ABSTRACT
Stone and wood were the first materials used by man to build shelter, and in the United States wood
continues to be the primary construction material for residential and commercial buildings today.
In California, for example, wood accounts for 99% of residential buildings (Schierle 2000). Design and
construction methods for wood currently used by the residential construction industry in North America
have developed through a process of evolution and tradition. Historically, these construction methods
have been sufficient to provide acceptable performance under seismic loading mainly due to the relatively
light weight of wood and the historical high redundancy in single-family housing. However, in recent
years architectural trends and society’s demands for larger rooms, larger windows, and a more open, airy
10.1 Introduction ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1 Types of Wood-Based Products Types of Structures Design Standards
10.2 Wood as a Material .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-6
10.3 Seismic Performance of Wood Buildings ... . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8 General 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, California 1994 Northridge Earthquake, California
10.4 Design Considerations .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12 Building Code Loads and Load Combinations
10.5 Resistance Determination .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13 Bending Members Axial Force Members Combined Loading
10.6 Diaphragms .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20 Stiffness versus Strength Flexible versus Rigid Diaphragms Connections to Walls Detailing around Openings Typical Failure Locations
10.7 Shear Walls .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24 Rationally Designed Walls Prescriptive Construction
10.8 Connections ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34 Design Methodology Small-Diameter Dowel Connections Large-Diameter Dowel Connections Heavy Timber Connectors
Glossary.. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
References ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Further Reading... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
feel to the structure have resulted in a reduction in the structural redundancy of the typical house, as well
as a reduction in symmetry of stiffness and strength that was inherent in traditional structures.
