jdgengineer
Structural
My firm does quite a bit of engineering for custom homes in California (high seismic), and wanted to see what you all thought about the Pre-manufactured lateral components that are on the market. I guess my post really boils down to a couple of questions...
1) When we are unable to get a conventional shearwall to work, we typically well then transition to a pre-manufactured shear panel. In the past we have used Simpson Strong Walls or Hardy Frames, but have recently transitioned to the iLevel Shear Braces (Essentially large pieces of LSL). Our firm was sold on the fact that they are supposedly cheaper than Strong Walls, easier to work with (i.e. you can hang beams directly into them), and are field trimmable. We just recently switched so we haven't received a lot of feedback from contractors yet. Has anyone else used this product? What has your experience been?
2) When a moment frame is needed, we have attempted to spec the pre-manufactured ones by either Simpson Strong-Tie(all field bolted) or Hardy Frame (uses side-plate connection, no field welding for most sizes). We figured that since these frames didn't require any field welding they would be preferred by contractors, as they wouldn't require the typical moment frame inspections and would be erected much faster. However, we've found that on nearly every job we have speced them that the contractor has asked us to revise the drawings to show a traditional custom moment frame. Apparently, the frames are not that much cheaper than custom frames and therefore they'd rather remain loyal to there steel fabricators. What has been your experience with these pre-manufactured frames? It's seems like on a larger project they may become more economical (and much faster to erect) but on custom homes where we have only at most 1-3 moment frames that they don't appear to be the right choice.
1) When we are unable to get a conventional shearwall to work, we typically well then transition to a pre-manufactured shear panel. In the past we have used Simpson Strong Walls or Hardy Frames, but have recently transitioned to the iLevel Shear Braces (Essentially large pieces of LSL). Our firm was sold on the fact that they are supposedly cheaper than Strong Walls, easier to work with (i.e. you can hang beams directly into them), and are field trimmable. We just recently switched so we haven't received a lot of feedback from contractors yet. Has anyone else used this product? What has your experience been?
2) When a moment frame is needed, we have attempted to spec the pre-manufactured ones by either Simpson Strong-Tie(all field bolted) or Hardy Frame (uses side-plate connection, no field welding for most sizes). We figured that since these frames didn't require any field welding they would be preferred by contractors, as they wouldn't require the typical moment frame inspections and would be erected much faster. However, we've found that on nearly every job we have speced them that the contractor has asked us to revise the drawings to show a traditional custom moment frame. Apparently, the frames are not that much cheaper than custom frames and therefore they'd rather remain loyal to there steel fabricators. What has been your experience with these pre-manufactured frames? It's seems like on a larger project they may become more economical (and much faster to erect) but on custom homes where we have only at most 1-3 moment frames that they don't appear to be the right choice.
