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WIND
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DESIGN

CONCEPTS

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BUILDING IN HIGH WIND

AND SEISMIC ZONES
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ROOF DIAPHRAGM

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A P A

T h e E n g i n e e r e d Wo o d A s s o c i a t i o n

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1997 APA THE ENGINEERED WOOD ASSOCIATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ANY COPYING, MODIFICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR OTHER USE OF THIS PUBLICATION OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED BY APA IS PROHIBITED BY THE U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS.

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BUILDING IN
HIGH WIND AND
SEISMIC ZONES

In hurricane and earthquake country,

builders and designers face the task of
creating structures that can withstand
high wind and seismic forces. While
building codes address the design
requirements necessary for all types of
construction, many of the prescriptive
recommendations are either misunderstood, or are incomplete. Wood frame
construction makes it easy for building
professionals to construct strong,
durable buildings that meet code
requirements and assure good performance in severe weather and earthquakes. It is essential, however, that the
structure be properly detailed.
When building for seismic and high
wind areas, a basic understanding of
how lateral loads act on wood framing
systems, and how construction detailing
and fasteners affect the ultimate performance of a structure is invaluable.
Builders and designers can use these
principles to ensure strength, quality
and safety in both residential and
non-residential buildings located in
high wind and seismic zones.

Wood: A Strong and

Versatile Performer
Wood has inherent characteristics that
make it an ideal material in areas prone
to earthquakes and hurricanes. The light
weight of wood-frame construction
results in less force due to inertia during
an earthquake. And less force means less
damage. Additionally, the flexibility of
wood allows a wood-framed building to
better absorb and resist the forces found
in both earthquakes and hurricanes.

The elements of a wood-framed building

that enable it to withstand earthquake
or hurricane forces are the shear walls
and diaphragms. Such construction
systems rely completely on the correct
and adequate design and installation of
all components of that system: framing,
structural panel sheathing, and interelement fastening details. The improper
use of any one of these components
can have a profoundly negative impact
on the ultimate performance of
the entire structure.

Proper Fastening and

Transfer of Forces
The fastening of wood structural panels
over wall framing creates a shear wall
element. Similarly, the installation of
wood structural panels over roof or
floor supports creates a diaphragm.
When properly tied together and tied
to the foundation, the shear walls and
diaphragm elements give a building a
tremendous resistance to lateral forces/
lateral loads. These lateral forces are
generally the result of wind or seismic
forces acting horizontally on a building
or the racking incurred during seismic
events. Lateral loads are often misunderstood or ignored by builders and designers. This is not surprising due to the
fact that there is nothing intuitive
about lateral loads.
A shear wall or diaphragm cannot effectively act alone in resisting the effects of
lateral loads. For the structural system to
work, a well constructed roof diaphragm
must act to transfer lateral loads to the
shear walls and the shear walls themselves must transfer this load into the
foundation. The effectiveness of the
system is only as good as the quality
and quantity of the connections. Thus,
the key to constructing a building that

can resist lateral loads is understanding

connections and the proper transfer
of forces.
In hurricanes, loss of roofing materials
and sheathing is the leading cause of
structural failure in wood framed buildings. The central reasons behind these
failures are improper connection detailing between structural systems and
inadequate fastening of sheathing to
supporting members. Most local codes
require a minimum of 33 fasteners for a
standard 4x8 panel installed over roof
supports 24 inches o.c. Fasteners, such
as 8d common nails or other codeapproved fasteners, should be placed a
maximum of 6 inches o.c. along panel
edges and 12 inches o.c. at intermediate
supports. Following Hurricane Andrew
in Florida, damage assessment teams
found roof sheathing panels with as few
as four fasteners. Once the roof sheathing has been pulled off the roof framing,
the diaphragm ceases to function and
the load path has been interrupted.
Similarly, the most common structural
failures noted after an earthquake are
buildings that rotate on or are forced off
their foundations. Again, inadequate
fastening and connection detailing are
the culprits. In this case, it is the shear
wall elements that have been compromised. Increasing the connection of the
shear wall to the foundation and using
wood structural-panel sheathing to
increase the capacity of shear walls in
first-story walls can prevent severe damage, especially that often associated with
multi-story buildings. Important connection points include where the top of
a shear wall is fastened to the second
floor or roof framing, and where the
bottom of the wall is fastened to
the sill plate/foundation.

