Multi-Storey Timber and Mixed Timber–RC/Steel

Construction in USA
Kevin C. K. Cheung, Dr, PE, Director of Technical Services, Western Wood Products Association, Portland, USA

Summary next storey. Platform framing became

common in USA in the 1940s, and
Multi-storey timber-frame construction is used in North America for both resi- became an alternative to the balloon
dential and commercial structures. Timber is the predominant structural material framing concept, which began around
used in residential construction throughout the USA. Reinforced concrete and 1840 when milled lumber and iron
steel assemblies mixed into timber-frame structures provide added performance nails became more readily available.
for fire protection and earthquake resistance. This paper reviews the development Unlike earlier timber-frame of post-
of multi-storey timber-frame construction in the USA and the use of timber-frame and-beam construction of European
mixed with concrete and steel elements. descent, both balloon and platform
Keywords: mixed construction; multi-storey; timber-frame; wood-frame; platform framing in USA helped initiate the
construction; wrap construction; pedestal building. use of small, uniform, repetitive wood
structural members (38 mm thick lum-
ber, e.g. floor joists, roof rafters and
wall studs).
Introduction wood-frame construction (Table 1). In
the last 30 years, multi-storey wood-
Throughout history, timber, as a build- frame construction has been used to USA Building Code
ing material, has been desired for its build apartments, motels and hotels,
structural capabilities as well as its In the USA, the International Build-
senior living facilities and office build-
aesthetic value. From the earliest log ing Code (IBC) is the primary building
ings. Over two-thirds of the US house-
homes to today’s multi-storey timber- code, providing the minimum standard
holds own their homes representing
frame (called wood-frame in North for life safety and property protec-
their largest single asset (Table 2).
America) structures, wood has been tion. The IBC recognises combustible
the common thread as a building ma- (wood-frame) construction and non-
terial, providing shelter for millions, Platform Construction combustible (concrete and steel)
housing hosts of businesses, and deco- construction types, and protected (fire-
Wood-frame construction is based on
rating structures both large and small. resistive) and unprotected assemblies.
the concept of platform framing – a
Solid-sawn lumber and engineered Wood-frame construction is considered
form of construction where the floor
wood products used in conjunction combustible.
structure of each storey forms the base
with reinforced concrete and steel (platform) for building the floor above, Fire-retardant-treated (FRT) wood-
provide new and exciting avenues which in turn becomes the base for the frame construction is permitted in
in multi-storey mixed construction
projects.

System
Material
Wood-Frame Construction Floor (%) Exterior wall (%) Interior wall (%) Roof (%)
in USA Wood 64 86 95 100
Wood has always been the preferred Steel 0,4 0,4 5 0,1
building material for construction of Concrete/masonry 36 13 0,3 0
homes in the USA with over 1,5 million
new homes built each year. About 80% Table 1: Percentages of construction materials used in new home construction
of these homes are single-family dwell- in the USA in 2003
ings, and about 20% are multi-storey
multi-family apartment-style units. Ap-
proximately 90% of the single-family Total households 105,842,000
detached homes built each year use Owner occupied units 72,238,000 (68%)
Single family detached units 67,753,000 (66%)
Peer-reviewed by international ex- Household income (median) 41,775 USD
perts and accepted for publication
by SEI Editorial Board
Value of owner occupied unit (median) 140,201 USD
Population 291 million
Paper received: August 21, 2007
Paper accepted: December 4, 2007 Table 2: Selected statistics from the 2003 USA Housing Survey

