As rebuilding efforts commence in the wake of this summer’s storms, construction professionals seek ways to ensure that homes are safer and built to withstand major wind events. There are several techniques that will help to keep property and lives safe.
Moisture can cause many structural problems and create a very unhealthy home for your family when mold and mildew begin to form. Building a home that deals effectively with moisture requires due diligence from design to installation and on to maintenance. The home must be built in such a way as to prevent leaks which are the biggest cause of damage and it must also eliminate condensation which occurs naturally in every home.
Raised-heel trusses provide a cost-effective way to meet more stringent energy efficiency codes. It’s not surprising that four out of five modern homes are built with pre-fabricated trusses as they offer a lot of advantages; a more uniform pitch and size, increased spans mean fewer internal load-bearing walls and they can be installed quickly, with less labor.
One way to work smarter is to build using raised-heel trusses. From the APA: “Also known as energy-heel trusses, raised-heel trusses deliver cost-effective energy performance especially when combined with continuous plywood or OSB sheathing.”
As the cost of building materials increase and building codes demand more effective envelopes, construction professionals are looking to taller wall sheathing to fill in the gaps. OSB wall sheathing already makes for a sustainable and cost-effective option but with taller OSB wall panels, the efficacy of the building envelope is increased by creating fewer seams while labor costs, waste and installation time are reduced.
High wind events place an enormous amount of shear and uplift forces on a building. Now you can easily meet hurricane wind codes, while eliminating or reducingthe hardware expense of hurricane straps and the hassle of cutting
The term ‘shear’ is used in construction in several different ways. Shear can be used when referring to a lateral load or force that is applied during high wind events or earthquakes, but it is also more generally used to describe stress on a wall system that occurs due to an applied load.
Innovative manufacturers like Norbord that think outside the box have flipped the structural sheathing panels for vertical installation and increased their height. Longer wall sheathing like TallWall enables an overlap at the joists which eliminates hinge points to increase wall strength. Longer sheathing also reduces the number of seams which improves energy efficiency and makes for a stronger, smoother, flatter wall.
While it’s more difficult to build structures that resist higher impact storms from EF-3 to EF-5, modern technologies and a better understanding of shear and uplift forces is making it possible to construct homes that survive even violent storms.
A common summer problem is condensation on walls around AC air vents. Moisture is insidious and, once allowed to enter wall structures, can result in damage, mold and mildew. While quick-fix solutions may provide cosmetic relief, it is best to spend the time and money to ensure that moisture is not seeping into your wall structures.
