Online Calculators
American Wood Council (AWC) does not provide engineering consulting services. However, AWC has a Design Professional Member database that is searchable by area of expertise and geographic location. To locate the consultant nearest you, click here.
Online Span Calculator (Click here, or picture)
Performs calculations for ALL species and grades of commercially available softwood and hardwood lumber as found in the NDS 2005 Supplement. Joists and rafter spans for common loading conditions can be determined. A "span options" calculator allows selection of multiple species and grades for comparison purposes.
Attention mobile device users. Note that the Online Span Calculator is formatted to allow use on most mobile devices. However, users have reported that the Span Calculator will not work on Blackberry devices. We are reviewing it.
Span Calculator iPhone/iPad App
Check-out the Span Calculator for Wood Joists and Rafters for the iPhone/iPad.
Online Connections Calculator (Click here, or picture)
Provides users with a web-based approach to calculating capacities for single bolts, nails, lag screws and wood screws per the 2005 NDS. Both lateral (single and double shear) and withdrawal capacities can be determined. Wood-to-wood, wood-to-concrete, and wood-to-steel connections are possible.
Online Heights and Areas (H&A) Calculator (Click here, or picture)
Provides users with a web-based approach to calculating maximum heights and areas for buildings of various occupancies and fire protection based on 2006 IBC provisions. Input a given building, and allowable construction types are determined. Calculator limits building input to a single occupancy for the entire building. For multi-story buildings, maximum single floor area can be any size up to total building floor area. Help File for understanding calculator background calculations and terms, with worked examples, is available.
Learn more about IBC height and area provisions and see a demo of the H&A Calculator in a free webinar titled Fire Protection I: Allowable Heights and Areas.
Wood products continue to store carbon absorbed by the trees during their growth cycle, keeping it out of the atmosphere indefinitely. Using wood in place of fossil fuel-intensive materials also "avoids" greenhouse gases that would have been emitted during manufacturing. Now, it is possible to quantify these benefits for wood buildings. |