Open vs Partially Enclosed Buildings

[David Deck Guy]

I have a pergola that has a privacy screen (50% permeability) for most of the height on one side. Technically, this wall is less than 80% open and thus the whole thing is partially enclosed. Do you think its reasonable to only load this screen with the .55 GPCi pressure coefficient, and load the rest of the building as if it was open?

 

[OldDawgNewTricks]

No. Your building does not meet the criteria for partially enclosed, so the 0.55 coefficient is not applicable. If you are using ASCE 7-10 (or earlier), you may want to look at a newer edition. They added a partially open classification for buildings that do not meet the criteria for any of the other categories.

 

[jerseyshore]

And make sure you run both load cases, with the wall down and with it up. A pergola or similar open structure will usually have quite a bit of net uplift. The footing sizes are always much bigger than "normal".