American Wood Council approves NDS for wood construction

The American Wood Council (AWC) 2018 National Design Specification (NDS) for Wood Construction has been approved as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The NDS is referenced for wood design in the International Code Council’s 2018 International Building Code (IBC).

Primary changes in the 2018 NDS include new design provisions for ring shank nails to address increased roof uplift loads in ASCE 7-16; added design provisions for stainless steel nail withdrawal; added design provisions for fastener head pull-through in lumber and wood structural panels; revised provisions for incised lumber; and, adjustments to fire design provisions for exposed wood members and connections to aid in new applications where fire resistance ratings are required.

“To make this code-referenced standard the most user-friendly it can be, we will now be developing supporting publications such as an NDS Commentary, revising technical reports and design aids, and conducting further research to ensure continued widespread acceptance of wood in construction,” said AWC Vice President of Engineering Bradford Douglas. “AWC particularly thanks the volunteers on our Wood Design Standards Committee for their work on this important publication.”

The 2018 NDS is available in read-only electronic format on AWC’s site, AWC.org. A print version of the standard is expected to be available for purchase in early 2018.