Wood Shearwall Sheathing Field Fastening Pattern

[zrck99]

Is anyone aware of a capacity advantage from calling our your field fastening pattern at 6"o.c. rather than 12" o.c.? I haven't been able to find anything in the code but have seen it called out on other firms drawings in the past.

Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[jayrod12]

For the CSA code, you get higher capacity for unblocked shearwalls with tighter intermediate nailing.

 

[BridgeSmith]

Generally, the diaphragm shear capacity of wood sheathing is controlled by the shear capacity of the fasteners, since the shear capacity of the panel itself is very large, so yes, more nails or screws means greater in-plane shear capacity.

 

[jdgengineer]

I'm not aware of a capacity increase but NDS SDPWS requires 6" oc field nailing unless your wall panels are thicker than 7/16" and your studs are spaced less than 24" oc [SDPWS 4.3.7.1(3)]

 

[moments]

The main function of the field nails is to preclude panel buckling, allowing for the edge nails develop their strength and ductility. As already pointed out, for shear wall design using the SPDWS, the 12" vs. 6" spacings are prescribed within the capacity tables for various assemblies.