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LadyLocust said:
Doesn't @SheepDog like A frames?
Click to expand...

I like all kinds of houses. Most of the houses shown are great to look at but I would not live in most of them. I would only live in a house that was earthquake resistant, wind resistant and fire resistant.
That excludes all houses with unreinforced masonry and stone. They look wonderful but they fall apart in earthquakes. A true "A" frame has the roof joists anchored to the foundation - an excellent feature to survive a quake, The end walls are not load bearing so as long as the support framing is built right you can have nearly all glass walls. The "A" frame also allows for a steep roof which handles snow better than most.
When it comes to designing a home for places that have less than 48 inches of snow I prefer the standard wood frame house with a few modifications. Some of these are concrete anchors from the foundation through the wall bottoms every 32 inches and ties that continue through the top and king wall plates. I want both the bottom chords and the top chords of the roof trusses tied to the wall top plates with 7" screws and H16 truss ties. I also want seismic bands on diagonals along all the exterior walls and 3/4" sheathing. Exterior grade type X dry wall over the sheathing followed with Hardy board siding. Those last two raise the fire resistance an extra hour. More seismic bands diagonally on the roof trusses in addition to the internal support framing and 3/4" sheathing as the roof underlayment. Blocked framing in the walls, floors and ceilings that allow for strong shear diaphragms that resist deformation.
On the outside the house could look very plain but structurally it is 3 to 4 times as rigid and ductile than a conventional light wood frame home.
 
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SheepDog said:
I like all kinds of houses. Most of the houses shown are great to look at but I would not live in most of them. I would only live in a house that was earthquake resistant, wind resistant and fire resistant.
That excludes all houses with unreinforced masonry and stone. They look wonderful but they fall apart in earthquakes. A true "A" frame has the roof joists anchored to the foundation - an excellent feature to survive a quake, The end walls are not load bearing so as long as the support framing is built right you can have nearly all glass walls. The "A" frame also allows for a steep roof which handles snow better than most.
When it comes to designing a home for places that have less than 48 inches of snow I prefer the standard wood frame house with a few modifications. Some of these are concrete anchors from the foundation through the wall bottoms every 32 inches and ties that continue through the top and king wall plates. I want both the bottom chords and the top chords of the roof trusses tied to the wall top plates with 7" screws and H16 truss ties. I also want seismic bands on diagonals along all the exterior walls and 3/4" sheathing. Exterior grade type X dry wall over the sheathing followed with Hardy board siding. Those last two raise the fire resistance an extra hour. More seismic bands diagonally on the roof trusses in addition to the internal support framing and 3/4" sheathing as the roof underlayment. Blocked framing in the walls, floors and ceilings that allow for strong shear diaphragms that resist deformation.
On the outside the house could look very plain but structurally it is 3 to 4 times as rigid and ductile than a conventional light wood frame home.
Click to expand...
That's awesome. Reminds me of my uncle. They would call him "Too Stout George" because if he built something, it was going to be stout.
 
Yep! I have been told that I "over engineer" everything I build.
You know what, none of it has ever failed.
 
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