Design and Reference Books

American Forest & Paper Association
Allowable Stress Design (ASD) Manual for Engineered Wood Construction (2001)
Packaged with the National Design Specification® (NDS ®) for Wood Construction (2001 Edition) and its Supplement: Design Values for Wood Construction. Brings together all required elements for design of wood structures in one comprehensive package. Includes design information and examples for structural lumber, structural glued-laminated timber, structural-use panels, timber poles and piles, structural connections, wood I-joists, metal-plate-connected wood trusses, structural composite lumber, and pre-engineered metal connectors. Over 900 pages. #T101.


Details For Conventional Wood Frame Construction
This publication provides essential requirements for construction, and information to assist in the design, construction and inspection of wood structures of proven durability and performance.


Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Manual for Engineered Wood Construction (1996 Edition)
Parallels the format of the Allowable Stress Design (ASD) Manual and includes the AF&PA/ASCE 16-95 Standard for LRFD for Engineered Wood Construction. Brings together all required elements for design of wood structures in one comprehensive package. Includes design information and examples for structural lumber, structural glued-laminated timber, structural-use panels, timber poles and piles, structural connections, wood I-joists, metal-plate-connected wood trusses, structural composite lumber, and pre-engineered metal connectors. Over 700 pages. #T80.


Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One- and Two-Family Dwellings - (2001 Edition)
Provides engineered and prescriptive requirements for wood frame construction base on dead, live, snow, seismic and wind loads derived from the 2000 International Building Code (IBC). Includes commentary. 312 pages. #T10-01.


Wood Structural Design Data
This publication provides information relating to design of typical wood structural members. These data are augmented by reference to the National Design Specification for Wood Construction, particularly on the subject of design stresses.


American Institute of Timber Construction
Timber Construction Manual - 5th Edition, 2004
Design information on sawn and glued-laminated timber members and their fastenings. Emphasis is on single members such as columns, beams, arches, and trusses. Includes AITC standards, section properties and design values for both sawn and glued-laminated timber, plus design-aid tables. Based on the 1991 NDS®. 904 pages.


Glued Laminated Timber Bridge Systems Manual
Provides design methods based on AASHTO specifications, examples and industry recommendations for the use of preservative-treated glued-laminated timber in the construction of vehicular and pedestrian bridges. Three types of glued laminated timber bridges are featured, 1) longitudinal deck, 2) longitudinal stringer with transverse deck, and 3) longitudinal stress-laminated girder bridges. Preliminary design tables for HS 15-44, HS 20-44 and HS 25-44 loadings. Spans from 6 feet to 72 feet. Includes details of connections, diaphragms and railing systems. A must for bridge designers. 1999. 44 pages.


Typical Construction Details
Includes detailed sketches and descriptive information for connections of glued laminated timber members including: beams to masonry; cantilever beams; beam and purlin hangers; beam to columns; column anchorage; arch anchorage; arch connections; truss connections; suspended loading connections. Describes various connections that should be avoided and details the protection of glulam from decay. Recommended for architects, engineers, building officials, timber designers and detailers of glued laminated timber. 2003. 32 pages.


APA - The Engineered Wood Association
Design/Construction Guide - Concrete Forming
This publication is intended for use by architects, engineers and contractors in their pursuit of successful, cost-effective concrete structures. It contains APA panel grade information, form maintenance recommendations, design data and several project case histories.


Design/Construction Guide - Diaphragms and Shear Walls
This guide defines diaphragms and shear walls and gives examples of how they can be incorporated into building design.


Design/Construction Guide - Fire-Rated Systems
This brochure is designed to bring you up to date on what are considered today among the most cost-effective fire-rated construction systems you can design or build - wood and wood structural panel systems.


Design/Construction Guide - Noise-Rated Systems
This booklet is designed to help you avoid the costly mistake of poor acoustics, the result of which can be a high vacancy rate. It includes basic information on the types, measurement and control of noise, the results of acoustic tests on various plywood construction systems, and a report on field construction versus laboratory tests.


Design/Construction Guide - Nonresidential Roof Systems
Cost savings, design flexibility and durability make wood roof systems an increasingly preferred solution to commercial and industrial roof design problems. This brochure from APA – The Engineered Wood Association includes design recommendations for structural wood panels, glulam beams and I-joists used in nonresidential roof construction.


