[Greenbuilding] Advanced Framing/OVE in Midwest?

[Bruce Donelson]

You've got it. The guys that framed our house would joke around and say that
when the "big one" hit (we live in a coastal hurricane zone) the worst that
would happen is that the house might pull off the foundation and roll down
the hill, essentially in one piece.... at which point we'd roll the house
back up the hill, set it back on the foundation, put the furniture back in
place, and move back in.

The racking strength on the walls/roof is quite nice.


Actually, if it falls off the foundation, it is probably toast. Having a
toilet sticking up out of the floor, and losing most of the underfloor
utilities, as well as porches or garages will generally put the repair cost
higher than the replacement cost. And the mudsill is often the weakest link
in the assembly, as they pointed out. Seismic anchors can help this
tremendously, and they are not all that tough to install. We use a few extra
SSTB24's with PHD5 anchors from Simpson Strong-Tie for this. There catalog
is free, and we keep a copy on the job site and in the office. We also use
anchors a lot when we have insufficient wall area for the opening area, like
alongside garage doors. Fat square plate washers add lots of strength to the
mudsill assembly, also. They make it harder to split the mudsill along the
line of bolts, which can be the main place of building failure.

Bruce Donelson
A Better Builder