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 some applications requiring non- pedestal for a multi-storey wood-frame In order to carry high gravity loads
combustible construction. One con- building atop separated by a three-hour on lower floors, lumber studs in sizes
struction type provided in the IBC fire-resistance rated horizontal barrier, of 38 ×140 mm, 64 × 89 mm, or 64 ×
requires that the exterior walls are often provided by the non-combustible 140 mm are often used singularly or
of non-combustible materials and the concrete slab. Pedestal buildings are built-up (fastening together two or
interior building elements are of any permitted for assembly, business/office, more pieces of lumber), or framed with
material the IBC permits, including un- mercantile/retail and parking garage closer than the typical stud spacing of
treated wood. FRT wood is permitted uses below the three-hour horizontal 406 mm. Lumber 64 mm in thickness
as an alternative to non-combustible fire separation, and residential occu- is often required in cases where close
materials within these exterior wall pancy uses above (Fig. 2). nail spacing is required as in struc-
assemblies of a two-hour fire-resistant tural shearwalls and diaphragms de-
rating or less. Design Considerations signed for high forces. Compression
perpendicular-to-grain may control stud
The IBC prescribes allowable building
When designing multi-storey wood- size owing to end-bearing requirements
height and floor area for different con-
frame structures, there are several key on wall plates, or bearing-plate sizing in
struction types to address fire-safety
factors unique to wood with respect to beam and column design. Where joists,
considerations and fire-fighting strate-
structural performance, fire-safety and beams, or studs bear on supports, some
gies. Increases to the allowable height
sound transmission. fiber deformation develops, requiring
and area are permitted where open
the bearing area to be of sufficient size
space is provided for fire-fighting ac- Structural Considerations to prevent excessive side grain crushing
cess and the use of automatic fire sup-
Wood strength is highest in the direc- of the wood members.
pression systems, such as sprinklers. The
IBC permits those portions of a build- tion of the grain and lower across the
grain. Designed and constructed prop- Shrinkage Considerations
ing separated by one or more fire walls
to be considered as separated buildings erly, wood has very few structural limi- Consideration of wood shrinkage is re-
side-by-side. In this way, wood-frame tations. Wood-frame assemblies have quired by IBC for wood-frame build-
buildings can be designed as connected a higher strength-to-weight ratio over ings more than three storeys. Using dry
buildings achieving almost unlimited those built with steel and concrete, lumber will minimise wood shrinkage
total building floor area (Fig. 1). and because they are light in weight, issues, such as cracking of finish and
they produce a low inertia force during distress in plumbing systems. The total
The IBC considers buildings with a seismic events. shrinkage in a wood-frame building can
floor used for human occupancy locat-
be calculated by summing the shrink-
ed more than 23 m above the lowest In wood-frame construction, shear-
age of the horizontal wood members in
level of fire department vehicle access walls and diaphragms, which are
the walls and floors, such as wall plates
as high-rise buildings. Additional code sheathed with wood structural panels,
and floor joists. The overall shrinkage
provisions apply to these buildings to have long been recognised as provid-
in multi-storey wood-frame construc-
accommodate different fire protection ing superior performance against lat-
tion can be further reduced by placing
strategies for human occupant evacu- eral forces caused by high winds and
floor joists in metal joist hangers off the
ation and fire-fighting access. Wood- earthquakes. These shearwalls and
walls instead of on top of the walls.
frame construction is generally built diaphragms maintain high stiffness
below this height. and strength in the design range and, Particular attention needs to be given
if pushed to their ultimate capacity, in wood-frame construction mixed with
tend to yield only gradually while con- concrete and steel elements where dif-
Pedestal Building Design
tinuing to carry high loads. Moreover, ferential shrinkage may occur – such as
The IBC permits a building of non- these assemblies can absorb a great wood-frame structures combined with
combustible construction to serve as the deal of energy before failure. a brick veneer, a steel-frame atrium

Fig. 1: Meridian Apartments (Las Vegas, Nevada) under Fig. 2: Mixed construction of a pedestal building under
construction construction

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 (a) (b)

Fig. 3: Wood joists floor systems in steel frame construction (a) wood I-Joist and (b) wood flange metal-tube-web joist

space, or a concrete block elevator with suspended ceilings or open-web joist floor systems are used in the steel
shaft. trusses. frame construction (Fig. 3).
Fastening wood members to steel
Fire-Safety Considerations members is often a design challenge.
Sound Transmission
For fire protection in multi-unit resi- Considerations Wood blocking serving as nailers
dential structures, the building code are often bolted to the steel beams
uses the concept of fire compartmen- Sound transmission is an important making a standard wood-to-wood con-
tation to contain a fire by requiring non-structural design consideration nection possible (Figs. 4 and 5). The
the use of fire-resistive assemblies for multi-storey/multi-family wood- attachment of wood stud walls to the
for corridor fire separations and for frame wall and floor construction that concrete slab1 is accomplished using
separations between occupancy units. may control material and construction 12,5 mm anchor bolts spacing 0,6 m to
In addition, fire stops and draft stops choices. Wide ranges of wood-frame 1,2 m on center with mechanical or
are required to prevent movements of assemblies have been tested for sound adhesive anchors drilled in concrete
flame and hot gases (including smoke) transmission properties. Light-weight slab, anchor bolts cast in concrete slab,
to other areas of the building. gypsum concrete floor topping, sound- or steel plates cast into concrete slab
absorbing wall boards and acoustic with sill anchor bolts field welded on
One-hour fire-resistive construction sealers filling the gaps between wall the steel plates.
is usually the minimum required fire- and floor elements are used to reduce
resistance rating for vertical and hori- sound transmission.
zontal fire separations between each
dwelling unit. Higher fire-resistance A sound transmission class (STC) rat-
ratings are required for stairway en- ing of 45 to 55 is commonly required.
closures and hallways to protect the For improved sound reduction, light- 38 × 89 mm Plate

