ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses a project-based approach covering the design process that a structural engineer would go through for a typical wood-framed structure. Wood is a sustainable, economical, and aesthetically pleasing material that has been used for a long time in civil engineering structures. The majority of wood buildings in the United States are typically platform-framed construction, in which the vertical wall studs are built one story at a time and the floor below provides the platform to build the next level of wall that will in turn support the floor above. The book describes how the reference design values are used in both the allowable stress design (ASD) method and the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) method to obtain the allowable stresses and the ultimate stresses, respectively.
