Print this page Constructing Residential Structures in Coastal Areas
Jeffrey Havelin, P.E.
Course Outline
Construction of residential buildings in coastal zones presents challenges to the designer or builder not usually found in more inland locations. For all coastal residential buildings, these challenges may include the following:
- Various connection details require additional inspections
- Careful surveying is required to place the building within property line setbacks and above the Design Flood Elevation (DFE)
- Special care which is required to ensure that all elements of the building will withstand the large forces associated with high wind speeds and coastal flooding
- Difficulty of providing durable exterior construction in a moist, sometimes salt-laden, environment
- The requirement to protect and, usually, place utilities above the DFE In constructing coastal residential buildings on elevated pile foundations, builders face additional challenges:
- Difficulty of constructing a driven pile foundation to accepted construction plan tolerances
- Difficulty of building on an elevated post-and-beam foundation, compared to building on continuous wall foundations
- The additional care that must be taken in constructing a building envelope that will withstand the intrusion of air and moisture under the effects of high wind speeds
This course discusses the construction aspects of the above challenges, as well as the basic aspects of the coastal construction process, and it is divided into the following sections
- Foundation Construction
- Structural framing
- Building envelope
- Appurtenant Structures
- Utility/ Mechanical equipment
This course is
based entirely on the Chapter 13 Constructing the Building of the FEMA Publication
Coastal Construction Manual (FEMA-55). This course includes a multiple-choice
quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.
You will be quizzed on the subject document in its entirety.
Learning Objective
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- General understanding about various types of pile foundations;
- Potential bearing capacities of various USDA soil classifications;
- Determine pile capacity using the "Pile driving resistance for Drop Hammer Piledrivers" formula;
- Location of critical inspection areas that require special attention;
- An overview of structural framing requirements;
- Discussion of top structural framing issues for builders;
- Methods used to transfer shear forces;
- Methods used to transfer wind uplift tensile forces;
- Provide an overview to critical inspection areas of the building envelope;
- Top building envelope issues for builders;
- Provides special guidelines for appurtenant structures;
- Provides guidelines for utility and mechanical equipment;
- Prevention of wood decay and termite infestation; and
- Prevention of
metal corrosion, and concrete and masonry deterioration.
Intended
Audience
This course is intended for engineers or architects involved in design or construction of residential structures.
Benefit
for Attendee
This course was intended to provide valuable information and design guidance for engineers or architects involved in design or construction of residential structures located specifically in high-wind or coastal areas.
Course
Introduction
This course will
provide valuable design information and guidance, which can be incorporated
into future designs to prevent potential problems at residential structures
located in coastal areas. These structures are often subjected to high winds,
flooding and sometimes wave forces. Specific suggestions, procedures, and methods
are introduced in this course, which are based on previous problems, which were
identified to be inherent at specifically at coastal sites. Many examples and
photographs of structural damage are illustrated in this course to demonstrate
the potential problems that could have been prevented or reduced by using the
suggested methods.
Course Content
This course is based entirely on the Chapter 13 Constructing the
Building of the FEMA Publication Coastal Construction Manual -Third Edition
(FEMA-55).
The link to the course materials is as follows:
Please
click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document
for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first
save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save
Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Course Summary
At the completion of this course the student will have completely reviewed the design process required for residential buildings to withstand hurricanes and other severe natural hazard events. The specific case examples which were evaluated in detail during the course, explained each procedure with example calculations and complete diagrams, should be very helpful for the design professional.
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
