About the author ⁄ Borjen (“B.J.”) Yeh, P.E.

Dr. Borjen Yeh is Director of Technical Services at APA – The Engineered Wood Association.

Design for Combined Shear and Uplift from Wind

System Description

Using wood structural panels that are required to resist lateral loads and normal wind load requirements of the IBC Section 1609.6.4.4.1, Chapter 30 of ASCE-7, or IRC Section R301.2.1, additional wind uplift resistance from the panel can be achieved by providing additional nails to the shear nailing at the top and bottom of the panel. These additional nails are used to transfer the uplift forces from the top plate to the panel, from panel to panel at splice locations (if present), and from panel to sill plate at the foundation, effectively eliminating the need for uplift straps at these locations. Uplift straps may still be required around window and door openings in exterior walls to transfer the wind uplift loads acting on the header to the foundation below.

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Nov, 2022 By Borjen (“B.J.”) Yeh, P.E. In Guest Column Comments 0

Bending and Shear Properties of Structural Glued Laminated Timber

Effect of Large Diameter Horizontal Holes

Structural glued laminated timber (glulam) beams are highly engineered components manufactured from specially selected and positioned lumber laminations of varying strength and stiffness. As most glulam beams are designed for and used in applications where they are highly stressed under design loads, drilling or notching of glulam should be avoided and never done without a thorough understanding of the effects on the structural integrity of a member. This is specifically addressed in Section R502.8.2 of the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) as follows (the same wording also appears in Section R802.7.2 of the 2021 IRC):

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Jun, 2022 By Borjen (“B.J.”) Yeh, P.E. In Guest Column Comments 0

Cross-Laminated Timber

A Guide to Selection and Specification

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a prefabricated, solid engineered mass timber panel. Because CLT is prefabricated, most components arrive ready to assemble and go together very quickly. CLT’s large-scale components enable faster construction, not only because of prefabrication but because fewer joints are needed between elements.

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Apr, 2022 By Borjen (“B.J.”) Yeh, P.E. In Guest Column Comments 0

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