Category: Construction Innovations

Exploring the Possibilities of 3D Concrete Printing: A Revolutionary Way to Build

The world of construction and architecture is undergoing a revolution with the introduction of 3D concrete printing.  This new technology is allowing engineers, architects, and construction professionals to create structures more quickly, cost-effectively, and with greater precision than ever before. 3D concrete printing is a revolutionary way to build, allowing for the creation of complex shapes, intricate details, and even custom designs.  With this new technology, it is possible to create structures that were previously impossible to construct.  Furthermore, 3D concrete printing is an environmentally-friendly building technology, as it requires fewer resources, produces less waste, and can reduce the construction timeline.  

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A New Foundation for America’s Roads and Highways

Simpson Strong-Tie has been committed to helping people design and build safer, stronger structures for more than 65 years. Now we’re advancing our mission even further — to help build safer and stronger roads, highways, airport runways and other paved surfaces in North America and around the world.

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A Collaborative Simpson Strong-Tie ADU Build  

Utah Territory Manager, Jared Weston worked on a very special build to help a family in need by collaborating with the University of Utah’s Architecture students.

The Design+Build Salt Lake program at the University of Utah’s School of Architecture is a new collaboration and immersive experience developed by architect and associate professor Jörg Rügemer. Through the program, students develop, design and construct affordable, energy-efficient and resilient residential buildings from first sketch to final construction. The program serves communities around Salt Lake City and along the Wasatch Front.  Continue reading “A Collaborative Simpson Strong-Tie ADU Build  “

Extreme Environments and Shipping Traffic Batter Aging Marine Infrastructure, Necessitating Flexible Repair Solutions

Pounding waves. Ship collisions. Saltwater corrosion. Freeze and thaw cycles. Storm damage. From coast to coast, the nation’s wharves, sea walls, docks, and piers take an annual beating from sun, sand, wind, and surf, not to mention the wear and tear from supporting maritime and recreational boaters. Sure, they’re built tough, but extreme conditions put these structures in need of regular repair and restoration.  

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What You Should Know About Mass Timber Construction

Over the last decade — in outlets reaching from construction industry journals to the Boston Globe and the Economist; from CNN and Fast Company to Popular Mechanics; to Nautilus and TED talks — we’ve been hearing increasingly about mass timber and related phenomena: “CLT,” big wood, tall wood, tall timber, timber towers, ply-rises, plyscrapers, ply in the sky, super-ply, Brobdingnagian boards, and all manner of engineered arboreal futures.

So what’s the huge deal about mass timber? What on earth’s so good about wood? Is CLT the new CBD (for builders, that is)? Can ply really get that high? Is this just a big buncha buzz, or is something more solid behind it?

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Getting Big Payback from Brick or Stone Veneer Remodeling Projects

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.
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FRCM – An Alternative to Shotcrete for Structural Repair and Strengthening of Concrete

This post examines several advantages of fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) applications over traditional shotcrete methods in the repair and reinforcement of concrete construction.
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Cross-Laminated Timber Takes Wood Construction to Greater Heights Than Ever Before

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 for lumber.
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Little Locales Using Big Data to Prevent Bridge Failures

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.
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Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer: Exploring Industrial Applications

The fact that carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is strong enough to replace bulkier strengthening materials can be a surprise even to some experienced commercial contractors. After all, carbon fibers are only 5 to 10 microns in diameter, a little wider than spider silk.

Intuitively, it doesn’t seem that these tiny fibers could be a major component of a concrete strengthening system several times stronger than mounted steel plates.
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