News
Field notes from the framing sequence.
What the stamp means, why the plate line gets rolled first, and the builders being recognized for building past code. Written for the people who run the jobs.
Reading the stamp: what Class A means on a fire treated 2x
Every piece of FireProShop lumber arrives stamped. Here is what the building official reads on it, what the framer should know about it, and why the stamp says nothing about incising.
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Field notes
The one surface nobody can reach again
Once the walls stand, the bottom of the plate is gone for the life of the house. Why we roll Snap-Plate Mold Defender on the deck at layout, and why three inches wide of the line matters.
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Builder recognition
Fifteen builders are on the list. It is still open.
The 2026 Ben Franklin Award has gone to fifteen builders, framers, lumber people and designers who decided the code minimum was not good enough. Who they are, what they did, and how the sixteenth gets on.
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Have a project worth writing about?
Builders doing all three things on a real job are considered for the Ben Franklin Award.