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
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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 .
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The hm4aere
.
97ex"~"~i' th'M
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'. . 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:
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. = .niiTf
= c . lie Ct,
Ctura
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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 .
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mort.i .leinto
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other w
ted fr.
wood pl a
apparen .
sills a
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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 .,
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StAi't.,. .0141 which were ancho
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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 ,
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141' ,
5 . ''IeWtOatling o f
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tvIlig.1
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bow taxi entg* f.r,Ai -aPageg.b. Uat'.tt
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=
round
of_
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Lir, :,',
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m
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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
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Ell..
2o
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-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
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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
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... .
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 .
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