International Convention of the Forest
Products Society to Dr. Ghasan Doudak of the Canadian Wood
Council. This year’s award was in the category of Young
Engineer.
The nomination
read,
“…Ghasan
has an excellent technical understanding of wood design and
has made a significant contribution
transferring the knowledge through building codes, standards,
design tools, and teaching. Furthermore, Ghasan is passionate
about wood design and should continue to advance the use of wood
in structural applications.”
For
more information, contact Buddy Showalter at 202-463-2769 or
Buddy_Showalter@afandpa.org. |
 |
Dr.
Robert Taylor and Sam Francis train members of the MA Building
Commissioners and Inspectors Association in Hyannis, MA on
the 2005
NDS and 2001 WFCM using the WFCM Workbook.
|
| Re-aligned
AWC Course Topics and New Seminar Packages |
AWC’s educational offerings
are widely recognized as excellent value and continue to be
popular among
design, building, and regulatory professionals nationwide. Responding
to requests, and to better serve audience needs for 2009, AWC
re-aligned its live contact seminars and will be offering a few
new courses.
Targeted
to design professionals and building officials, a revised 2001
WFCM Workshop now includes training
on AF&PA’s
2008 Wind & Seismic Standard. For building officials
and building professionals, two hands-on house design courses
using
AF&PA’s High Wind Guides are also offered
for 110 and 120 mph wind speed zones, respectively. Training
on DCA 6
Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide is
included in each High
Wind Guide course. You can find the new offerings and
details at:
http://www.awc.org/HelpOutreach/seminars/sem-otln.html and
http://www.awc.org/HelpOutreach/eCourses/index.html.
Events are already booking for Spring 2009 with some of
the new seminar offerings. This is a good time for prospective
hosts to plan their 2009 events with these new seminar packages.
Check in regularly at www.awc.org for educational events in your
area.
For
more information, contact Dr. Robert J. Taylor at 202-463-2771
or Robert_Taylor@afandpa.org.
|
| Taiwan Trade
Delegation |
Dr.
Jeffrey Stone, C.B.O., AWC’s
Southeast Senior Regional Manager, traveled recently with a
trade delegation
to Taiwan with a goal to increase export of lumber to the Taiwanese
market. Other participants in the delegation included representatives
from the Southern Forest Products Association, the State of Idaho,
and wood treatment companies. The group presented two, seven-hour
comprehensive, educational seminars on green building practices
and the use of lumber titled “Green Building
for Residential Construction and Application of Southern Pine
Lumber.” They met with importers of wood products and visited
residential construction sites where wood-frame construction
was being employed.
For
more information, contact Jeffrey Stone at 727-367-0531
or Jeffrey_Stone@afandpa.org.
|
| Adopt-a-University
Program: iLevel + UTA |
| iLevel
by Weyerhaeuser is again sponsoring the Fall Structural Timber
Design class at The University of Texas at Arlington by donating
15 copies of the 2005 Wood Design |
|
Package for
this class. Professor John Matthys
has requested an iLevel engineer to spend a couple of hours with
the class to
talk about residential engineered wood products.
“As
one of the top three universities in the state of Texas,
we strive to provide to our customers - students - the
most updated and important materials so that they receive
the quality education they deserve and are able to be an immediate
asset to industry. With the skyrocketing prices in educational
expenses, many classes cut back on materials (industry materials,
specifications, codes, etc.) to minimize student financial
burden. This can greatly affect the learning environment. Thanks
to industry support, such as that by iLevel, this will not
be the case for our Structural Timber Design class at UTA.
The designated course textbook purchased by the student will
be supplemented by the gracious donation of the NDS Wood
Design Package by iLevel for each student. Thanks so much
for your support of our future timber engineers.” wrote
Prof. Matthys.
