Performance Measurement

• New Ballast Efficacy Standards

  New Ballast Efficacy Standards

   

• IALD Energy Policy Approved

  The IALD board of directors has approved an internal energy agenda at its board of directors meeting on October 23. In addition, the organization has initiated a business plan for its Energy Task Force in order to help it better communicate with energy-policy-making bodies around the world. The...

   

• Building a Beamed Ceiling (Subscriber content)

  Prefabricating the paneled sections on the floor speeds installation.

   

• Q&A: Waterproofing Under a Stone Countertop

  Q: Is it okay to use Schluter's Kerdi material as a waterproofing membrane beneath a stone countertop? Because it's flexible, I plan to use it to cover the plywood substrate on top of the cabinets, and then turn it up the wall a few inches so that I can w

   

• Q&A: How Strong Are SIPs?

  Q: In a SIP, how secure is the bond between the OSB skin and the EPS (expanded polystyrene) core? Can this bond be compromised by water infiltration or insect damage, or could the insulated core deteriorate over time? If that bond were to fail, it seems to me the whole structure would fall apart...

   

• Q&A: Green Alternatives to Traditional Building Materials

  Q: I live in northern coastal California, in the heart of the redwoods. We're currently remodeling a simple structure (in a highly visible town-square location) into an elaborately detailed storefront, in keeping with the surrounding 1880s architecture. While all the vintage storefronts (and their...

   

• Q&A: Offsetting Bearing Walls

  Q: There's a framing rule of thumb I've used for years that says it's okay to offset a second-story bearing wall from the first-story bearing wall below, as long as you don't offset it by more than the depth of the joist. We use this rule for standard dimensional lumber, but would it also apply to...

   

• Q&A: Sawn vs. Plywood Shims

  Q: Ideally, pier/beam connections are always properly aligned, with the pier at the right elevation to fully support the beam above. But in the real world, a little shimming always seems to be required. Are shims ripped from framing lumber really adequate

   

• From the Editor: May the Best Practices Succeed

  May the Best Practices Succeed

   

• On the Job: Framing an Elliptical Staircase

  Framing an elliptical staircase

   

• Q&A: Reinforcing Old Framing

  Q: We're remodeling a 1930s vintage San Diego home and have to seismically reinforce its cripple walls with plywood, shear transfer plates, and hold-downs. Because all the framing is very dry and most of the cripples measure only 1 foot to 2 feet in lengt

   

• Innovative Products 2006

  Our annual pick of products designed to help you work smarter, faster, and better.

   

• Wall Bracing and the IRC

  Section R602.10 of the International Residential Code calls for "braced wall lines" composed of "braced wall panels." The location, width, and construction details of these braced wall panels, as well as the materials that can be used to build them, are spelled out in the code's text, tables, and...

   

• Adding a Cantilevered Bay (Subscriber content)

  A steel frame anchored to a new concrete foundation provides support.

   

• Legal: Spell Out Your Standards of Workmanship (Subscriber content)

  Spell out your standards of workmanship

   

• Auditing issues worry LIHTC industry

  Work continues on solving one of the big issues facing the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) market this year: the possibility of more expensive accounting requirements.

   

• Seismic Retrofit For Cripple Walls (Subscriber content)

  A good job addresses the building's weakest link - where the foundation attaches to the first floor.

   

• Letters

  Radon check; backfill pressure; Spanish lessons; mold precautions; source for rising hinges; more

   

• Retrofitting an Engineered Shear Panel (Subscriber content)

  Prefab panels made it possible to open up the floor plan by removing part of an interior shear wall.

   

• Q&A: Making Long Trim From MDF

  Q. Because it's a lot cheaper than most primed stock, I'd like to use MDF for running trim. But that means I'll have a lot more butt joints, especially if I use 8-foot sheets, which I find to be more manageable on site than 10- or 12-foot sheets, which we can also get. What's a good way to make...