Wood Structural Systems

R. Taher
2002
Wood Structural Systems
Wood Frame Construction
Ordinary Construction
Heavy Timber Construction
Prefabricated Structural Wood – Engineered
Wood Products
1- Wood Frame Construction
Used extensively in dwellings.
Walls, partitions, floors and roof are totally or
partially made of wood or other combustible
material.
Height is usually limited to 2 habitable floors, not
including a finished attic or basement.
Wood frame is not permitted within certain fire
zones.
The structural frame is mostly lumber with a
nominal thickness of 2 in.
The spacing of the structural members is normally
a module of 48”, usually 16”, sometimes 12” or
24”.
Most studs and plates are 2x4s
The exterior wall framing is usually covered with
sheathing, then a finished surface of siding or
masonry veneer.
The roof framing is covered with a deck of
sheathing or other material to receive
roofing.
The floor framing is covered with a subfloor
on which a finish is laid.
The wall and floor sheathing are factors in
insulation and also provide some lateral
rigidity.
Before the frame is started, termite shields should
be installed on top of all foundation walls.
Mud sills or plates 4 or 6 in. wide, are then placed
on top of the foundation walls and anchored by
bolts.
If there are unexcavated spaces below the first
floor, there should be a crawl space with a
clearance of at least 18” between the joists and the
ground, to provide for ventilation, and access for
inspection and repair.
 There are 2 types of wood frames
commonly used in dwellings:
™The Platform Frame
™The Balloon Frame
The Platform Frame
The framing and subfloor for the 1st floor
can be completed to form a platform before
the 1st story exterior walls and the partition
framing is started.
Subfloors are most frequently plywood
sheets, the thickness depending on the
spacing of the supports (from ½ in. to 1 ¼
in.)
 The face grain of the plywood is laid
perpendicular to the supporting joists.
Bridging is provided at the joist midspan, or on
rows not more than 8 ft. apart, in order to increase
the strength of the floor and the resistance to
lateral loads.
There are 2 types of bridging:
™Cross bridging
™Solid blocking.
Cross-bridging or x-bracing is usually 1x2 and is
nailed in at the top and bottom.
Solid blocking consists of short pieces (same size
as joists) fitted between the joists at right angles to
them.
The 1st story studs are erected, diagonally braced,
fire blocked, and capped with double top plates.
The frame is then ready to receive the 2nd floor
joists, bridging and subfloor to complete the
second platform and so on.
Joists are usually 2 in. wide and from 6 to
14 in. deep.
For heavy loads, the joists may be 3 or 4 in.
wide.
The spacing is usually 12” or 16”.
Double joists must be provided under
partitions parallel to the joists.
The Balloon Frame
The basic difference between the balloon frame
and the platform frame is that the balloon frame
exterior wall studs extend as one piece from the
foundation sill passing through the 2 floors.
The ends of the 2nd floor joists are supported on a
flat 2x4 block resting on a 1x4 ledger board
attached to the inside of the notched studs.
The bridging, roof framing, double joists required
for platform framing apply also to the balloon
framing.
The Merits of Platform and
Balloon Frame
The main advantage of the platform framing
is in its ease of construction.
The main advantage of the balloon framing
is its relatively smaller vertical shrinkage,
resulting from the continuity of the wall
studs.
2- Ordinary Construction
It requires noncombustible walls, such as masonry
or concrete, and a fire resistance rating of not less
than 2 hours.
The entire assemblies are entirely or partially of
wood, with sizes smaller than those required for
heavy timber construction.
The interior is wood frame, however wood trusses
and steel beams, girders and trusses without
fireproofing are often used.
Ordinary construction could be used for
most occupancies, when it is not prohibited
by fire district regulations.
3- Heavy Timber Construction
Also called slow-burning construction or mill
construction.
It requires exterior walls of noncombustible
materials, such as masonry or concrete with a fire
rating of at least 2 hours.
The interior structural members (columns, girders,
beams) must be solid or laminated timber.
Floors and roofs must be heavy plank or laminated
wood or equivalent material.
The foundation walls are poured concrete
walls on spread foundations.
The min. code size for timber columns is
8x8 in. nominal.
