Shear Walls
Listen to the podcast version here:
What keeps a building from falling over like a house of cards when the wind blows? “Wall bracing” is the general building code term and includes diagonal bracing, structural wood panels and other methods of creating adequate resistance to lateral loads in plane with the wall’s face. “Shear walls” are closely related but generally refer to engineered solutions rather than prescriptive details. Both are critically important and often misunderstood.
Bracing against wind is one thing; bracing against earthquake loads is another. Structural engineer Thor Matteson has focused on designing earthquake retrofits in California since 2008 and wrote the book, Earthquake Strengthening for Vulnerable Homes. Thor joins us to discuss why shear walls are important and how to design and build them. He will also share details of his invention, an efficient bracing method called Magnitude 10 braces.
Special Announcement: The Building Science Symposium Series now has a dedicated website: https://buildingsciencesymposium.com/. Next up: Sacramento, CA on May 6-7!
Our Guest Expert:
Thor Matteson is a structural engineer in the San Francisco Bay area. He has written multiple books and articles on the subject of shear walls, and co-founded the Earthquake Bracing Academy, a non-profit organization established to teach effective earthquake strengthening methods. He has contributed to earthquake-related guidelines for FEMA and the California Earthquake Authority, including this one: FEMA P-1100, "Vulnerability-Based Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of One-and Two-Family Dwellings." Thor is currently serving on the International Code Council’s committee to develop a residential earthquake retrofit standard. You can read more about Thor and his Magnitude 10 system at his website here: https://www.quakebracing.com/.