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Anchoring Systems
The Uniform Building Code (UBC)
requires sill plates to be fastened to the
foundation with 1/2-inch-diameter bolts
spaced no more than six feet apart.
One bolt also must be placed within
12 inches of each end of each section
of the plate. (Similar attachments are
required by the other model building
codes.) In addition to these base
shear connectors, additional anchoring with the use of holddowns is
sometimes required.
Although cast-in-place anchor bolts are
the most common means of attaching a
structure to the foundation (also the
code-approved method), there are
other anchoring systems that also may
be used, depending on your local code
jurisdiction. When anchor bolts are
misplaced or left out, epoxy anchors are
often the most economical system to
use. While cheaper than epoxy anchors,
expansion anchors should only be used
when there is sufficient clearance
between the anchor and edge of the slab
to prevent break out of slab/foundation
during tightening.
When an object is bolted down
restrained from sliding and a lateral
load is applied, an overturning force
occurs. This overturning force must be
resisted by the use of connectors called
holddown anchors or holddowns.
Utilizing holddowns, these forces can be
properly transferred to prevent overturning of structural elements.
In non-residential buildings with tilt-up
concrete walls, most damage results
from separation of roof-to-wall connections around the perimeter of the roof
diaphragm. As required by the building
codes, proper connection of roof framing to exterior walls and continuous ties
across the roof between walls prevent
such damage.

THE TWO -MINUTE ENGINEER

FORCES

Lateral load: Forces applied

parallel to level ground surface.
(wind, seismic, backfill, etc.)

Uplift: Forces applied perpendicular

to level ground surface, in an upward
direction. (wind uplift and vertical
seismic forces)

REACTION

Base shear: The reaction at the base of

a wall or structure due to an applied
lateral load Sliding Force.

Overturning: What happens when

a lateral force acts on a wall or structure
and it cant slide Tip Over Force.

Beam action: Distributes/transfers loads

around an opening and into the remainder of the structure Bending Force.

Framing anchors are commonly used in

lieu of or to augment traditional fastening systems such as bolts and common
nailed connections. They are used in
locations where the resulting forces are
too great to be handled by nailed connectors. A shear wall holddown anchor
is one such example. Capacities for
holddown anchors run from

1,500-15,000 lbs. Another location

where framing anchors are often used is
at roof truss to top plate connections,
where forces in three different directions
must be accommodated during high
wind or seismic events. Selecting the
appropriate framing anchor simplifies
making such connections.

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Designing for Lateral Loads

When designing for lateral loads, every
force that acts on the building must be
transferred by the elements in the building and by the connections between
those elements into the foundation.
This is called the Load Path. The load
path issue can be illustrated with the
following building example (Figure 1).

FIGURE 2 Lateral load acting on an end wall and transfer of resulting forces

F
WIND
A

FIGURE 1 Example structure

B
E

SIDE
EN

EN G
D

FIGURE 2a Perimeter anchor bolts transfer forces into foundation

SIDE
A

D
B

WIND
REACTION

Because an earthquake or hurricane

force can act in any direction, the
designer must design the structure for
forces acting along both the length and
the width of the structure. In addition
to these two lateral forces, both wind
and seismic events cause an uplift vertical force. Thus, there are three forces
all at 90 degrees to each other acting
on every element and every connection
between elements. The following example illustrates the lateral load path along
one of the two horizontal building axes.
The vertical load path is considered
intuitive or obvious and thus is
not illustrated.
In Figure 2, when endwall EFAB experiences a lateral wind load, one half of the
load transfers by beam action of the
wall studs to the bottom of the wall at
AB (Figure 2a) and then transfers
into the ground.

FIGURE 2b Rafter connection detail transfers forces into diaphragm

Blocking

Roof Framing

REACTION
WIND

The transfer of forces into the foundation

is accomplished by the perimeter anchor
bolts which are loaded perpendicular to
the grain of the bottom plate. The second half of the load transfers to the
rafters and from these the force flows
into the diaphragm (Figure 2b).

