The Timber Frame Engineering Council in 2019 issued TFEC 3 “Guide
to Structural Evaluation of Existing Timber Structures” to provide guidance to
engineers and investigators engaged in the assessment and repair of existing timber
structural systems. This guide is also directly applicable to rehabilitation
and adaptive reuse of older timber structures. The National Design
Specification for Wood Construction (NDS) is the source for allowable design
values for structural design of new timber structures; it is not intended to
provide information specific to existing structures. When working with existing
timber structures, more detailed information is available to the engineer
regarding wood species, grade characteristics and conditions of use. This
additional information is helpful for determining the most appropriate design
values for the timber.
This presentation will discuss key information provided in
TFEC 3, laying out an acceptable practice for evaluation of existing structures
and explaining why it is necessarily different than design of new timber
structures. This approach enables the investigator to tap into the “hidden
capacity” of the timber that accounts for the high level of performance and
longevity of many timber structures.
- Course will award 1.5 hours of continuing education
- This course is Diamond Review approved in 49 states. New York does not accept hours from recordings.