5. Concluding remarks

This chapter presented a complete design of a typical US single-family home made of conventional wood-frame system. Initially, the applicable building and material codes were introduced and relevant provisions discussed. A typical home plan by a PA builder was discussed and explained for detailed design. The process of load selection and load path and load combination was discussed. Then based on application of the resultant loads on typical structural elements, detailed designs for roof sheathing, roof trusses, exterior walls, main wind force resisting system, floor system, girders, columns, and foundation walls and footings were presented and discussed. Where appropriate, tips and guidelines for typical design were offered so that the procedure presented can be followed by designers as appropriate. While other structural systems are becoming increasingly available, the wood-frame system is still the dominating system as in the USA lumber is readily available at highly competitive process. This makes structural systems other than conventional wood-frame less competitive, unless there are special conditions where cost may not be the main determining factor.
