Shear Walls in accordian shaped house

[dpa]

I have a house plan in which the front and back walls of the main part of the house are almost entirely accordian shaped. That is the walls zigzag and are mostly 45 degrees to the centerline of the house. Is it reasonable to calculate their shear resistance as sin(45 degrees) times the shear value they would have if they were parallel or am I barking mad here? If this is a reasonable approach, any ideas on connections where the walls change direction (90 degrees at the vertex)

Thanks,
DPA

 

[DaveAtkins]

I think you can use the diagonal walls as shear walls. At the floors, there will be a rim board running along the top of the diagonal wall; this rim board transfers lateral load out of the floor diaphragm into the wall. At the roof, if blocking is used, it will occur between the roof trusses, but will again transfer lateral loads from diaphragm to wall. Just be sure you are comfortable with how all load paths are traced (e.g., two accordion walls which are perpendicular to each other can together resist one lateral force).

DaveAtkins

 

[dpa]

Hi Dave,

Thanks again.

Dave Adkins