One of the ways many homeowners increase the enjoyment (and monetary) value of their property is by adding a well-designed deck, pergola or other outdoor structure to their backyard. Whether it’s for entertaining or just chilling with a good read and a bracing beverage, a beautiful outdoor living space makes any backyard activity more desirable. Perhaps that’s why, in a 2017 survey, 25% of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) remodelers reported adding a deck as one of their most common projects, and the figure was nearly identical for new home construction.
When you live in earthquake country, you know it’s not “if” there will be a big quake, it’s “when.” You may have an earthquake emergency kit ready, but there are also steps you can take now to strengthen your home to make it more resistant to earthquake damage. And if you live in California, there’s a program called the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) that provides up to $3,000 for seismic retrofit grants to homeowners residing in more than 150 California zip codes. If you’ve checked it before and your zip code wasn’t listed, be sure to check it again
Founded by Jim McCall in 1993, McCall Homes has always been focused on providing quality homes in neighborhoods across Billings, Montana. As McCall’s three children (Brad, Carolee, and Greg) joined the company over the years, that concept of quality has evolved into an even more meaningful vision: to create communities where homeowners can connect with their neighbors and live in a place “where life really happens.”
Finding the right talent has never been more difficult, in my memory. It seems companies are clamoring for rock stars and unicorns and doing whatever they can to find and attract them. Salaries are on the rise, but so is turnover. With every valued employee that leaves for a new opportunity, the workload grows for depleted departments and internal recruiting teams. It’s a cycle that’s accelerated by making poor leadership hires or encouraging a candidate exclusion approach where only the most perfect choice will do.
Homeowners seeking the best bang for their buck on home improvement projects typically turn to swanky kitchen or bath upgrades involving high-end appliances or granite countertops. But the latest cost-versus-value report by Remodeling magazine finds that the addition of masonry veneer siding delivers a much higher return on investment.
Simpson Strong-Tie’s “Give It Your Best Shot” photo contest is returning for the summer of 2019. Last year, we received dozens of beautiful shots of pergolas that were built using our Outdoor Accents connectors and fasteners. It was tough to choose a winner, but eventually we settled on Chris Lewis from Chula Vista, California.
As winter turns to spring and the days get warmer and longer, homeowners gear up for backyard barbecues and fun in the sun. That means brisk business for the deck-building industry, which has been enjoying rapid growth in tandem with the increased popularity of outdoor living and entertaining. After all, what homeowner doesn’t want a nice outdoor deck?
This post examines several advantages of fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) applications over traditional shotcrete methods in the repair and reinforcement of concrete construction.
Residences and low-rise commercial structures have been built using dimensional wood framing since the mid-19th century. The first skyscraper ever built was erected with steel framing, however. The Home Insurance Building in Chicago was completed in 1885 and was 10 stories tall.
One of the first things you notice when you visit our home office in Pleasanton, CA, is the art. Our late founder, Barclay Simpson, had a great appreciation for art. It’s one of the many legacies he left us. From the eight-foot metal sculpture of Michelangelo’s David — made completely from Simpson Strong-Tie products — that greets you at the main entrance, to the one-of-a-kind paintings, prints and sculptures scattered throughout the building, it’s quickly apparent that ours is not just another suburban office building.
On October 10, Hurricane Michael made landfall on the Florida Panhandle with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. Having already wrought havoc across Central America, the Category 4 storm became the third most powerful hurricane (in terms of minimum central pressure, a key indicator of strength) ever to hit the contiguous United States. By the time the storm finally cleared, it had tragically claimed 60 lives and some $11.28 billion in damages.
One of the Simpson Strong-Tie core values is to give back to the communities where our employees work and live. This value, established by our company founder, Barclay Simpson, is reflected in the actions of not only our company but also of our employees. One of our biggest days of giving back is November’s Simpson Strong-Tie Do What You Can Day, an annual event celebrated throughout our company at our locations around the world. Here are some of the ways we did what we could.
FRP fiber-reinforced polymer provides a number of advantages over traditional concrete-strengthening materials and methods. Strengthening concrete structures by means of this composite has benefits for contractors and property owners alike. While FRP is not feasible for all applications, there are demonstrable FRP advantages for many structural rehabilitation projects.
In 2011, it was Hurricane Irene; in 2012, it was Sandy and then Hurricane Patricia; 2017 gave us Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate. This year, with Hurricane Florence, we’ve been reminded that damage can’t be predicted by the frequency of the hurricanes or even necessarily where one ranks on the Saffir-Simpson Scale when it makes landfall. Many factors can make even a Category One Hurricane devastating.
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is changing the way urban builders scrape the sky. From London to Tokyo, the race is on to build the tallest wood-framed skyscraper in the world. Prized for its workability, low cost and visual aesthetics, wood was widely used by urban builders until the early 20th century, when fires triggered by the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake leveled the largely stick-built city. Until recently, the other knock on wood was a vertical one, in that stick-framed buildings generally top out at five stories, owing to the accumulation of dead and live loads in excess of the allowable loads
Parts, however solid and sturdy they are, won’t hold themselves up. They have to be fastened in place. That’s why we offer a complete line of fasteners that are designed and tested specifically for use with our connectors. However, not every fastener can be used with every connector. Here’s how to identify the right fastener-connector combination for your next project.
Legions of catatonic organisms lie asleep in the matrix, waiting only for momentary exposure to water and oxygen in order to awaken — whereupon the organisms immediately germinate, grow and fulfill their destiny, sealing the cracks in the fabric of their universe before falling dormant once again.
Robots. Drones. 3D printing. Self-driving bulldozers. If residential construction is ripe for so-called disruption (and sweeping advancements already made by commercial and industrial builders says it is), then most technologists, forward-thinkers and first adopters agree we’ll need a native, digital, data-based language to help run it all.
Thank you for stopping by! We’re taking a brief break today so Simpson Strong-Tie team members can celebrate the Fourth of July with family and friends.
Situated on the northwest coast of Oregon, the resort town of Seaside — population 6,685 — seems an unlikely place for advanced seismic and tsunami simulations. But just offshore Seaside’s charming 1920s boardwalk and its broad, sandy beaches famed for razor clamming, the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate is slowly sliding underneath the behemoth North American plate.
As we’ve seen with the hurricane seasons of that past decade or so, homes are not always built to withstand a major storm. The hurricane season of 2017 was one of the deadliest and costliest seasons in US history. Countless homes and buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, leaving thousands of families displaced. It will take years for communities to rebuild and recover from such devastation. Fortunately, there are solutions that can help protect your home from a hurricane or high-wind event.
