Craig Cowled of the Queensland University of Technology is working on a research project with Engineered Wood Products Association Australasia which is focused on bracing solutions for mid-rise timber buildings.  During the course of experimental testing, he encountered a curious issue with current building practice of timber-framed shear walls.

Craig has dubbed the issue the “double stud detail” and highlighted it in a blog post a few months ago that got shared around on LinkedIn. 

The following is a photo of a braced section of wall with two sheets of plybrace and two studs at the join between the sheets just to illustrate the double stud detail:

Since Craig wrote the blog post above, it has been suggested by Boris Iskra (FWPA) that the problem might be only a Qld practice. Craig is currently in the process of writing a report for the EWPAA and FWPA on experimental results comparing a shear wall that did not have laminated middle studs vs a shear wall that does have laminated middle studs.

As part of this study, Dave Gover has asked Craig to canvas the frame and truss industry around Australia to find out what common practice is from fabricators.

Craig has designed a short five question survey which we hope fabricators will take the time to complete no later than Friday 29th May 2020.

You access the survey here and again, I ask that you find the time to complete the survey.

If anyone needs to contact Craig, you can contact him at craig.cowled@qut.edu.au

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