egress for occupants. Fire tests have weight concrete toppings are often used
been conducted on many wood-frame on floors – usually 38 mm thick stan-
assemblies sheathed with fire-rated dard light-weight concrete, or 19 mm
38 mm Steel deck
gypsum wallboard to demonstrate their thick gypcrete (at 19 mm, less than w/conc. fill
fire-resistance performance. Using the 31,8 kg/m²). Light-weight concrete
results of these tests, fire-resistance and gypcrete are self-levelling –
ratings have been established. the concrete is poured after framing
and sheathing are completed and all
Fire-stops prevent movements of electrical and plumbing systems are
flame and gas to other areas of a build- installed. Stl. beam & l's
ing through relatively small, concealed
spaces resulting from construction or Bolt blocking
w/ 13 mm dia. bolt
penetration of building components Mixed Construction 813 mm o.c.
such as floors and walls. Wood fire-
blocking (38 mm thick lumber) is com- Reinforced concrete or steel construc-
monly used between joists and along tion is often used to build stairwells
wall plates. Non-combustible flexible and elevator shafts in wood-frame Wood blocking
as required
material is used around vents, pipes, structures. Steel K-frame is used to
ducts, chimneys and fireplaces. Draft- resist lateral forces when large span
stops prevent the movements of air, of opening is desired and shearwalls Fig. 4: A floor detail at stair corridor
smoke, gas and flame to other areas of a are not placed – this is common in – wood blocking bolted to the steel beam
building through large concealed spac- hotel lobbies in high-seismic zones. is used as a nailer for fastening standard
es, such as attics and floor assemblies There are also projects where wood metal joist hangers

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 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 6: The Pine Square/Pacific Court project in Long Beach, California (a), (b) and (c) under construction, (d) completed

used for retail and theater spaces, and land and construction costs through
Double 38 mm × four-storey wood-frame construction construction speed and reasonable
blocking between
floor trusses
of residential apartment units atop. material costs. The US Building Code
system is flexible in giving designers
38 × 184 mm a wide range of options for develop-
@ 406 mm o.c. Wrap Construction ing the most cost-effective and safe
In recent years, wrap configuration is multi-storey wood-frame design solu-
Floor trusses gaining popularity as a cost-effective tion. While multi-storey wood-frame
@ 610 mm o.c. building type. This type of construction construction has predominantly been
is generally designed and built with a used for multi-family residential hous-
W21 high density wood-frame apartment ing in USA, it is also finding its way
building wrapped around a reinforced into new and innovative uses in im-
Fig. 5: A wood-to-steel connection conceals
the steel beam. Wood floor trusses hang concrete parking structure. The apart- pressive large-scale mixed-use and
from the double top chord. The connection ment tenants can park their cars on the mixed construction projects.
of wood floor trusses to steel beam was same floor level where they live. The
made by bolting a continuous wood plate wood-frame apartment buildings are
to the top of the steel beam built during the same time as the con- Acknowledgement
crete parking structure. Figure 4 courtesy of Architect Office of Gal-
Pine Square/Pacific Court Building pin Ciaccio Klick.
Complex Project
Conclusion
One example of a mixed construction References
project is the Pine Square/Pacific Court Multi-storey wood-frame construction
[1] Brian K. High Rise Wood Frame Construction:
building complex (Fig. 6) constructed in is suitable for both residential and Cornerstone Condominiums, Structural Magazine
1992. This building is comprised of two- commercial structures and provides (http://www.structuremag.org/archives/2006/
level underground parking, two-storey an economical as well as environ- June-2006/D-Fex-Hi-Rise-wood-frame-const
structural steel-frame lower floors mentally sustainable solution to rising -June-06.pdf), June 2006.

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