AWC Releases Update to Span Calculator App
LEESBURG, VA. – The American Wood Council (AWC) has released an updated Maximum Span Calculator for Wood Joists and Rafters. The primary change is inclusion of updated design values as found in the 2018 National Design Specification® (NDS®) for Wood Construction Supplement.
The free Span Calculator performs calculations for all species and grades of commercially available softwood and hardwood lumber. The Calculator applies common uniform loading conditions and optionally provides adjustments for wet service conditions which allows calculation of allowable spans for outdoor deck joists. The “span options” mode allows selection of multiple species and grades for comparison purposes.
“The Span Calculator makes it a seamless process to calculate the code-permitted spans for various sizes, species, and lumber grades,” said AWC Vice President of Engineering Brad Douglas. “Now more than ever, complying with the latest building codes is crucial for ensuring safety, health, resiliency and energy efficiency that results from wood construction.”
The free updated Span Calculator app is available in the Android, iOS and Windows app stores. An update to the web-based calculator will be released later this year.
The American Wood Council (AWC) is the voice of North American wood products manufacturing, an industry that provides almost 450,000 men and women in the United States with family-wage jobs. AWC represents 86 percent of the structural wood products industry, and members make products that are essential to everyday life from a renewable resource that absorbs and sequesters carbon. Staff experts develop state-of-the-art engineering data, technology, and standards for wood products to assure their safe and efficient design, as well as provide information on wood design, green building, and environmental regulations. AWC also advocates for balanced government policies that affect wood products.
www.awc.org | @woodcouncil
MEDIA CONTACT
Heather Stegner
Vice President, Communications
202-463-4756, hstegner@awc.org