Design/Construction Guide - Wood Structural Panels Over Metal Framing
This brochure describes typical assemblies for wood structural panels attached to metal framing in floor, wall and roof construction.


Engineered Wood Construction Guide
This guide is designed as a reference manual for both residential and commercial construction. It contains up-to-date information on APA Performance Rated Panels, glulams, I-Joists, specification practices, floor, wall and roof systems, diaphragms and shear walls, fire-rated systems and methods of finishing.


I-Joist Construction Details
This installation guide includes recommended construction details for Performance Rated I-Joists in floors and roof applications. In addition to floor and roof framing details, this guide includes recommendations for cantilevers and placement of web holes.


American Society of Agricultural Engineers
Post-Frame Building Design - edited by John N. Walker and Frank E. Woeste, 1992
Documents the engineering analysis and design of postframe buildings. Covers structural loads and design, diaphragms, posts, foundations, lumber treatments, a full-scale building test, and a one-hour wall fire test. 358 pages.


American Society of Civil Engineers
Wood Engineering in the 21st Century:Research Needs and Goals - edited by Kenneth J. Fridley, 1998
Proceedings of workshop to develop a framework for future coordinated research in wood engineering. 168 pages.

Canadian Wood Council
Introduction to Wood Building Technology
Wood-frame construction, building envelopes, and inspection of new and existing structures. Design and construction details with more than 200 drawings. 430 pages.


Wood Reference Handbook
Covers specifications for structural wood products, connections, and finishes. Provides details for products, techniques, and applications. Contains over 400 photos and drawings and more than 80 tables. 560 pages.


Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Helpful documents covering the range from home purchase to home maintenance.


Canadian Wood-Frame House Construction Package
Guide on building wood­frame houses from excavation to finishing touches. Includes illustrations, sizing tables, metric and imperial measurements, Planning Ahead and Checking Back notes, plus Healthy Housing TM tips to improve indoor air quality and minimize environmental impacts. 300 pages.


Sustainable Buildings - Green By Design
Wood brings you the best of all worlds – proven construction benefits, along with sound environmental advantages – from the forest floor to the construction site. That makes wood the natural choice for today’s designers and builders.


Tall Walls Workbook
A guide to designing wood stud walls up to 10.7 m (35 ft) high for single storey commercial wood structures.


Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau
New Roof Construction Manual
Descriptive set of web pages covering general design and application details, flashing details, fasteners, ventilation details, maintenance and specification guidelines.


Forest Products Laboratory
Clark C. Heritage Memorial Series
Available from Materials Education Council. Four-volume series providing educational materials on wood in a form adaptable for use in colleges of engineering. Intended as ready packages of information that can be incorporated into existing courses or form the basis of new courses for engineers and architects.
Volume I, Wood: Its Structure and Properties, 1981, 465 pages.
Volume II, Wood as a Structural Material, 1982.
Volume III, Adhesive Bonding of Wood and Other Structural Materials, 1983.
Volume IV, Wood: Engineering Design Concepts, 1987, 606 pages.

Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material - 1999.
Available from Forest Products Society or U.S. Government Printing Office. Summarizes information on wood as an engineering material. Provides physical and mechanical properties of wood and how these properties are affected by variations in the wood itself. 466 pages.


Forest Products Society
Manual for the Inspection of Residential Wood Decks and Balconies


Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material


The Nature of Wood and Wood Products CD-ROM


Wood Decks: Materials, Construction and Finishing


Nondestructive Evaluation of Wood


Building an Industrial Wood Finish


Finishes for Exterior Wood: Selection, Application and Maintenance


Enhancing the Durability of Lumber and Engineered Wood Products


Kluwer Academic Publishers
Structural Design in Wood - Second Edition by Judith J. Stalnaker and Ernest C. Harris, 1997.
Integrates theory with practical design and contains step-by-step explanations. Contains numerous example problems using Allowable Stress Design (ASD) and selected examples using Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD). Based on the 1991 NDS® and the 1995 LRFD Standard. 448 pages. (ISBN 0412106310)

The McGraw-Hill Companies
APA Engineered Wood Handbook - Thomas G. Williamson, P.E., Editor, 2002.
The handbook addresses the design and use of glued engineered wood composite products in building construction applications. An APA scientist or engineer wrote each of the handbook’s 13 chapters.

