Lateral deflection

[JoeBaseplate]

I have a 60' tall tower for a steeple. Its steel column and beams with wood framing infill. In the past I have typically used h/400 as the allowable max deflection as well story-story deflection. Since this is somewhat of flexible building, could I use larger allowable values? The allowable lateral deflection section of IBC 06 has always been a little confusing for me in this regard so I am hoping for some expert opinions here.

 

[Lion06]

What is the cladding material?

 

[JoeBaseplate]

walls are 2x6s with plywood on the outside and may be gyp/ply on the inside.

 

[Lion06]

There's nothing covering the plywood for a steeple? You can probably go higher than you normally would for an allowable drift. It's not a brittle finish that is going to crack.

 

[a2mfk]

Agree with Lion, but you sure that it is not getting stucco on the faces of steeple? I'd be liberal with siding, conservative with stucco. And that is not even really from a standpoint of the design wind speed, but rather the stresses the stucco will see from lower wind speeds throughout the lifetime.