Our Process
Design.
Engineering.
Work Archive
About Us
The Waddell Engineering Ltd is a engineering and design firm specializing in timber structures. Our team of engineers can take any project from wild designs to classic forms in heavy timber framing. We specialize entrances for houses, churches, institutional buildings, offices and barns. We also enjoy revitalizing those great (and not-so-great) existing timber framed barn.
Our engineers are licensed in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan & Prince Edward Island.
Our Other Services
Our Other Services
- Agricultural Expertise
- Residential Expertise
- Floating Slabs
- Industrial & Millwrighting expertise
- Lifting Devices and Lifting Beams
General Engineering Principles We Use In Our Designs
The following are some of the engineering principles we use for timber design:
- Wood pegs are typically specified as Oak.
- If the wood species of the timber is unknown then we usually assume Northern.
- Moment connections are avoided for wood connections. Wood braces are designed for compression only.
- Old growth wood is stronger than new wood. Old growth wood was harvested from dense forests where trees had to compete for light. As a result the trees grew slower and have tighter growth rings (i.e. tighter wood fibers). Tighter wood fibers greatly reduce the crushing of wood perpendicular to the grain. It also increases the capacity of the wood in compression, tension and shear.
- We usually grade the timber before construction. Timber without a considerable number of knots is preferred.
- We prefer to use all wood connections but if the loading requires concealed mechanical connections we like to use Sherpa, Rothoblass, Pitzl & SDD fasteners.