bracing

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This goes WAY back to when we moved here 5+ years ago. I’m sure that Tony Kunich has seen what I’m about to describe HUNDREDS of times here. I’ve seen it several times in the relatively few attics that I’ve been in since we moved here.

Structures 101. Lateral bracing (sometimes referred to as bridging) provides lateral stability between roof trusses. Lateral bracing is a BASIC requirement in roof framing.

Lateral bracing is PARTICULARLY important in hurricane-prone areas where gable ends are subjected to hurricane-force winds. The building code here requires that our houses be capable of withstanding a 130 mph wind--that’s 55 pounds per square ft. On some of the larger gable ends here this equals a force of several tons pushing against the gable end.

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Here’s the punch line: In some of the attics that I’ve seen there’s NO bracing at the gable ends. In some attics there’s bracing between interior trusses THAT STOPS SHORT OF THE GABLE ENDS, LEAVING THE GABLE ENDS UNBRACED.

Some of you might ask: doesn’t the sheathing provide lateral bracing? Yes and no. In reality, the sheathing does provide for lateral bracing between trusses; but, the building code doesn’t allow figuring the lateral bracing contribution that sheathing makes. That’s probably because in a hurricane shingles and sheathing are the first things to go.

If you find that this is the case in your attic, then, with a few 2 by 4s and some nails, you can extend the bracing from the interior trusses to the gable ends. You can also check out http://www.fema.gov/library/file?type=publishedFile&file=how2018_1__gable_end_roof.pdf&fileid=0a694bf0-0d5f-11dd-aeb1-001185636a87or Google “FEMA hurricane roof bracing” and download the pdf.

I see things differently as a civil engineer. All I can say is that what I’ve seen here is testimony to the lack of BASIC knowledge of construction and the lack of quality control by Pulte, Pulte’s subcontractors, and the Beaufort County, SC Office of Building Code Enforcement.
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