stud height

[jtom]

2012 Virginia Residential Code sec.R602.3.1 exception 2 allows 18 ft 2x6 wall studs if certain conditions are met.I understand all the conditions except where it talks about supporting a roof load with not more than 6 feet of tributary length.What does this tributary length mean.Is it the height of the roof above the top plate or something else.A drawing would be nice.

 

[steveray]

Tributary loads are typically half of the span going onto the bearing member (wall, beam, whatever...) by the psf loading....This link is a pretty good document for basic structural understanding...:

http://www.beamchek.com/AcrobatFiles/IntroLoadPath.pdf

 

[Francis Vineyard]

Drawings

 

[jtom]

So it seems an open 22 ft wide room could not have 14 ft 2x6 tall walls without an engineering analysis.

 

[Francis Vineyard]

There are creative alternatives; shorten the span with a beam or a different configuration of the roof design . . .