Beams and girders supporting floors must
be at least 6 in. wide and not less than 10 in.
deep.
Prefabricated Structural Wood-
Engineered Wood Products
Columns and Studs:
™Square timbers are usually used, rarely
smaller than 4x4 in. and normally not larger
than 12x12 in.
™Built-up column sections of small fastened
timbers could be used.
™Glulam columns have the same advantage
as glulam beams.
 Solid Beams and Girders:
™In wood frame construction, the joists and
rafters have usually a thickness of 2 in.
™Their common depth is :
- 4 to 6 in. for rafters
- 6 to 12 in. for joists.
 Wood-I-Joists:
™These joists could be used for longer spans
(up to 46 ft) compared to lumber.
™The section is I-shaped, with flanges made
of lumber and a web made of plywood or
OSB (Oriented Strand Board).
 Glulam Beams and Girders:
™The usual thickness of laminations is 1 ½
in. or 2 in. nominal. ¾ in. thickness is used
in curved beams.
™The min. number of lams is 2, the max. is
60.
™Standard widths are: 2 ¼, 3 1/8, 5 1/8, 6 ¾,
10 ¾, 12 ¼, 14 ¼.
™Dry-use adhesives are used for interior
glulam members.
™Wet-use adhesives (watertight glue) are
used in exterior members or members
exposed to extreme moisture.
™Glulam beams and girders are factory
produced.
™Their spans could exceed 100 ft.
 Other engineered wood products used for
beams and columns include:
™Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)
™Parallel Strand Lumber (PSL)
 Wood Trusses:
™Frequently support column free floor areas.
™Factory produced with spans up to 150 ft or
more.
™Glulam could be used in truss construction.
™Open-web wood joists are also commonly
used in construction.
 Rigid Frames:
™Glulam is extensively used in rigid frame
construction.
™Frames are factory produced and transported to
the site.
™Usually assembled on site.
™Glulam rigid frame are attractive in appearance
and are used for buildings such as: gymnasiums,
churches, auditoriums…
™They are used for unobstructed floor areas
and to obtain a certain desired clearance.
™They span generally from 30 ft to 150 ft.
™The roof decks are often constructed of
heavy matched planks spanning between
frames, or between purlins supported by the
frames.
 Arches:
™Arches are usually fixed, two-hinged, or three-
hinged for longer spans.
™Glulam arches may be elevated and supported on
reinforced concrete buttresses, or on walls or
columns.
™The horizontal thrusts at the ends are usually
carried by steel tie rods.
™Glulam arches could also be supported on piers
™An arch could be fabricated in 2 or more sections,
to facilitate transportation.
™Spans exceeding 250 ft have been constructed.
™The decks are similar to those used in rigid
frames.
™Glulam arched rafters spaced as close as 2 ft, are
sometimes used for small buildings, such as barns.
They are covered with a 1in. Sheathing.
 Domes:
™Domes are used to cover circular areas.
™Glulam is usually used.
™Example 1: the structural support of the walls and
roof consist of 16 half three-hinged glulam timber
rigid frames. The legs of the frames are supported
on footings equally spaced around a complete
circle. The crowns meet on a thrust block at the
center of the roof. Equally spaced timber purlins
span between frames and support a timber roof
deck.
 Example 2:
™Heavy timber circular domed roof with
arched radial ribs.
™The span is 300 ft, and the rise is 51 ft.
™There are 36 similar glulam ribs.
™The outward rib thrusts at the springing line
are carried by steel base shoes anchored to
reinforced concrete wall columns.
™36 straight segments of a built-up steel tension
rings are welded to the steel base shoes.
™The inward rib thrusts at the crown are carried by
a built-up steel compression ring supported
radially by 18 steel struts framed together at the
center.
™Equally spaced glulam straight purlins into the
ribs.
™Light sub-purlins are attached to the purlins and
normal to them.
™These support 3 in. wood-fiber concrete roof deck
panels.
™The 36 sectors between ribs have diagonal cross-
bracing in steel.
™The 36 columns are connected by horizontal
reinforced concrete girts for lateral support.
™Brick panel walls are constructed between
columns.