As at the bottom of the wall, the fasteners at the rafter connection must transfer
forces perpendicular to the grain of
the top plate (when designing for the
wind forces at the endwall), parallel to
the top plate (when designing for the

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wind forces at the sidewall), and also

resist uplift three forces in three different directions.
Because fasteners at this location must
work against multiple forces, mere toenailing of roof framing to walls, top
plates and other supporting elements is
inadequate when used without other
fastener systems. A toenail only works
well when loaded in one direction,
whereas the forces act in three directions. The same goes for holddown
straps which prevent vertical separation
but give no protection from the lateral
forces of high wind.
The forces that accumulate along line
EF in Figure 3 are next resisted by the
roof diaphragm.
The diaphragm acts like a long deep
beam which transfers these forces to the
sidewall shear wall elements. These are
the elements that carry the applied
loads into the ground. First, however,
the forces from the diaphragm have
to be transferred into the shear wall
elements (Figure 3a). This force loads
the fasteners in a direction parallel to
the top plate grain direction.
The shear wall elements are often
modeled as solid walls (Figure 4). Yet
the problem builders face is that customers do not want solid walls they
want doors and windows in the walls.
Because of this, Figure 5 is a more accurate engineering representation of a
typical wall. The openings mean that
each shear wall segment must be
designed as a small shear wall and the
total of all the segments must have the
capacity to carry the total applied loads
into the foundation.

FIGURE 3 Roof diaphragm provides resistance to lateral loads

REACTION

WIND

ROOF DIAPHRAGM

REACTION

FIGURE 3a Roof to wall connections fasteners must be able to transfer forces

between roof and walls
Blocking

Roof Framing

WIND
REACTION

FIGURE 4 Shear wall reaction to lateral loads

F

WIND (DIAPHRAGM REACTION)

SHEAR WALL

REACTION

The base of the shear wall segments

should be fastened with the perimeter
anchor bolts that are seen on the end
walls (Figure 5a). These connections

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transfer the base shear into the foundation. In this case bolts are being used to
transfer the forces as shown, although
framing anchors are available for the
same purpose. The bolts load the
bottom plate in a direction parallel to
the grain.

FIGURE 5 Reaction of segments in shear wall with openings

F

These anchor bolts restrain the shear

segments from sliding, and develops the
overturning forces discussed earlier
(Figure 6).
These overturning forces are not considered a part of the uplift force of the
structure. Unfortunately, these overturning forces are not distributed evenly
around the structure. They show up
as very large concentrated loads at the
edges of shear walls. Because these
forces have the potential for being very
large (1,500-15,000 lbs.), nails or even
the perimeter anchor bolts previously
discussed do not have the capacity to
deal with such loads. For this reason,
holddown anchors were developed
(Figure 6a).
At shear walls as well as at all other
elements and connections between
elements forces in all 3 directions must
be accommodated. In addition, fasteners must have sufficient capacity in all
directions, which means that more
connections will be needed when building for lateral loads to ensure adequite
strength under all loads.

WIND (DIAPHRAGM FORCE)

REACTION

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FIGURE 5a Shear wall anchor bolts transfer shear forces into foundation

WIND
REACTION

FIGURE 6 Overturning forces

F

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FIGURE 6a Holddown anchors transfer overturning forces into foundation

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Understanding the forces associated

with high wind and earthquake zones
and adopting the associated concepts,
recommended fasteners and construction techniques are essential to building
a safe and long-lasting structure.
Following APA guidelines for shear wall
and diaphragm construction and using
APA Rated Sheathing further ensure
quality and superior performance
under extreme conditions.

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Publishes a vast inventory of publications on panel

grades, applications, design criteria and scores of other
topics.

ABOUT APA THE ENGINEERED

WOOD ASSOCIATION

APA is a nonprofit trade association whose member

mills produce approximately 75 percent of the structural wood panel products manufactured in North
America.

Advertises and publicizes panel product systems and

applications in national trade and consumer magazines.

Works to secure acceptance of structural wood panel

products and applications by code officials, insuring
agencies and lending institutions.

Founded in 1933 as the Douglas Fir Plywood

Association and widely recognized today as the foremost
authority in the structural wood panel industry, APA
performs numerous functions and services on behalf of
panel product users, specifiers, dealers, distributors,
schools and universities and other key groups.

Develops and maintains performance and industry

product standards.

Conducts in-depth market research and development

programs to identify and penetrate new panel markets
in the U.S. and abroad.

Among the most important of these functions is quality

auditing. The APA trademark appears only on products
manufactured by APA member mills and is the manufacturers assurance that the product conforms to the
standard shown on the trademark. That standard may
be an APA performance standard, the Voluntary Product
Standard PS 1-95 for Construction and Industrial Plywood,
or Voluntary Product Standard PS 2-92, Performance
Standard for Wood-Based Structural-Use Panels. APA maintains five quality testing laboratories in key producing
regions and a 37,000-square-foot research center
at Association headquarters in Tacoma, Washington.

