Hello,
I have a question about load-bearing walls. How do I know how thick studs I should use in the walls? I'm considering building a small cabin, 6x6m, with two floors and a terrace on a flat roof. The walls need to withstand essentially unlimited snow loads during a harsh winter and also strong winds for the rest of the year as it is located on a moraine ridge.
I have a question about load-bearing walls. How do I know how thick studs I should use in the walls? I'm considering building a small cabin, 6x6m, with two floors and a terrace on a flat roof. The walls need to withstand essentially unlimited snow loads during a harsh winter and also strong winds for the rest of the year as it is located on a moraine ridge.
Small buildings are often designed "off the cuff."Aron D said:
Otherwise, you may need to hire a structural engineer.
Often the studs are sized more based on how much insulation you want rather than the static load.
I would choose 120 mm studs in your situation. It will be sturdy and good.
(I had such a large garage in Gbg with 70 mm studs, which were also notched for nailers)
What difference does it make that the cabin will stand on a gravel ridge do you mean?
Greetings from Hallandsåsen
My house is built with 45x70 studs on cc 1200 and that house has stood since 1962 so likely 45x70 studs on cc 60 should be sufficient without any issues. However, 70mm insulation is often the minimum, so it's probably best if you follow KOW's suggestion and dimension the studs based on how much insulation you want.
Snow load is vertical, and 70x45 might feel a bit meager, but it can still hold. Wind load is horizontal, and that's when the diagonals take up the load. The most economical option is probably 2x4 (95x45) since they have roughly the same price per meter as 70x45. But as mentioned, the diagonals are important!
I live in Örebro, so normally there's not much snow, but there have been a few snowy winters in recent years when we've had as much as half a meter of snow on the roof, and there have been no signs (creaking, tough windows or the like) that it would be under-dimensioned. Now, I wouldn't actually build a new house with so few and thin studs since it doesn't feel right, but evidently, it works.Thomas_Blekinge said:
If I were TS, I would probably choose 95 or 120 studs depending on how much insulation I want. If it's about a year-round residence, I might even go for even wider studs, but I get the feeling it's about a vacation house, and then so much insulation is a bit unnecessary. A bigger issue I would have thought more about is how large a wall plate to have and how the trusses should be dimensioned. After all, it's in those parts that all the forces mainly need to be absorbed.
The wall plate probably doesn't take up much snow load but mostly makes sure that the vertical studs maintain the same distance from each other.
Check here:
http://www.traguiden.se/TGtemplates/popup1spalt.aspx?id=1280
Check here:
http://www.traguiden.se/TGtemplates/popup1spalt.aspx?id=1280
It's extremely windy most of the time, strongly. Thought it should be considered when thinking about dimensions. Besides that, the third floor is to become an open terrace.KnockOnWood said:What difference does it make that the cabin is to be located on an esker, do you mean?
Greetings from Hallandsåsen
The house is situated in the middle of the Örebro urban area, so it's not in any particularly exposed location. Admittedly, Örebro is quite a windy city, but around here "full storm" means about 14 m/s...Aron D said:
The house is a single-story with a basement, so the only loads the somewhat limited framework needs to handle are the roof's dead weight with snow. I don't have the dimensions of the roof trusses in my head, but they are W-trusses with a 27[SUP]o[/SUP] slope, and I would guess the boards the trusses are made of are about 150x45, but those are rather approximate figures.
The roof trusses are placed with the usual cc1200, but they do not align with the framework in the walls, which also have cc1200. Instead, there is a rather substantial wall plate of about 180x45 that transfers the forces from the roof trusses to the standing studs. It might be worth mentioning that the entire house has tongue and groove boards on the interior walls, which probably helps stiffen the construction a bit.
The thickness of the studs in the walls is generally not a determining factor, whether it concerns horizontal load (wind) or vertical load (snow/wind).
What can happen with a poorly constructed stud frame under high wind load is that it may shear. This is not avoided by having sturdier studs but by having diagonal braces. The most common diagonal braces are panel materials, but it can also be solved in other ways.
For vertical load, it is the roof that needs to be dimensioned. Wall studs are generally sufficiently strong.
What can happen with a poorly constructed stud frame under high wind load is that it may shear. This is not avoided by having sturdier studs but by having diagonal braces. The most common diagonal braces are panel materials, but it can also be solved in other ways.
For vertical load, it is the roof that needs to be dimensioned. Wall studs are generally sufficiently strong.
Hello againvectrex said:
Can't help but show this picture, regarding the house framework's ability to withstand wind loads, etc. Our latest autumn storm Gorm certainly showed that buildings and forests had to prove what they could withstand. Here's a neighbor who was in the middle of building a large garage. It seems he'll have to start over from scratch...
And the forest has also taken its toll. Especially the sparse spruce forest in the square in Laholm:
PS Hard not to peek in at Bygga Hus now and then. Hello to all dear old friends! It's in the blood, as those with MRSA say
Last edited:
A bit OT, but the big danger with the wind is when it gets inside and gains leverage with something. I saw a test with two identical houses where they broke the windows while it was windy. In a test facility, of course. The house held up well until the windows went. Then it collapsed like a house of cards.
My advice to TS is to go with 120x45 in the walls.
My advice to TS is to go with 120x45 in the walls.