For
more information on how your company can sponsor university
students, contact Buddy Showalter at 202/463-2769 or Buddy_Showalter@afandpa.org.
|
| Tyree
Elected to Several Boards |
| CBOAC |
| David
P. Tyree, P.E., C.B.O., AWC Southwest Regional Manager, was
recently elected to the County Building Officials Association
of California (CBOAC) Board of Directors. The CBOAC is a
non-profit corporation of building officials and industry
members dedicated to promoting public health and safety in
building construction through responsible legislation, education,
and building code development. Their mission includes striving
for improvements in safety of buildings as well as promoting
wider recognition of the Building Official's role in public
safety and service. |
| |
| CALBO
Seismic Safety Committee |
| Tyree
was also appointed by the California Building Officials (CALBO)
Board of Directors to the CALBO Seismic Safety Committee
for the 2008-09 term. The objective of the Seismic Safety
Committee is to assist California Building Officials with
application of seismic design and inspection provisions by
developing and disseminating guidelines for applying current
codes and for making modifications to existing codes when
necessary. |
| |
| For
more information, contact David P. Tyree, P.E., C.B.O.
at (719) 633-7471 or david_tyree@afandpa.org. |
| ASTM
Merit Award to David Gromala |
David
S. Gromala, P.E., director of codes and product acceptance
in the iLevel structural wood products division at
Weyerhaeuser, has received the ASTM International
Award of Merit and accompanying title of fellow from
ASTM Committee D07 on Wood. The Award of Merit is
the highest ASTM recognition for individual contributions
to standards activities.
Gromala
was cited “for exceptional
|
|
contributions
in Committee D07 on Wood related to his significant technical
contributions in wood engineering as well as the development
and maintenance of standards.”
An
ASTM International member since 1978, Gromala has chaired
numerous subcommittees, sections and task groups within
Committee D07, contributing to the development of new
standards and the revisions of existing standards. He
currently serves as section chair of Subcommittee D07.02.06
on Reliability-Based Design. The committee has honored
him for his work over the years with the L.J. Markwardt
Award as well as an Award of Appreciation and Award of
Recognition. In addition to D07, he is a member of Committees
D20 on Plastics, E06 on Performance of Buildings, and
G01 on Corrosion of Metals.
Gromala’s
career has focused on the structural applications of
engineered wood products. He spent nearly a decade
conducting research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Products Laboratory before joining the staff at
Trus Joist Corp., a division of Weyerhaeuser, in 1984.
In 1991, he left the company to begin his own private
engineering consulting firm, and then returned to Weyerhaeuser
in 1995, when he assumed his current role.
Outside
of ASTM International, Gromala is a member of the American
Society of Civil Engineers and the American Forest & Paper
Association’s American Wood Council.
A
graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
where he received a B.S. in civil engineering, Gromala
holds an M.S. in structural engineering from Northwestern
University. He is the author of more than 100 technical
reports in the field of engineered wood products.
|
| MSR/MEL
Added to AWC Span Calculator |
AWC’s
wildly popular online span calculator was recently updated
to allow user input of Machine Stress Rated (MSR) and Machine
Evaluated Lumber (MEL). With manufacturers taking a renewed
interest in machine grading technology and attempting to
derive greater value from the premium products they manufacture,
having MSR and MEL in the span calculator permits them to
point users to this tool for their lumber joist sizing needs.
Grades and species shown represent those most commonly
manufactured and available today.
| |
|
Incorporation
of MSR and MEL will add even more flexibility to
the most popular tool on the AWC website. With
an average of 50,300 monthly total page views,
the span calculator currently generates over 1/3
of the traffic to the AWC website.
Tom
Rogers of iLevel noted “The addition
of MSR/MEL grades in AWC's online Span Calculator
expands lumber specification options for architects
and engineers when
|
MSR
stamp photo: Photo courtesy of Western Wood Products
Association |
designing
for joists and rafters.” He added, “It
creates visibility that MSR/MEL products are not just for
manufacturing pre-fabricated truss components, but that the
performance characteristics valued in trusses can be extended
to joists and rafters as well.”
The
span calculator is a free tool available on the AWC website
at www.awc.org.
|
| |
| For
more information, contact Buddy Showalter at buddy_showalter@afandpa.org. |
| FEMA
Updates Seismic Publication |
| FEMA,
in late 2002, funded an effort to update its publication, Home
Builders Guide to Seismic Resistant Design and Construction.
