The recent approval of the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau’s (SPIB) new design values for visually graded Southern Pine lumber by the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) Board of Review has generated more questions among producers and customer groups.
The Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) facilitated a task group of industry leaders representing key customer groups to develop answers to the most commonly asked questions regarding new design values and their implementation. This new collection of questions and answers is now available at www.southernpine.com.
SPIB issued Supplement No.9 to the 2002 Standard Grading Rules for Southern Pine Lumber providing new design values effective June 1, 2012.
The only design values that will change on June 1 apply to visually graded Southern Pine and Mixed Southern Pine sized 2 to 4-in-wide and 2 to 4-in-thick (2x2s through 4x4s) in No.2 and lower grades (No.2, No.3, Stud, Construction, Standard and Utility).
What about dense and nondense lumber? What about prime lumber grades? What happens between now and June 1?
These are among the new questions answered in SFPA’s updated web pages. A helpful table is included listing the new design values for Southern Pine and Mixed Southern Pine, effective June 1, 2012.
Answers address transition issues, how to obtain similar load-carrying capabilities, and why only some grades and sizes are affected at this time. More than two-dozen questions are answered in this updated collection, including a supplemental set of questions with answers providing important background information on this issue.
“The effective date of June 1 allows for an orderly transition to the new design values,” says Cathy Kaake, SFPA’s senior director of engineered and framing markets. “These answers address the most common questions raised since the ALSC’s decision earlier this month,” she adds.
The Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) continues to facilitate the dialog about new design values and their implementation. Between now and June 1, SFPA will provide more information as it becomes available; check www.southernpine.com frequently for updates. BD+C
Related Stories
| Mar 27, 2013
Small but mighty: Berkeley public library’s net-zero gem
The Building Team for Berkeley, Calif.’s new 9,500-sf West Branch library aims to achieve net-zero—and possibly net-positive—energy performance with the help of clever passive design techniques.
| Mar 27, 2013
RSMeans cost comparisons: college labs, classrooms, residence halls, student unions
Construction market analysts from RSMeans offer construction costs per square foot for four building types across 25 metro markets.
| Mar 26, 2013
Will Google Glass revolutionize the construction process?
An Australian architect is exploring the benefits of augmented reality in the design and construction process.
| Mar 24, 2013
World's tallest data center opens in New York
Sabey Data Center Properties last week celebrated the completion of the first phase of an adaptive reuse project that will transform the 32-story Verizon Building in Manhattan into a data center facility. When the project is completed, it will be the world's tallest data center.
| Mar 22, 2013
8 cool cultural projects in the works
A soaring opera center in Hong Kong and a multi-tower music center in Calgary are among the latest cultural projects.
| Mar 22, 2013
Earn $500 as a DOE proposal reviewer
The DOE'S Building Technologies Office this morning put out a call to the AEC industry for expert reviewers for its new energy-efficiency initiative for small commercial buildings, which make up more than 90% of the commercial building stock.
| Mar 21, 2013
Best Firms to Work For: Enermodal Engineering is green to the core
At Enermodal Engineering, there’s only one kind of building—a sustainable one.
| Mar 21, 2013
Are charter schools killing private schools?
A recent post on Atlantic Cities highlights research by the U.S. Census Bureau's Stephanie Ewert that shows a correlation between the growth of charter schools and the decline in private school enrollment.