• Welcome to The Building Code Forum

    Your premier resource for building code knowledge.

    This forum remains free to the public thanks to the generous support of our Sawhorse Members and Corporate Sponsors. Their contributions help keep this community thriving and accessible.

    Want enhanced access to expert discussions and exclusive features? Learn more about the benefits here.

    Ready to upgrade? Log in and upgrade now.

Shear Walls in New York?

J

joecode

REGISTERED
Joined
Apr 1, 2023
Messages
20
Location
new york
I obtained the plans for a recently built, similar project to mine (3 story wood frame apts) and they
have shear walls throughout the bldg. This is something I would only expect to see on the West coast.
Has something changed in New York? Our wind speed is 110 mph, has been for a long time.
 
I'm on the West Coast, and our windspeed is 110 as well. Very common to have interior brace or shear wall elements.

Given that you indicated shear wall, it is an engineered design (as it should be for an apartment building). As an engineered design, it is up to the specifics of the building, material weights and strengths, etc.
 
I will contact the design engineer to see reasons why. I do know this area got hit by a tornado 10 years ago,
perhaps they are designing for that.
 
Where was that project built? NYC and Long Island are in high wind areas, and there's a special wind area near the Catskills.
 
Even on the west coast sometimes wind still governs and in those situations the engineer will typically use shear walls to resist the wind loads.

If you didn't use shear walls how would you resist the lateral loads on the building?

In New York hurricanes are more common than tornados.
 
joecode said:
I will contact the design engineer to see reasons why. I do know this area got hit by a tornado 10 years ago,
perhaps they are designing for that.
Click to expand...
Regular wind loads on a wood frame 3 story would generate the requirement for shear walls. Not sure why this is a surprise. Even when I was in PA this was normal for larger wood framed buildings.
 
ICE: Tornados in New York are not that powerful. F2 is max 157 mph

The 2006 Westchester County tornado was the strongest and largest tornado in Westchester County, New York since the 1904 Chappaqua tornado. It touched down there on Wednesday, July 12, 2006, and traveled 13 miles (21 km) into southwestern Connecticut during a 33-minute span through two states. The tornado touched down at 3:30 p.m. EDT (19:30 UTC) on the shore of the Hudson River before becoming a waterspout and traveling 3 mi (5 km) across the river. Coming ashore, the tornado entered Westchester County and struck the town of Sleepy Hollow at F1 intensity. After passing through the town, it intensified into an F2 tornado and grew to almost a one-quarter mile (400 m) in diameter.
 
Mark K said:
Let in braces would likely not be adequate. Heavier wood braces are not really something that is in the vocabulary of most framing contractors.
Click to expand...
I didn't say let-in braces. Do you not know what a brace wall is? Think shear wall, but subtract the engineer. Prescriptive IRC and IBC have design provisions for brace walls and not shear walls. Brace walls = Prescriptive. Shear walls = Engineered Design.
 
jar546 said:
Regular wind loads on a wood frame 3 story would generate the requirement for shear walls. Not sure why this is a surprise. Even when I was in PA this was normal for larger wood framed buildings.
Click to expand...
Yes all bldgs have to counteract shear forces, in a wood frame bldg, the interior perpendicular walls do that if they are not spaced very far apart.
These walls were designed by an engineer, specifically detailed, and are both perpendicular & parallel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top