Where will I put a Shear Wall?
Where will I put a Shear Wall?
(OP)
Hello! I am a newbie and I hope you guys will have some patience answering my questions. I tried hard looking for books that can tell me when and where am I gonna put a shear wall along the whole length of wall, but none of them really gives the rule when to provide a shearwall and where will I put a shearwall exactly on a specific location?
Let's say I have a 60 ft. span, 8' high masonry wall. Where will I put a shear wall? I remember an older engineer told me before that the rule of thumb for this provide a shear wall every "20 ft." of wall span, but there is no concrete basis for this. I would wonder if you could shed me light regarding this.
Thanks!
Let's say I have a 60 ft. span, 8' high masonry wall. Where will I put a shear wall? I remember an older engineer told me before that the rule of thumb for this provide a shear wall every "20 ft." of wall span, but there is no concrete basis for this. I would wonder if you could shed me light regarding this.
Thanks!






RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
Usually masonry buildings have perimeter walls as shear walls which are pretty much the full length/width of building with openings. My comments above are general and not restricted to masonry shear wall buildings.
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
Size and shape of building?
What type of building is it (e.g. domestic, commercial, industrial)?
What is the building framing- concrete,masonry or timber floors/walls/roof?
Where is it?
Give us some more information and we may be able to give you some better answers.
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
Theoretically and analytically, I can support the fact that I don't need shearwall in this structure. However, the FBC (Florida Building Code) said that shearwalls are needed in a structure, but doesn't specifically specify "where" and "when" to put it.
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
Unless you have a structure with wide exterior surface, drag forces tend to be negligible. Depending on the geometry and number of shear elements provided in the building, you still need to "design" the shear elements.
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
You then basically take half the wind load into each shear wall.
For larger and more complicated shapes you may want to break it up and add interior shear walls, but it is usually best to avoid this so that the resident has more flexibility in the future.
There is no particular limit as to the spacing of the shear walls as long as your diaphragm can take it.
Dont forget that your shear wall loads are cumulative, i.e. the lower floor takes the lateral force from the upper floor and from any floor/roof above.
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?
RE: Where will I put a Shear Wall?