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Publication Review

Title: Review of Structural Materials and Methods for Home Building in the United States: 1900 to 2000
Author: HUD, 2001
File: Free Research Study, PDF, 1.78 MB, 48 pages
Audience: Written for builders, designers and building researchers interested in building durability and the history of homebuilding.

Review
A research study exploring durability issues for housing. Compares 1970's to 1990's housing..

Issues covered include:

• introduction
• general housing characteristics, early 1900's, mid 1900's, late 1900's
• design loads
• foundation characteristics
• wood-frame construction
• construction qualtiy
• summary and conclusions
• recommendations
• bibliography
• appendix A - thermal insulation

Graphics and tables include:

• housing construction statistics
• age discribution of existing single family homes
• geographic distribution of single family homes by region
• recommended live and dead loads
• presumptive soil bearing values by time period
• typical framing lumber species by time period
• lumber grades by time period
• early engineering data for structural timbers
• allowable stresses in structural timbers
• allowable unit stresses for structural lumber and timbers
• early data on wood specific gravity
• maximum spans for joists and rafters
• recommended framing above openings
• early shear wall test data
• ultimate shear wall values for typical modern construction
• interior wall amounts
• profile home in 1900 - 2 story
• profile home in 1950 - 1 1/2 story
• profile home in 2000 - 2 story
• braced framing pre-1900
• balloon framing technique in early 1900s
• plaform framing