Works in conjunction with other wood product

industry organizations to solve problems of common
concern.

Always insist on panels bearing the mark of quality

the APA trademark. Your APA panel purchase or specification is your highest assurance of quality and an investment in the many trade services and programs that APA
undertakes on your behalf.
For more information about APA functions and services,
write APA The Engineered Wood Association,
P.O. Box 11700, Tacoma, Washington 98411-0700.

But quality validation is only one of APAs many functions. The Association also:

The product use recommendations in this publication are based on

APA The Engineered Wood Associations continuing programs of
laboratory testing, product research, and comprehensive field experience. However, because the Association has no control over quality of
workmanship or the conditions under which engineered wood products are used, it cannot accept responsibility for product performance
or designs as actually constructed. Because engineered wood product
performance requirements vary geographically, consult your local
architect, engineer or design professional to assure compliance with
code, construction, and performance requirements.

Operates the most sophisticated program for basic

panel research in the world.

Maintains an international network of field

representatives to assist panel product users, specifiers,
dealers, distributors and other segments of the trade.

Conducts informational buyer and specifier seminars

and provides dealer and distributor sales training.

1997 APA - The Engineered Wood Association

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We have field representatives in most

major U.S. cities and in Canada who can
help answer questions involving APA
trademarked products. For additional
assistance in specifying APA engineered
wood products, get in touch with your
nearest APA regional office. Call or write:
WESTERN REGION
7011 So. 19th St. P.O. Box 11700

We have field
representatives
most major U.S.
Tacoma,
Washingtonin98411-0700
cities and
in Canada
whoFax:
can (253)
help answer
ques(253)
565-6600
565-7265
tions involving APA trademarked products.
For additional assistance
in REGION
specifying APA panel
EASTERN
products, 2130
get inBarrett
touch Park
with Drive,
your nearest
APA
Suite 102
regional office.
Call orGeorgia
write: 30144-3681
Kennesaw,

(770) 427-9371 Fax: (770) 423-1703

REACTION

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WESTERN REGION
7011 So. 19thU.S.
St. HEADQUARTERS
P.O. Box 11700
AND INTERNATIONAL
Tacoma, Washington
98411-0700
MARKETING DIVISION
(206) 565-6600 Fax: (206) 565-7265

REACTION

7011 So. 19th St. P.O. Box 11700

Tacoma, Washington 98411-0700
(253) REGION
565-6600 Fax: (253) 565-7265
EASTERN

WIND

2130 Barrett Park Drive, A

Suite
ddre102
ss
eb
Kennesaw, Georgia 30144-3681
W
(770) 427-9371 Fax: (770) 423-1703

www.apawood.org
U.S. HEADQUARTERS
AND
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING DIVISION
PRODUCT
HELP DESK
7011 So.
19th St. PSUPPORT
.O. Box 11700
(253)
620-7400
Tacoma, Washington
98411-0700
E-mail Address: [email protected]
(206) 565-6600 Fax: (206) 565-7265
Internet address: http://www.apawood.org

(Offices: Antwerp, Belgium; Bournemouth,

(Offices: United
Antwerp,
Belgium; Hamburg,
London, United
Kingdom;
Kingdom;
Germany;
Madrid, Mexico
Spain; Hamburg,
Germany;
Mexico
City,For
Mexico;
City, Mexico;
Tokyo,
Japan.)
Tokyo, Japan.)
For
Caribbean/Latin
America,
contact
Caribbean/Latin America, contact
headquarters in Tacoma.
headquarters in Tacoma.
The product use recommendations in this
publication are based on APA The

REACTION

FormEngineered
No. W650/January
1997/0100 continuing
Wood Associations

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programs of laboratory testing, product

research, and comprehensive field experience. However, because the Association has
no control over quality of workmanship or
the conditions under which engineered wood
products are used, it cannot accept responsibility for product performance or designs as
actually constructed. Because engineered
wood product performance requirements
vary geographically, consult your local architect, engineer or design professional to
assure compliance with code, construction,
and performance requirements.

ROOF DIAPHRAGM

Form No. W650

Issued January 1997/0100

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A P A

T h e E n g i n e e r e d Wo o d A s s o c i a t i o n
1997 APA - The Engineered Wood Association

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