Mitigation of Two-story Single Family Residence

Problem Statement and Objectives

Small organizations were in need of improvements to houses and buildings, such as small structures with hip and gable roofs, which had been found to be more vulnerable to high-speed wind damages. ARA used results from past wind tunnel tests on one-, two- and three-story houses to develop new design pressures for these small organizations.

• develop improved wind load models using existing one- and two-story wind tunnel data
  
• develop loss relativities for use in the State of Florida for wind mitigation credits
  
• produce improved construction guidelines for two-story houses
  
• compare loss reduction benefits to current and previous standards

Results and Benefits
Performed benefit cost studies to determine the cost effectiveness of incorporating the new loads in modern wind loading design standards. Results demonstrated inefficiencies in current wind loading standards that occur on roofs of residential buildings as the height-to-depth ratio increases and served to reduce future wind-induced losses.