Wood is one of the most versatile building materials available. It has been used since the beginning of time. Below are some of the major industry groups that provide free technical material on their websites.
For wood related articles on archtoolbox.com, visit the Wood / Plastic / Composites page.
American Wood Council
The American Wood Council provides a number of free and helpful documents for architects. Especially helpful are the Details for Conventional Wood Frame Construction and the span tables that they provide for beams, joists, and rafters. In addition, they provide a number of their details in CAD formats. One of the most helpful resources that the AWC offers are their online calculators, which are also available as apps for mobile devices.
American Institute of Timber Construction
The American Institute of Timber Construction has a lot of free technical information about heavy timber construction including beam capacities, technical notes, and design standards.
APA -- The Engineered Wood Association
The Engineered Wood Association website has an entire library of technical resources that are free to view in PDF format. Be sure to check out their APA Publications, many of which are free to download. In addition, their Wood University offers lots of free courses and publications. Finally, they have a lot of CAD files of wood framing details.
Architectural Woodwork Institute
The Architectural Woodwork Institute doesn't provide any technical information on their website, but they do publish the definitive technical specification guides for finish carpentry, The AWI Standards. The AWI is also available to provide review and certification services for design teams.
Woodwork Institute
The Woodwork Institute has a number of free resources on their website including guide specifications, stile and rail door drawings, and molding shape drawings. As with the Architectural Woodwork Institute, they offer certification and review services. They publish the North American Architectural Woodwork Standards.
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council sets standards for responsible forest management in the United States and around the world. Their website provides information about their mission and their certification process. In addition, they work closely with the United States Green Building Council in the development of the LEED program.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative sets standards for sustainable forest management across North America. Their website provides information about their mission and their various certifications.
Southern Forest Products Association
The Southern Forest Products Association, which also runs SouthernPine.com, provides technical and design publications about southern pine lumber.
