AWC/ICC Publish High Wind Guides

Washington, DC - AF&PA's American Wood Council (AWC) and the International Code Council® (ICC®) are pleased to announce the release of AF&PA's newly-developed Guides to Wood Construction in High Wind Areas.

With a tremendous need in the hurricane-prone Southeast for simple design tools, AWC has developed a new series of easy-to-use Guides for builders who are constructing one- and two-family dwellings in high-wind areas of the country. This new series of publications is co-branded with ICC and targeted at builders.

"These customized guides will be highly effective in improving construction and safety of homes in hurricane prone regions. When used in conjunction with the ICC's hurricane resistant construction requirements, they provide simplified solutions, increased consistency, and improved building code compliance" said Wally Bailey, President - Board of Directors for ICC® and Director of Development & Construction with the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Individually-published Guides address design requirements in 90, 100, 110, 120, and 130 mph wind zones, respectively. The Guides are simplified versions of AF&PA's building-code-recognized Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One- and Two-Family Dwellings 2001 Edition. Prescriptive solutions presented in the Guides are compatible with the WFCM 2001 and in compliance with the ICC family of building codes. For example, use of any of the Guides will result in design solutions that prescriptively meet the requirements of the International Residential Code.

These Guides were developed with input from, and in cooperation with, the National Association of Home Builders, FEMA/URS, ICC, and the Institute for Business and Home Safety.

To download FREE copies of the Guides, visit the AWC website at www.awc.org. To order printed copies, contact ICC at 1-800-ICC-SAFE (422-7233).

For more information, contact John "Buddy" Showalter, P.E. or

AF&PA’s American Wood Council (AWC) and the International Code Council (ICC) announced the release of AF&PA’s newly-developed Guides to Wood Construction in High Wind Areas. ICC’s Dominic Sims, COO (left), Rick Weiland, CEO (left center), and Mark Johnson, Sr. VP of Product Development (right), discussed the impact these tools will have on life safety and building performance with AF&PA’s Kenneth Bland, Senior Director of Codes and Standards (right center), during a recent visit at ICC’s new Washington DC Headquarters.

The American Wood Council (AWC) is the wood products division of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). AF&PA is the national trade association of the forest, paper, and wood products industry, representing member companies engaged in growing, harvesting, and processing wood and wood fiber, manufacturing pulp, paper, and paperboard products from both virgin and recycled fiber, and producing engineered and traditional wood products. For more information click here.

The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties, and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council.