The revision is now available from FEMA. The new version
of the guide is entitled, Homebuilders Guide to Earthquake-Resistant
Design and Construction (FEMA 232), and provides information
on current best practices for earthquake-resistant home design
and construction for use by home builders, designers, code
officials, and potential home owners. It introduces and explains
the effects of earthquake forces on one- and two-family detached
houses and identifies the minimum requirements of the International
Residential Code intended to resist these forces. |
| |
| For
more information contact, David
P. Tyree, P.E., C.B.O. at 719-633-7471 or Phil
Line, P.E. at 202-463-2767. |
| AWC
Staff passes California Post-disaster Safety Assessment Evaluator
Training |
| AWC’s
Southwest Regional Manager, David P. Tyree, was recently
recognized by the State of California as a Post-disaster
Safety Assessment Evaluator. The Safety Assessment
Program (SAP) provides resources (volunteers and
mutual aid) to local governments, assisting them
with evaluation of facilities (buildings and infrastructures)
in the aftermath of a disastrous event. SAPs goal
is to get people affected by a disaster back into
their homes as quickly and safely as possible. SAP
has been successful in this endeavor during recent
major |
|
|
earthquakes:
Loma Prieta (1989), Northridge (1994), and Napa (2000).
Under
the current SAP process, professional organizations train
evaluators (engineers, architects and building inspectors)
to perform facility evaluations for all types of disasters
(earthquakes, floods, landslides, terrorism, etc.). All
registered SAP evaluators must be professionally-registered
engineers, professionally-licensed architects, certified
building officials, plans examiners, or inspectors. They
must also have a general knowledge of construction, professional
experience, and judgment. This process is not intended
to identify or quantify damaged facilities, but to evaluate
their potential for safe use.
For
more information, contact David
P. Tyree, P.E., C.B.O. at (719) 633-7471.
|
| National
Blue Ribbon Panel Report on Wildland Urban Interface Fire |
The
International Code Council (ICC) released the National
Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) Report on Wildland Urban Interface
Fire. Wildland fire is escalating as an issue for thousands
of communities throughout the United States - particularly
in California. The undertaking thus far has involved
three stages: initial formation of the BRP, group discussion
of various ideas and recommendations, and compilation
of the final report. The report recommendations are now
being implemented.
The
report has been mailed to all the participating BRP organizations,
members of Congress, Governors, and key state legislative
leaders. Copies have also been sent to each State Forester,
State Fire Marshal, and State Fire Chief’s Association.
In each correspondence ICC is asking for support and
implementation of recommendations outlined in the report.
Panel
recommendations now moving forward include:
| 1. |
Establishing
a National Advisory Council on Wildland Urban Interface
Fire - An inaugural meeting will occur on November
5th and 6th in Washington,
D.C. Additional information on this meeting will
be available in the next several months. |
| |
|
| 2. |
Inviting
new groups and organizations to participate in a
new National Advisory Council on Wildland Urban Interface
Fire. |
| |
|
| 3. |
Electronically
distribute the BRP Report to interested organizations’ memberships,
available at the following link: http://www.iccsafe.org/government/blueribbon/index.html. |
| |
|
|
For
more information, contact David
P. Tyree, P.E., C.B.O. at (719) 633-7471.
|
| WoodWorks® Design
Office 8 Software: New Release |
| The
Canadian Wood Council (CWC) announced the release of its
latest version of WoodWorks. The software now conforms to
AF&PA’s 2005 NDS®, 2006
IBC, and ASCE7-05. WoodWorks consists of three
modules available separately or packaged in a cost saving
Design Office suite: |
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|
Shearwalls -
Automatically generates seismic and wind loads following
either ASCE 7-05 or UBC 97, distributes
them to shear lines based on flexible and rigid diaphragm
analysis, and designs wood perforated (no hold-downs
at openings) or segmented shear walls to resist them.
