Online Lumber Technical Guide

Find all the answers to your Western lumber questions  Free Registration! for the WWPA Online Lumber Technical Guide Start exploring today!

Want to download a digital version of a WWPA publication?

Need span tables for Douglas Fir or Hem-Fir lumber?

Looking for profiles of common patterns for siding or paneling?

You can find all these and more in the WWPA Online Lumber Technical Guide.

The Guide is a free, subscription-based web site featuring detailed engineering and design information on Western lumber. Registration for the site is free and all you'll need is a valid e-mail address to confirm your subscription and start exploring.

Registration information provided by users will be kept confidential and is covered by WWPA's online privacy policy. For a review of the registration process, click here.

What's in the guide?

As a registered user, you will have access to a host of lumber information on products manufactured by mills in the western United States, from the Douglas Fir and Hem-Fir in the Pacific Northwest to the pines and spruce of the inland and southwest states.

The Guide offers 12 different sections filled with technical and application information that will allow you to specify the right Western lumber product. Some of the most popular sections include:

• Spans – Find Western lumber span tables for common loading conditions for floor and ceiling joists and rafters, with size and repetitive member adjustments built in. You can download the entire Western Lumber Span Tables publication or select an individual table based on live load and dead load.
  
• Patterns – Search through more than 100 profiles for paneling, siding, flooring and other products, complete with actual dimensions. Select the patterns by group or as an individual profile, in a form you can either download or print.
  
• Design values – Review the base values for all structural Western lumber species, as well as all adjustment factors for whatever the design specification. Explore the many design properties of Western products, as outlined in the key lumber reference Western Lumber Product Use Manual.
  
• WWPA Publications – Explore digital versions of some 30 different WWPA lumber technical reference publications. Offered in Adobe Acrobat PDF files, you can review these texts online, download them to your computer or even order printed versions.
  
• Design software – Download the popular Lumber Design Suite and Lumber DesignEasy programs, which can enhance your lumber specification process. The programs, which work in concert with Microsoft Excel, will assist you in calculating horizontal framing (beams and joists), vertical framing (posts and studs) and wood-to-wood shear connections.
  
• Special products – Learn more about special dimension products such as Machine Stress-Rated (MSR) and finger-jointed lumber. Explore the quality control process for each product line and get information on how these products can be used in construction today.

If you have questions about Western lumber, you can find the answers you need in the Online Lumber Technical Guide. Complete your free registration and start exploring today!

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the Western lumber information included in this Online Technical Guide, WWPA accepts no responsibility for errors and/or omissions in the information presented herein, or for errors which may occur in downloading and printing any of the files, nor any liability resulting from the use of this information for design and construction applications.