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Question of the Day
Trusses and Pressure Treated Lumber Stan Sias - National Manager
Plated Truss Industry at Simpson Strong-Tie
The phone rang this morning and the caller said that “they had a real quick question.” They went on to ask if “standard truss plates could be used with pressure treated lumber?”
January 1st, 2016 #09198 Page #4 SAWS
2004 TCT Model 1100 Linear Saw Cut 2x4 and 2x6 Lumber from 3” to 20’. Tops, Bottoms, Webs, Sliders, Wedges and Scissor Bottoms. 230 Volt / 3 Phase 5 HP Motor with 24” Blade. Ink Jet Printer. Scrap Conveyor. $36,900 FOB AR. Wasserman & Associates 800-382-0329 www.wasserman-associates.com
Hmmmm…the questions that some questions prompt. It sort of reminds me of the questions that I used get back when I was a component manufacturer and EWP supplier. I had a sign on the wall behind my desk that simply said $2.00 each. Folks would drop by my office and the first words out of their mouths would be…”How much is …?” and I would point at the sign. Before we could address “How much?” we needed to address the question of “What is it that you need?”, as understanding the scope of work and other expectations surely helped me to answer the question of “How Much?”. Back to the call this morning; when the caller asked his question. Where did my mind go; as this question prompted the additional questions. The short answer would have been no, but before giving that one out I decided to probe a little deeper. Questions: 1. What exactly is your intended application? 2. Why does the lumber need to be pressure treated? Is it really a ground contact situation or wetting and drying? 3. If at or near the ground, and unprotected, is it really a good place for truss plates? 4. If wetting/drying is occurring, eventually any truss plate will be expelled from the lumber in the swelling/shrinking of the wood fiber that accompanies these cycles. Could this possibly be OK? 5. Is the wood exposed to some sort of corrosive environment, outside the corrosive salts used in the pressure treatment of the lumber itself? Is the treated lumber then kiln dried after treatment (KDAT)? 6. Will the lumber stay dry in the finished exposure or environment? I like to end the line of questioning with “Will the lumber stay dry in the finished environment?” as it then begs the question, “If so, why the added expense of PT?” It just happened that my caller this morning was calling in from Canada, where their standard plates are made from G90 galvanized steel versus the G60 commonly used in the US. That aside, the questions above all still remain. It is well known that the wetting and drying of embedded truss plates will eventually expel them from the wood. If the final application is going to be exterior, or some other scenario where there will be constant wetting and drying, the answer again would be no. What if the application is wet and the embedded truss plates will stay constantly wet? We can design with the assumptions for green (wet) lumber and make the appropriate adjustments for the wood members (see ANSI/TPI 1, Sections 6.4.6 – 6.4.9) but what about the pressure treating chemicals? How corrosive are they in the wet environment? Perhaps then it would be necessary to contact the wood treater to get a definitive answer. What about other environmental corrosion issues? TPI 1 addresses some in Section 6.5, where we are looking to provide increased corrosion protection to metal connector plates. Remember, when using any of the recognized coatings, all surfaces of the connector plates left exposed (front and back sides of all plates and exposed teeth) must be covered with the selected coating in the minimum thickness recommended by the supplier. The point is that sometimes we don’t know the correct answer until we dig a little deeper and know exactly what issues we’re dealing with. For me, the short answer is no, and often the long answer is also no, unless we can get a very explicit specification to limit my scope of work risks. May the New Year bring good health and much prosperity your way. Thanks for reading, SS PHONE: 800-289-5627
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2003 Alpine AutoMill SC Saw (ONT) Alpine model 348A, five-blade, servocontrolled computerized saw, sets up in 2 to 19 seconds and downloads from a network or by using a touch screen for ease of operation. Five-head automated component saw works in both automated (downloading files) and semi-automated control via touchscreen input. It has 23 axes of automated movement, enhanced diagnostics and auto management reporting. The SC cuts from 13" to 20' long material in size range from 2x3 through 2x12, and includes [3] 18", [1] 20" and [1] 32" blades with air brakes, over $15,000 in spare parts, pc and enclosure. Installed and operational. Floor mounted conveyor and incline shown in pictures are not included. 480v/60Hz/3Ph power. Price: $65,000, Location: ONT. Wood Truss Systems 765-751-9990 www.woodtrusssystems.com
1998 Koskovich Auto Omni Component Saw This saw has been well maintained, and consistently upgraded throughout its service history, includes belt-style waste conveyor with side pans, digital inclinometers, spare set of blades, spare transport side motor, 1 KB card for out feed rollers, several spare circuit boards, and all other available spare parts. PC runs Windows 7 OS, current Omni Software from OEM. 220v, 3 phase electrical. $17,990, FOB MB Wood Truss Systems 765-751-9990 www.woodtrusssystems.com FAX: 800-524-4982