CEU Summary

Designing for High Winds

Most regions of the United States face high wind hazards with the accompanying threat of wind-related damage to buildings. According to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), high winds cause millions, if not billions, of dollars of damage each year.

However, much of this damage could be avoided with a few affordable techniques designed to strengthen buildings against wind forces—techniques that account for interactions between wind loads and building material properties.

Learning Objectives – After this course, you should be able to:

Describe the basic parameters for determining wind loads on buildings in accordance with the 2015 IBC and ASCE 7-10.
Consider the effects of topography, wind directionality and openings in the structure on calculated wind loads and wind pressures.
Explain how the exposure category for a building project can vary based on the roughness of nearby terrain.
Recognize the importance of a continuous load path in minimizing damage to wood buildings in a high wind event.