Allows import of CAD .wmf files to use as a template
to quickly model the structure. |
| |
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|
Sizer -
Sizes beams, joists, columns, and wall studs one at
a time or in a system, under various load conditions. |
| |
|
|
Connections -
Designs new connections using bolts, nails, or shear
plates or checks the capacity of existing connections. |
| |
|
|
| Go
to www.woodworks-software.com to
download an order form. WoodWorks is produced by CWC with
technical assistance from AWC. |
| Industry
Research Foundation's Life Cycle Analyis for Solid Hardwood
Flooring |
The
National Wood Flooring Association Industry Research
Foundation released its Life Cycle Analysis for Solid
Hardwood Flooring. The project was undertaken by
the University of Wisconsin. The study analyzes the environmental
impact of wood flooring and several flooring alternatives.
Each flooring type is compared for harmful air emissions,
water consumption, total primary energy consumption,
and product life expectancy. To see the full report and
the supplemental analysis, follow this link: http://www.nwfa.org/uplfiles/whatsNew/LCAFullRpt
SupplmentalAnalysis.pdf
|
| Adopt-a-University
Program: LTU + AWC |
AWC
donated 35 electronic versions of the 2005 Wood Design
Package to Louisiana Tech University. Dr. Mike Baumert,
Department of Civil Engineering and Civil Engineering Technology
is teaching a Structures course this semester. “On
behalf of the Construction Engineering Technology Program
at Louisiana Tech University, I would like to extend our
sincere appreciation to the American Wood Council for the
generous donation of 35 CD’s containing the NDS
2005 Edition Wood Design Manual. Our students are
faced with particularly burdensome costs for resource material
and textbooks in a class that combines both steel and wood
design. This donation helps offset that cost and provides
essential resources for them to gain experience in up-to-date
wood design practice that will help prepare them for successful
careers in the construction field.” wrote Dr. Baumert.
For
more information on how your company can sponsor university
students, contact Buddy Showalter at 202/463-2769
or buddy_showalter@afandpa.org.
| |
| ICC
and Green Building |
| ICC
continues to increase its involvement with the US Green Building
Council (USGBC), prompting a meeting between AF&PA and
ICC President, Steve Shapiro. As a result, AF&PA was
given an opportunity to present these same concerns at a
recent gathering of the ICC Board of Directors. During the
meeting, AWC emphasized: |
|
ICC
is a highly credible organization that develops model
codes and standards, which become law. |
|
This
role requires the highest technical and ethical standards. |
|
ICC
endorsement of a product results in instant credibility
within the building community. |
|
The
endorsement, whether perceived or real, of building
requirements that lack a technical basis in a code
or standard is a violation of authority entrusted to
ICC. |
|
ICC’s
own policies mandate that reference only be given to
standards that meet ANSI or equivalent consensus criteria,
and ensure due process for participants. |
|
ICC-ES
consideration of “green issues” in its
product evaluation may result in an ES evaluation of
green which USGBC rejects as “not green” thus
creating conflict in ICC policy.
|
|
| AWC
also encouraged ICC to take leadership in the whole concept
of green building issues in the building codes by focusing
its attention on items which legitimately fall under the
Supreme Court ruling on building codes, such as public health
and welfare.
Finally,
AWC pointed out that an important cause of many concerns
and conflicts is the lack of a definition of “GREEN.” ICC
was urged to assign a committee, possibly the CTC,
to craft a consensus developed definition of green
for use in all of its codes and standards.
|
| |
| Green
Building Professional Certification |
| In
related news, Greenerbuildings.com reported the following: |
| |
The
International Code Council will unveil a certification
program to ensure that code officials understand the
application of green building technologies. |
| |
|
| |
The
group, which creates codes used to build residential
and commercial buildings, also wants to ensure that
green buildings are safe. Most U.S. cities, counties
and states use the safety-related International Codes
developed by the council, it said. |
| |
|
| |
"The
International Code Council and its members are proud
of their support to protect the public through responsible
and innovative green building technology that is safe,
sustainable and affordable," said Council CEO
Rick Weiland. "The Green Building Professional
Certification is a tool that communities and code officials
can use to help ensure that green building programs
can be implemented in a coordinated manner with the
International Codes." |
| |
|
| |
The
certification will test an official's knowledge about
the dominant green building rating systems, such as
LEED, Green Globes and National Green Building Standard
for residential construction. It also will help ensure
officials understand the green attributes of International
Codes, such as the International Energy Conservation
Code and the International Plumbing Code. |
| |
|
| |
The
council is creating a committee of experts versed in
green business practices to develop the certification. |
|
| ICC-ES
Sustainable Attributes of Products to Supplement Evaluation
Reports |
ICC
Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) recently hosted a meeting to
discuss issues related to evaluation of sustainable attributes
of building products and materials. Attendees were from
a broad cross-section of industries and interested parties.
