National Design Specification® (NDS®) for Wood Construction Designers frequently request historic lumber design values. Below are links to several historic documents that may assist in evaluating existing structures: 1922 Design Values for Structural Timber In 1944, the copyrighted first edition of the National Design Specification for Stress-Grade Lumber and Its Fastenings was published by the National Lumber…
The 2024 National Design Specification (NDS) for Wood Construction was developed by AWC’s Wood Design Standards Committee and approved as a standard by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) on October 16, 2023. The 2024 NDS is referenced in the 2024 International Building Code. See updates and errata for the 2024 NDS. The 2024 NDS Commentary is available as part of…
Design provisions in the NDS are integral with design values in the NDS Supplement. As such, it is not appropriate to mix design values and provisions from different editions of the NDS. The NDS Supplement contains design values for sawn lumber, structural glued laminated timber, and round timber poles and piles. See updates and errata…
The ANSI/AWC 2015 Permanent Wood Foundation Design Specification (PWF) covers permanent wood foundation systems which are intended for light frame construction including residential buildings. This document primarily addresses the structural design requirements. The Permanent Wood Foundation is a load-bearing wood-frame wall system designed for both above and below-grade use as a foundation for light frame…
The ANSI/AWC 2021 Permanent Wood Foundation Design Specification (PWF) covers permanent wood foundation systems which are intended for light frame construction, including residential buildings. This document primarily addresses the structural design requirements. The Permanent Wood Foundation is a load-bearing wood-frame wall system designed for both above- and below-grade use as a foundation for light frame construction. The PWF specifications…
The 2024 Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One- and Two-Family Dwellings was developed by the American Wood Council’s Wood Design Standards Committee and has been approved by ANSI as an American National Standard. The 2024 WFCM is referenced in the 2024 International Building Code and 2024 International Residential Code. Tabulated engineered and prescriptive design provisions in WFCM Chapters 2 and 3 respectively, are…
The 2018 Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One and Two-Family Dwellings was developed by the American Wood Council’s (AWC) Wood Design Standards Committee and has been approved by ANSI as an American National Standard. The 2018 WFCM is referenced in the 2018 International Building Code and 2018 International Residential Code. Tabulated engineered and prescriptive design provisions in WFCM Chapters 2 and 3 respectively,…
The ANSI/AWC 2015 Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic (SDPWS) provides criteria for proportioning, designing, and detailing engineered wood systems, members, and connections in lateral force resisting systems. Engineered design of wood structures to resist wind or seismic forces is either by allowable stress design (ASD) or load and resistance factor design (LRFD). Nominal shear capacities…