Design and Renovation of Wood Structures

Instructors

Alexander Newman, P.E., F.ASCE
Mr. Newman is a managing engineer in the Natick, Massachusetts, office of Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, the nation’s premier consulting firm investigating failures of an engineering or scientific nature, where he is responsible for building collapse and failure investigations. During more than 27 years of professional practice,
Mr. Newman has designed numerous projects around the country – both new construction and renovations -- that involved wood-frame structures. His diverse engineering and managerial experience includes positions of principal structural engineer with a large A/E firm and project engineering and managerial positions with consulting engineering and contracting firms.

Mr. Newman has authored many publications that appeared in the leading engineering magazines, including a number of award-winning articles. His authoritative reference book Structural Renovation of Buildings: Methods, Details, and Design Examples, was published by McGraw-Hill Book Company in 2001. He is author of another definitive book from McGraw-Hill, Metal Building Systems: Design and Specifications, now in its 2nd edition and translated into Chinese.

Mr. Newman has conducted many educational seminars around the country for design professionals, building officials, owners and contractors. He has provided training for various organizations, professional groups, and government employees, including the U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, NASA, and the local chapters of the Construction Specification Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Society of American Military Engineers. Mr. Newman teaches Professional Engineering review courses at Northeastern University.

Course Description

The vast majority of all structures in the United States are framed with wood. Surprisingly, there are relatively few colleges that teach wood design as part of their structural engineering curricula. The engineers involved in the design and renovation of timber structures are often left to struggle through various books and publications on the subject. But who can answer a practical question about a difficult roof design or about the best method of strengthening an old building? Who can help avoid pitfalls in designing wood framing? Who can tell whether an existing building can be economically upgraded to today’s code requirements or whether it best be replaced? This seminar provides practical answers to a multitude of questions related to design and renovation of wood framed structures. The discussion is focused on buildings, although much of the material applies to other wood structures as well.

The first day of the seminar is devoted to design and construction of wood framing components: joists, rafters, columns, studs, connections, trusses, and engineered lumber. Drawing on decades of consulting and forensic experience, the instructor presents many proven design details and gives some others a critical look. The discussion includes framing for difficult roof configurations, rafters with collar ties, truss bracing requirements, and many other practical issues. The relevant provisions of the current International Building Code and AF&PA National Design Specification for Wood Construction are examined. These documents have undergone many changes in recent years, and some of their newest requirements may not be familiar to all. Several step-by-step design examples help illustrate a realistic design process. The challenging topic of design for lateral loading completes the first part of the seminar.

The second day is largely devoted to the challenge of wood renovation. As more and more timber-framed buildings are being renovated rather than demolished, the design professionals find that reliable data on the topic of their renovation is difficult to find. To meet this demand, the seminar provides the participants with the broadest possible overview of practical challenges that commonly arise during renovation of wood structures. It includes the topics of code review, old design and construction practices, repair, strengthening, and retrofit for wind and seismic loads. After an overview of common wood defects and deterioration scenarios, the instructor discusses various renovation techniques and illustrates them with design examples and case studies. Particular attention is given to repair and strengthening of wood trusses, a common source of framing problems. The opportunity of asking questions exists throughout the whole seminar as well as at the end.

Seminar Benefits

• Learn to design various wood structural elements (joists, rafters, beams, columns) and their connections as well as specify wood trusses and engineered lumber. Become familiar with wood design provisions of AF&PA National Design Specification for Wood Construction and the International Building Code. Discover the available reference material and software for designing wood members quickly and accurately.
• Study economical methods of framing roofs with complex configurations and examine proven design details for these roofs.
• Discuss the pitfalls of improper use of collar ties in gable roofs.
• Discover the importance of a single detail at the edge of the roof that can greatly improve the lateral-load resistance of the building. Find out which part of the gable wall is often built incorrectly, greatly weakening the building’s wind resistance.
• Learn how to brace wood trusses during construction and who is responsible for the bracing design.
• Find out where not to place engineered lumber.
• Study the common problems of existing wood trusses and practical methods of truss reinforcement and repair.
• Discuss the early practices of timber construction and how to determine the allowable stresses in existing wood. Learn how load testing can help establish load-carrying capacity of wood framing of unknown species. Study the available methods of investigating structural condition of wood members.
• Explore various methods of strengthening wood-framed floors and roofs.
• Learn how to stabilize wood members with natural and man-made defects. Study the differences between splits, shakes, and checks; find out which of these wood defects should be repaired and which might not be significant.
• Discuss the methods of repairing sagging roofs, rotted beam ends, split heavy timbers, and many other common areas of timber damage.
• Find out when an upgrade for wind and seismic loading is needed and which cost-effective techniques for lateral-load retrofit are available.
  

Who Should Attend

Structural and civil engineers, architects, facility managers, building officials, and competent contractors seeking to broaden their knowledge of wood design, construction, and renovation methods. Despite the technical topic, those who are not engineers will not be overwhelmed because the instruction is kept enjoyable and easy to follow.