The
purpose of the forum was to help gauge whether there
was interest for ICC-ES to offer a program that would
provide for evaluation of sustainable attributes of products,
as a supplement to evaluation reports for code compliance.
The general response was that such a program would be
beneficial. Topics raised included how the program would
be operated and staffed, what sort of data would be required,
the fee schedule, and the overall scope of the evaluation
performed (e.g. cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave).
ICC-ES will
be providing further information as details of the program
are developed. Another meeting to discuss the program,
initially targeted for implementation by mid-year, is
planned in conjunction with the ICC-ES committee hearings
to be held in June in Chicago.
For more information,
contact Kenneth Bland at kenneth_bland@afandpa.org or
202/463-2765.
|
| ICC-ES
Advisory Committee |
At
the request of AF&PA, the ICC-Evaluation Service
(ES) Board of Directors appointed David Tyree to the
ICC-ES Industry Advisory Committee (ESAC), replacing
Kenneth Bland.
The
objectives of ESAC are to advise the ICC-ES Board
of Directors on matters affecting the working relationships
and cooperative efforts between ICC-ES and |
|
|
its
report holders and users;
and to offer recommendations for improved communication
and better customer service on the part of ICC-ES.
The
Committee received reports from 4 different task
groups which are developing guidelines or lists for ES
use. Those task groups included: acceptance criteria
(AC) public comment process, consistent application of
code & technical issues within ES, uniformity of
evaluation service reports based on the same AC, and
development of an AC development checklist.
For
more information, contact David Tyree at David_Tyree@afandpa.org or
719-633-7471.
|
| AWC
Responds to Fire in Massachusetts |
| The
Associated Press reported that on January 21, a fire
swept through 16 buildings in Lawrence, MA, leaving
as many as 150 people homeless. The article specifically
mentioned turn-of-the-century three story wood framed
buildings as being among those |
|
|
involved.
AF&PA has contacted fire service representatives in Massachusetts
to determine if type of construction, in this case wood frame,
was being cited as a cause or an exacerbating factor in the
fire. To date, it is not considered a factor. The investigation
is preliminary, but the fire service sees contributing factors
to be: a lack of exterior walls on the night club where the
blaze originated, very high winds pushing the fire to adjacent
buildings, and the structure of origin as well as many of
the adjacent exposed structures lacking the sprinkler system
which was to be installed. Many of these structures were
being renovated and did not have normal fire protection features
such as the sprinkler system and fire barriers installed.
AF&PA remains in contact with fire service personnel
to monitor the situation.
For more information contact Sam Francis at 610-869-4774
or Sam_Francis@afandpa.org. |
| Wood
Product Training Display Cases for Firefighters |
| Wood
product training display cases were developed as part of
the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) grant to AF&PA, now
completed. Early in the USFA project, AF&PA representatives
visited several fire academies to gain a better understanding
of the current curriculum on wood construction. The display
cases provide industry product samples that will be used
to enhance the building construction curriculum taught at
the academies.
Six new wood
display cases went to:
|
|
Utah
State Fire Academy – Chief Brad Wardle, Jordan
City, Utah |
|
Glendale
Arizona Regional Fire Academy – Deputy Chief
Jim Higgins, Glendale, AZ |
|
Rancho
Santiago College – Chief Marc Martin, Huntington
Beach, CA |
|
Antelope
Valley College – Robert Falb, Instructor, Fire
Technology, Lancaster, CA |
|
San
Diego Miramar College – Marty Walsh, Assistant
Professor, Department Chair, Fire & EMT Technology,
San Diego, CA |
|
Cal
Fire State Academy, Kevin Olson, Ione, CA |
| |
|
|
| For
more information, contact Kuma Sumathipala at kuma_sumathipala@afandpa.org or
202-463-2763. |
| ASHRAE
Winter Meeting |
For
the wood products industry, the recent American Society
of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers
(ASHRAE) meeting provided an opportunity to focus
on two ASHRAE standards that have potential significant
impacts on wood markets. Unless managed, fallout
from ASHRAE SPC 189P (draft) and 90.1, for commercial
green buildings and commercial building energy efficiency,
|
|
|
| respectively,
may be felt for a long time. Other ASHRAE standards monitored
by AWC also have implications for building durability.
