The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) has published a new document in its ongoing Tech Notes series—“Screws for Cold-Formed Steel-to-Wood and Wood-to-Cold-Formed Steel Attachments.” The Tech Note is available for purchase at the American Iron and Steel Institute online bookstore here.

The CFSEI Tech Notes provide technical instruction on specific topics related to cold-formed steel framing for residential and commercial construction. Cold-formed steel framing is often used with wood products, with screws required to attach steel stud walls to wood trusses, wood I-joists or glued-laminated (glulam) beams. Another application involves screws that connect wood structural panels used as sheathing over cold-formed steel rafters, joists and wall studs.

The new Tech Note, “Screws for Cold-Formed Steel-to-Wood and Wood-to-Cold-Formed Steel Attachments” (TN-F101-12), discusses the resources needed to complete these fastener connections, as well as their design and detailing. The resources covered in the Tech Note include:

1) the AISI North American Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members (AISI S100), which provides design equations for screw connections for cold-formed steel members

2) the National Design Specifications for Wood Construction (NDS), which evaluates  design equations for fastener/connection capacity in wood members (including nails, wood screws, bolts, etc.)

3) the Engineered Wood Association and the building codes, which offer several resources for determining the capacity of screw connections that attach wood sheathing.  

The CFSEI maintains a Steel Framing Hotline to answer inquiries from construction professionals seeking cold-formed steel solutions for their projects. Suggestions for additional Tech Note topics are welcomed. The Steel Framing Hotline is accessible at 1-800-79-STEEL.