Similarly, if a family room is joined to the rear of a home, as in the Minerva plan, the opening that connects the rear module with the family roommust be supported with a beam. For example, if a garage connects to the front of the home, as in the Gracin plan, the opening that connects the front module to the garage must be supported with a beam. Home designs that include a module that projects out from the long walls of a module also require support beams. Structural Walls Projecting from Front or Rear of Home Structural walls can be replaced with a dropped header (top) or a hidden laminated beam to create a “clear span” (bottom). The master bedroom and family room/living room of the Whately 2 are typical examples. This creates a smooth ceiling, or clear span, across the two joined modules, making them into one large room. Best of all, because the beams are not as tall, they can be installed flush with the bottom of the ceiling framing so that they do not protrude into the room. Today, thanks to the development of engineered wood beams made of laminated veneer lumber, sections of the marriage wall can be easily eliminated for a reasonable cost. While this opened up spaces between modules, it created a visible room divider in places where one was often unwelcome sometimes, however, customers featured the beam by covering it in stained wood. Years ago, the only affordable way to eliminate a section of the marriage wall was to install a beam that dropped below the ceiling, sometimes known as a “dropped header,” to carry the weight. The only place you will notice this is where there are passageways between the modules, such as a framed opening with or without a door. This is one of the many reasons that modular homes are considerably stronger than typical site-built homes. Because the marriage wall is really two walls joined together, it is 2 to 4 inches thicker than most interior walls in the remainder of the modular home and in site-built homes. This middle section is generally referred to as the “marriage” wall, or sometimes as the “mating” wall. Since the front and rear of each module will bear more weight, there will be three weight-bearing areas: the front of the house, the rear of the house, and the middle of the house where the two modules come together. Locations of Structural WallsĬonsider a typical ranch made up of two modules that have the long walls oriented parallel to the street. Each section of a modular home is usually designed so that two of the exterior walls, usually the long walls, serve as the structural walls, carrying more weight than the other two. Can I design the stud wall to fail under 1.All homes must have a structure that can support its own weight. However, wall needs to fail at a maximum of 20psf unless certified by an engineer or architect under the following conditions:ġ) Breakaway wall collapse shall result from a water load less than that which would occur during the base flood.Ģ) The elevated portion of the building and supporting foundation system shall not be subjected to collapse, displacement, or other structural damage due to the effects of wind and water loads acting simultaneously on all building components (structural and non structural).īecause the wind loads are greater than 20 psf I have to certify the wall will fail under the above conditions. I know I need them because the building is located in a V zone. I am a little confused with the requirements for breakaway walls. The second floor of this facility is located well above the flood elevation (23' off the slab on grade). This particular structure will house a facility that manufacturers/repairs boats. The elevation of the SOG is at 7.5' meaning our structure will be 9'-6" below water when the design flood occurs. The building is located in a V16 zone with a BFE (Base Flood Elevation) = 17'. I have never had to deal with these requirements before and I find them a little confusing. It seemed simple enough at the time until our client informed us that we had to certify that the building was in compliance with ASCE 24 "Flood Resistant Design and Construction". We were recently contracted to design a foundation for a metal building.
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