The
primary agenda of the SPC 90.1 committee is to ramp
up building efficiencies 30% in the next edition and
50% by 2030.
The
SPC 189 draft standard is ASHRAE’s first green
building standard and could eventually be proposed
as a reference standard in the ICC family of codes.
This standard is still in the draft phase and will
undergo a second full public review this spring and
summer. AWC will provide input into this process.
For
more information, contact Jim Bowman at Jim_Bowman@afandpa.org or
425-822-0179.
|
| Colorado
Chapter ICC Educational Institute |
| AWC
recently instructed several classes at the Colorado
Chapter ICC Educational Institute in Denver. The Institute
had over 1800 students from 25 different States over
the week-long event. The first class, “The Basics
of Wood Frame Construction” had 50 registered
students. Subjects covered included: What Is Conventional
Construction?; Growth Characteristics of Wood; Grade
Marks; Protection Against Termites & Decay; Fasteners;
Design Values for Joists and Rafters; Floor & Roof
Framing; Wall Framing; and Wall Bracing/Shear Walls
and the WFCM. The primary focus of the day-long
presentation was the 2003/2006 International Building
Code |
|
|
and
the 2003/2006
International Residential Code.
The second
day found AWC staff educating building design professionals
and regulators on AWC Standards and associated design
processes. Seven hours of training were provided on
the 2005 NDS (ASD and LRFD) and designing
with the 2001 WFCM in a hands-on workshop
using the WFCM Workbook.
For
more information contact either Dennis L. Pitts at (972)
690-0242, David P. Tyree, P.E., C.B.O. at (719) 633-7471,
or Dr. Robert Taylor 202/463-2771.
|
| AWC
Fire Research Engineer Honored |
| Kuma
Sumathipala, the American Wood Council’s Senior
Manager for Fire Research, was presented an Award of
Appreciation for his work on ASTM Committee E5 on Fire
Standards. Dr. Sumathipala served as Chairman of Subcommittee
E05.13 on Large Scale Fire Tests and as a member-at-large
of the Executive Subcommittee. The award was presented
by Paul Shipp, Committee Chair and Thomas Fritz, Awards
Subcommittee Chair, at the ASTM E5 Meeting in Tampa,
Florida in December 2007. |
|
|
| |
| Adopt-a-University
Program: VT + Boise; AWC + OSU |
| Boise
has again sponsored students in the Design of Wood
Structures class at Virginia Tech. 2005 Wood Design
Packages were provided to 49 undergrads and 10
grad students there. Professor |
|
| |
Daniel
Hindman, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products,
expressed appreciation for
the donation: “This donation represents a significant
investment in the civil engineering students’ future.
The students are very appreciative and surprised by the donation.”
| |
| AWC
donated electronic versions of the 2005 Wood Design
Package to Oregon State University students enrolled
in Professor Rakesh Gupta’s course in Wood Design. “We
at Oregon State University, really appreciate AF&PA-AWC
donating e-copies of the NDS for our WSE458/558-Wood
Design Class. I have 35 students in my class and they
all appreciate this generous donation in support of
their education. Since about 90% of all structures
in |
|
| |
the
United States are wood frame structures, it is critical that
all graduating civil engineers have some exposure to wood
engineering, and AF&PA-AWC's generous support will help
ensure that well-qualified civil engineers have that exposure,” wrote
Professor Gupta.
For more information on how your company can sponsor university
students, contact Buddy Showalter at 202/463-2769 or buddy_showalter@afandpa.org.
| |
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