Construction Material and Safety Issues

In order to get the most out of this course you need to keep up to date with what has and is occurring in the construction material business. Much of this research can be done on the Internet, but if you have a builders supply company near you it is worth the time to go down and browse the materials. Among the items gleaned from my local Home Depot is material on gusset plates, steel tie connections to meet wood construction wind codes, plastic “wood” decking, engineered wood “I” beams, and lightweight truss roofs. Take a good look at these products as well as the many truss products that are becoming common parts of wood and other types of construction. While these materials are good-they are only strong if used as specified. Take some time to carefully look at the specifications and then realize that meeting the requirements for proper installation to insure both structural strength and fire rating for most of these materials is often difficult to achieve. Note your observations in a minimum of 200 words in the provided discussion thread.

I encourage you to post pictures, links, videos or articles that are applicable to this week’s topic.