Category: Building Strong

DIY: Building a Covered Patio with The Awesome Orange

Did you spend the summer sitting in the backyard dreaming about adding a covered patio or a pergola? Assuming you’re handy, maybe you even spent time thinking about bypassing a local contractor and doing it yourself (well, yourself and your BFFs, who’ll work for burgers). Naturally, as the summer crept along and your dream turned into an itch, you probably found yourself looking at do-it-yourself websites to see if you could, in fact, do it yourself.

Continue reading “DIY: Building a Covered Patio with The Awesome Orange”

Building Our Company’s Future

“Company culture” has become a catch-all term to express the essence of what makes an organization good (or, in some cases, not so good) to work for. As a human resources leader, it’s my honor to work with teams dedicated to acting as positive influencers in the culture of our company. When we set out to create new processes to protect and grow the unique culture of Simpson Strong-Tie, we had outstanding direction from our founder, whose values are as relevant today  as they were more than 60 years ago when he first opened the doors.

Continue reading “Building Our Company’s Future”

10 Critical Deck Connections

Decks continue to be a popular addition to homes. In 2017, nearly 24 percent of the single-family homes started that year included a deck. The same year, 25 percent of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) remodelers reported adding a deck as one of their most common projects. Those numbers have remained pretty constant for the last decade, steadily swelling the number of decks in the United States.

Continue reading “10 Critical Deck Connections”

Leadership in Giving Back

“Give Back” is one of our nine Company Values established by our founder, Barc Simpson. He said, “No matter what each of our personal situations is, we know that there are many others in this world who will never have the opportunities we’ve had. It is our responsibility to reach out, in whatever manner we can, to support others. We’re all connected in some way and are all part of a greater community. It’s important to make what impact you can. . . . Look for small ways to give back every day. Help out your neighbor, make time for others, do what you can.”

Continue reading “Leadership in Giving Back”

Building Safety Month 2019: Partnering to Build Strong and Smart

Simpson Strong-Tie is proud to sponsor Building Safety Month. This annual event, which takes place over the entire month of May, is intended to raise awareness of building safety and all that it involves. The International Code Council pairs together professionals from the building construction, design and safety communities with corporations, government agencies, professional associations and nonprofits to promote building safety.
Continue reading “Building Safety Month 2019: Partnering to Build Strong and Smart”

Five FRP Advantages for Contractors and Structure Owners

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.
Continue reading “Five FRP Advantages for Contractors and Structure Owners”

How to Restore Your Home After a Hurricane

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.
Continue reading “How to Restore Your Home After a Hurricane”

It’s Alive! Self-Healing Concrete, Materials Science and Other Evolutionary Developments

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.
Continue reading “It’s Alive! Self-Healing Concrete, Materials Science and Other Evolutionary Developments”

Girls Inc. Visits Simpson Strong-Tie Lab

On July 6, the Simpson Strong-Tie home office in Pleasanton, California, welcomed girls from Girls, Inc. of Alameda County. This visit provided an opportunity for the girls to hear from and interact with the many women leaders of Simpson Strong-Tie.

The construction and manufacturing industries continue to be male-dominated fields. The visit provided the girls the opportunity to meet several of our women leaders and also learn about other career paths that might not be automatically associated with the manufacturing industry. Our leaders — including Jacinta Pister, senior vice president, Worldwide Manufacturing; Jennifer Lutz, vice president, Human Resources; and Shelby Short, director, Global Quality Systems — shared stories of their personal success and professional growth at Simpson Strong-Tie.
Continue reading “Girls Inc. Visits Simpson Strong-Tie Lab”