Design and Construction of Wood-Framed Buildings - by Morton Newman, 1994.
Practical and graphic medium of communication among architects, engineers, and contractors. 350 design details and diagrams. 400 pages. (ISBN 0070463638)

Design of Wood Structures: Allowable Stress Design - Fourth Edition by Donald E. Breyer, Kenneth J. Fridley and Kelly Cobeen, 1999.
Focuses on Allowable Stress Design (ASD). Provides the latest information on loading criteria and lateral force design (wind or earthquake). Based on the 1997 NDS®. 950 pages. (ISBN 0070077169)

Timber Construction for Architects and Engineers - by Eliot E. Goldstein, 1998.
Construction details illustrate how wood is used with other materials. Advantages of wood products are compared with alternatives such as steel and concrete. 140 illustrations. 400 pages. (ISBN 0070245800)

Wood Engineering and Construction Handbook - Third Edition edited by Keith F. Faherty and Thomas G. Williamson, 1998.
One-stop resource for designing wood structures and wood components. Discusses basic engineering properties of wood and provides design procedures, design equations, and many examples in Allowable Stress Design (ASD). Based on the 1997 NDS®. 340 illustrations. (ISBN 0070220700)

Wood Framing Portable Handbook - by Jonathan F. Hutchings, 1999.
(ISBN 0071342478)

National Frame Builders Association
Post-Frame Building Design Manual - 2000.
Proper design of postframe buildings, including building codes, structural loads and deflection criteria, structural design, diaphragm design, post properties, post foundation design, and design examples. 95 pages.


National Wood in Transportation Information Center
Timber Bridges: Design, Construction, Inspection, and Maintenance - by Michael A. Ritter, 1990
Information on modern timber bridge technology. A comprehensive source for timber bridge design, construction, inspection, and maintenance. 1000 pages.

Redwood Inspection Service
Redwood Lumber Grades And Uses
There are over thirty different grades of redwood lumber including general purpose grades and specialized grades for a single use. There is a grade of redwood for almost any application suitable for wood.


Southern Pine Council
Post-Frame Construction Guide
An overview for those new to post-frame construction.


Permanent Wood Foundations - Design & Construction Guide
This guide describes the features and advantages of Permanent Wood Foundations. And it provides builders and architects with detailed construction tips for a variety of building styles, including both crawl space and full basement foundations.


West Publishing Company
Structural Wood Design - by Shan Somayaji, 1990.
Designed for upper level wood courses in civil engineering and architecture. Broad coverage ranges from the design of trusses, arches, and beam columns to wind and seismic analysis. Emphasizes element rather than systems design. 600 pages. (ISBN 0314481451)

Western Wood Products Association
Western Woods Use Book (WWUB) - Fourth Edition, 1996.
Western species and grade information, design data, formulas and example problems, shear and moment diagrams, beam design, tables for Western lumber and timbers, column tables, lateral forces information, mechanical connections. Update package includes the 2001 NDS® and other updated technical data. More than 200 pages.


Wiley Publishers
Simplified Design of Wood Structures - Fifth Edition by Harry Parker and James Ambrose, 1997.
Complete and practical introduction to the design of wood structures for buildings. Intended for readers with limited experience in engineering mechanics, structural analysis, or advanced mathematics. 351 pages. (ISBN 0471179892)

Wood Truss Council of America
Metal Plate Connected Wood Truss Handbook - Third Edition.
The reference book on metal plate connected wood trusses was updated in 2002 with the most current industry standards and building codes, history, design, fabrication, testing, quality assurance, connection details, fire resistance assemblies and much more - over 50 pages have been added since the last edition. Also included are appendices containing span tables, design aids, specifications, a glossary, industry associations, and a list of WTCA members. This is the most comprehensive industry reference of its kind. 480 pages.


What Every Architect / Engineer (A&E) Should Know About Metal Plate Connected Wood Floor / Roof Trusses, John E. Meeks, P.E.

A discussion about pre-engineered, prefabricated, Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses and how they may be integrated into a structural system to meet the expectations of today's practicing Architects and Engineers.