FOREST PRODUCES LAY3ORATORY LIBRAR Y U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 5eTvlts FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATOR Y In cooperation with the Univwsity of Wisconsi A MADISON, WIS 01 SIN ri BEHAVIOR OF FRAME CONSTRUCTIO N IN THE 1937 OHIO RIVER FLOO D By R . F. LUXFORD Senior Engineer and E . C . O . ERICKSO N Associate Engineer FOREST RESEARCH LABORATOR Y LiBRAR Y Published i n AMERICAN LUMBERMAN May 22, 1937 I I -A . -3•i - URLUniid Lith ARY i.AVofigg0RY By R . F . =FORD, Senior Enginee r and E . C . 0 . ERICISON, Associate Engineer- As a part of its general researches on the moo r• : efficient utili zation of the nation's timber-- resources, the i'oarest. Products Laboratory i s particularly interested in st t i.ag the perfer n .e. ef-frame s ; u tares, = w that the serviceebil4 .ty of woe,d' Ee ry be impro*eel, T .e. 'L eTa ttherefor e studied the damage ea.u:sled to frame costru :ierr b {t_he .0o .a flood o f 1937, and made a brief I +sOectiorr of a few tti:y• fIg•Od.-40maAd houses . in Louisville, Ky ., and Jefeers .*vil1e, Ind . The inspection included : (1) Houses that had b• a su j' -~^ to very high waters and stro currents with r.esu' tang st'ss tural .,t , and (2) houses in som,ewk t ,bLghe' areas wheme the mater reached o a few feet above the first floor, with little o r iwo s-tructur a. damaglIvesuiting, although the damage caused by long-continued• .ac a1ng wa V n= siderable . ; } '. O tirer ~'': The hm4aere . 97ex"~"~i' th'M -t - '. . ty uvi1l :e, that lead bum wm.RoM 1 low-cost one--story type. - ie foundations w either • :s ; or piers of cexacrete, brick ., o r stone . Only a few had a concrete,wall foundation with b s•e em-t, . of these houses had been h' from their foundations ;, des .a., 4'-J_ ; t?1 house . . 4o d bee r~ merged were. of a s: ` _ . = .niiTf = c . lie Ct, Ctura ] err r .'PILO e: The primary cause of the structural damage in these submerged ... . houses was nonuniform bearing, as a result of the shifting of the hous e from its foundation . Lack of sufficient anchorage was primarily respon sible for the houses being shifted . In most of the houses that had been shifted, overturned, or even floated away, in fact, no evidence of any an chorage whatever could be found . Where anchorage was found in houses that had shifted, it was entirely inadequate and much below wha t ordinary good building practice would call for . The following are examples of insufficient anchorage observed : 1 . Wood posts driven only about l g inches into the ground , The buoyant effect of the water and the force of the current were suffi cient to lift the house and pull the posts from the ground, the post s remaining attached to the building . R1170 ' t •r _ • - -- 1 t - mort.i .leinto The ho sys 4 *o aiOr sui' 146:At - 1 Jt . i - F, ,• other w ted fr. wood pl a apparen . sills a . L. 3 . rlTyint--tl' lihe hou s s or evrfi d Lato..-.tilia+ ?J.%- (If 1 straps leer a . f :--, ter u .;'" from it* faun do ., ' StAi't.,. .0141 which were ancho 4 1-4i:1 ■l were no . 4 , 7. throug h til ) l e h o u s , J2r, pierOllwere left, the ttuailta-7-VithIousat faipealialett5t. , 6*19Pitsld the, floated away , F . r- F. 141' , 5 . ''IeWtOatling o f ' tvIlig.1 I bow taxi entg* f.r,Ai -aPageg.b. Uat'.tt . .. = round of_ ,, ::, , Lir, :,', , L. m 13," A . = A. that *a lierg avar lakgtla IT. N.T4 d hous did, L-1em, fr -e 101Iff IPiom d3maged *lpers,and in l fill& alias, Ara of* ,! inrta.u.m es, bbqy- disci "0: _ z- 1 Ell.. 2o .. . -The gtottratV .smatIrey .At tiria,di'lbraith. damage indi tat av. 'tth at Alta t of th.,ls4elte40141ilal- blialitawe c ion prinCipl4iniaa. be sweetrant 44. •cs■aii*e Um' anchoring foi **id. frtiaa -taking thtlg%Satli .0 . . . .,".lor 1 ■: ervatl tre&L'y least inche-Pap. III ~ c.a..rr tll-i .114a;i.. .1aiinetrati b-q 'ilio-athip-ited anchor- -. .; O,the Ieatti'-vnrt',, 4lfss ap.chot inlets tieing placed44rizoilt4ly in eta.0a,ted. tatialkes . EtAr-4altivi-ahould be purely It is TT7 a glistullalaa $111t*tais posts be diago villa- Jls. .Olra 4le.o4k .-prat .''S? brace intermedi ., inis-sible ) and. tiiQot O-eks*, c mgt. *" *t-nviiina Concrete) low t=he -gr oe.St&‘4mit'- &vref oot fits ,m o bo tad, x-papfera in' :: .., piers .-TheseOM' should rest on frost line, or at 11* 18 inches below Al I -2 i », . .J ,. ... . The brick or stone piers should be well bonded with a goo d cement mortar . An anchor bolt of good size should be imbedded an ampl e depth in each pier, and of sufficient length to project through the sil l and be provided with good sized washers and nuts, thereby firmly tyin g the sill and foundation together . Continuous Concrete or Concrete Block Foundation .--Concret . The wall shoul eblockshudewlbonithagdcemnorta d be provided with sufficiently large anchor bolts, spaced not over 8 fee t on on centers, and extending at least 18 inches into the foundation . Thes e bolts should project through the sill and be provided with washers an d nuts . A bolt should be used at or near each corner and angle of the building . If the house is without basement, the walls should extend below the frost line . FramingMembers .--Diagonal sheathing securely nailed to the sill and wall plates is very effective in anchoring a building to its sill . Where diagonal sheathing is not used, each joist should be securely toe nailed to the sill . Where platform construction is used, each stud shoul d ' be securely toenailed to the plate . Obviously, for good construction all parts must be securely fastened together . While it cannot be definitely said that the adherence to th e foregoing principles of anchorage will in all cases prevent structura l damage to flood-exposed buildings by dislodgment, the danger of suc h damage occurring will be greatly reduced . r _ t • 1 :7 . . I,' ' -.,r,