You’re likely to see signs advertising pressure treated wood the next time you walk through your local hardware store or a lumber yard. But what exactly does “pressure treated wood” mean, and how do they pressure treat wood? Keep reading to find out these answers and more. How is wood pressure treated? Professionals pressure treat lumber by immersing it in a liquid preservative and then placing it in a vacuum-sealed pressure chamber. The chamber forces the chemicals into the wood fibers and ensures they make it to the core of the piece. Before the lumber is soaked, it’s incised to... View Article
When constructing a safe building, you’ll need to choose the right type of frames. Depending on what your structural and seismic needs may be, you could use braced frames or portal frames. As always, you should ask your engineer or architect which type is better for your specific project. Here’s an overview of braced frames and portal frames so you’ll better understand what these terms mean when your team explains their methodology. What are braced frames? Braced frame construction is also referred to as beam and column construction. You’ve undoubtedly seen this before—it’s an extremely common form of construction that... View Article
Unless you’re an architect, builder or engineer, you may not have any reason to understand shear walls. However, when you’re building a structure, knowing the difference between difference types of walls helps guarantee you get the right kind of construction for your project. Shear walls are built to resist lateral forces like wind and seismic activity, as opposed to walls that keep the building standing upright. Almost all buildings have external shear walls, but usually, only larger buildings include internal shear walls. There are certain challenges associated with shear walls—door and window placement being a major one—but their uses are... View Article
Not every household is hooked up to a network of public sewage pipes. Farms and rural homes are often tasked with installing their own private septic systems. While they’re better for the environment, the septic system planning process can be a daunting task for homeowners. Here’s everything you need to know about a basic septic system design. Septic tank size A standard septic system design consists of two main components: the septic tank and the drain field. A septic tank temporarily holds wastewater and organic matter until it’s ready to filter back into the underground water table. Septic tanks are... View Article
Most people don’t think about what forensic engineering is because, whatever it may be, they don’t think it applies to them. The opposite couldn’t be more true. Forensic engineering inspections don’t just determine how a building fell apart after the fact—they save money, protect property and keep you out of harm’s way. The role of forensic engineering When people hear the word “forensic,” most of them imagine detectives sleuthing their way around a crime scene. The detective gathers evidence that illustrates a story of what happened, who did it and why. Police track down the culprit and bring them to... View Article
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