Structural Investigation of Historic Buildings - (Malestrom) PDF

Structural Investigation
of Historic Buildings
Structural Investigation of Historic Buildings: A Case Study Guide to Preservation Technology for Buildings,
Bridges, Towers, and Mills. David. C. Fischetti 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Structural
Investigation of
Historic Buildings
A Case Study Guide to Preservation
Technology for Buildings, Bridges,
Towers, and Mills
David C. Fischetti
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Fischetti, David C.
Structural investigation of historic buildings : a case study guide to
preservation technology for buildings, bridges, towers, and mills / David C. Fischetti.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-18967-2 (cloth)
1. Building inspection. 2. Historic buildingsConservation and
restorationCase studies. 3. Historic preservationConservation and restoration
Case studies. 4. Structural engineeringUnited States. I. Title.
TH439.F55 2008
720.28'8dc22
2008038581
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Introduction
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
vii
Acknowledgments
Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural

Engineer
Preservation and Public Safety: Structural Safety of

Historic Timber Structures
15
CHAPTER 3
Simplified Engineering
21
CHAPTER 4
Conservation and the Specialty Contractor
41
CHAPTER 5
57
CHAPTER 6
Watauga Hall and the Montague Building
71
CHAPTER 7
The Restoration of St. Helenas Church
91
CHAPTER 8
Market Hall Rehabilitation
115
CHAPTER 9
Differential Settlement at St. Philips Moravian

Church at Old Salem
123
CHAPTER 10 James Madisons Montpelier
139
CHAPTER 11 Timber, Glulam, and Conservation
149
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vi
Contents
CHAPTER 12 Tabby: Engineering Characteristics of a Vernacular

Construction Material
169
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CHAPTER 13 Relocating the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
181
CHAPTER 14 Crisis in American Covered Bridges
207
CHAPTER 15 The Timber Trusses of Burr, Town, and Haupt
211
CHAPTER 16 The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge
227
CHAPTER 17 A New Covered Bridge for Old Salem
241
CHAPTER 18 The Tohickon Aqueduct
253
CHAPTER 19 The Current State of Historic Preservation

Engineering: One Engineers Point of View
263
Index
271
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Introduction
n North America, our built environment of what is commonly referred to as
historic structures typically includes everything 50 years of age or older. These
structures are as diverse as Montezuma Castle, a cliff dwelling of mud and stone
constructed in Arizona about 1150 A.D., to Dorton Arena, the worlds first cablesupported roof system, built in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1952.
The purpose of this book is to help prepare consulting structural engineers
and others to deal with issues unique to historic structures. This book will also
explore the reasons why engineering practitioners tend to shy away from these
projects. Unfortunately, for liability concerns, and other reasons, few American
structural engineers have embraced a preservation philosophy that allows for
the continued use of our architectural and structural heritage. And yet, with the
possible exception of the absence of timber design in some programs, civil
engineering curricula in most North American universities should adequately
equip the graduate engineer with sufficient skills to address the varied challenges posed by evaluation and condition assessment through observation,
measurement, analysis, and testing.
The case studies in this book are not totally representative of the full array
of possible building types that may be encountered by the great majority of
structural engineers. As case studies, they represent the particular experience
encountered in one consulting structural engineers practice. The building
types may be somewhat skewed by my experience in timber design and my
geographic location, and specifically, the states where I am registered to practice engineering.
This book can serve as a text in preservation courses for students of many
disciplines. Whether the curriculum is history, architecture, art history, planning, engineering, construction management, or materials based, there is a
need for the students who are anticipating a preservation career to know what
to expect from their structural engineer team members or consultants. The
seasoned structural engineer will find information useful to projects involving
existing buildings to the extent that one may wish to obtain continuing education credits in the field to fulfill registration obligations, or obtain some certificate or advanced degree in historic preservation.
vii
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viii
Introduction
Conservation of our existing structures has obvious economic and social

value. The success of various structural engineering solutions can be told
through case studies to a wider audience, so that potential candidates for restoration, rehabilitation, or adaptive reuse, do not meet the wrecking ball without a second chance.
EVALUATING A TIMBER STRUCTURE

Our procedure for evaluating an existing framed building or roof structure,
historic or not, is to apply todays code mandated snow, live, and wind and
seismic loads to various component systems, assuming that no deterioration
has occurred. In this way, the original structure can be tested with specific load
criteria, against reasonable allowable design values so that the amount of stress
in various elements can be tabulated and compared to allowables.
By performing a computer analysis, the stiffness in various components, and
the continuity, or lack of continuity, through joints, can be included, resulting in
accurate theoretical deflections. The computed deflections can then be compared
to todays code mandated limits for structures. Once this process is completed,
then a review of the amount of stress in particular elements can be compared
against reasonable values that could be expected from the materials used at the
time the building was constructed. After structural analysis is complete, then a
condition analysis can be made on the basis of field observation, measurement,
and testing. Ideally, it is best to have at least a preliminary analysis in hand prior
to actually observing conditions in the field. In reality, we often are responding to
the clients wishes to inspect the structure as soon as possible, without benefit of
measured drawings from the architect or prior information of any kind.
Through analysis and engineering judgment, the capacity of various components can be tabulated to account for deterioration. The theoretical deflection can
be compared to the actual deformation of the structure as measured in the field.
Each study will be presented with emphasis on the structural evaluation and
condition assessment. Each section will include a description of the project and its
history, a condition assessment, structural analysis, discussion, recommendations
and a description of the subsequent intervention as executed with drawings and
photographs.
WHY THE BOOK IS NEEDED

Tasks as simple as determining the grades and applicable design values for timber components and how to apply the effects of load duration to the evaluation
of historic timber structures need to be included in a preservation engineering
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Introduction
ix
text. Reservations in the evaluation of wrought iron, and the unknowns associated with determining the capacity of unreinforced historic masonry or archaic
concrete systems, are but a few of the issues leading to the wholesale destruction of potentially serviceable buildings and bridges. For example, not knowing
the effects on strength of slag inclusions in wrought iron has caused structural
engineers to automatically call for the replacement, with new steel, of all the
possibly perfectly serviceable wrought iron tension rods in many building trusses
and historic bridges.
This book will also raise some questions that will be of interest to the research
community. Historic structures provide an excellent laboratory to study aspects of
structural engineering, materials science, forensic engineering, and building design.
This book emphasizes a preservation philosophy that stresses achieving
structural safety using traditional materials, based on modern analysis, measurement, and testing techniques. It is not a compilation of available ASTM
tests or a documentation of various archaic structural systems. Lessons learned
in historic preservation make us better designers of new structures.
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Acknowledgments
y career has been influenced by many people who do not appear in these
case histories who need to be acknowledged. Some, such as Wm. C. Vick
and Tommy Vick of Wm. C. Vick Construction Co. in Raleigh, NC afforded me
the opportunity to work on projects with some of these same design issues.
Robert C. Browning, P.E. was an engineer interested, early on, on the work I was
doing.
My parents Rose and Constantine Fischetti, of course, encouraged me in
my career. My grandfather Luigi Rinaldi, Master Brickmason, gave me my first
job in construction. I graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School thirty
years after my father. The teachers at Brooklyn Tech, most with industrial or
construction experience, had a positive influence, particularly Angelo Amatelli,
Head of the Structural Course of study. My timber design experience began at
Koppers Company, Inc. in Pittsburgh in the Unit Structures Department of the
Forest Products Division. I would like to thank Harry C. Smith, P.E. and Einar
Orsett, P.E. for their guidance.
Over the years many people have typed the various manuscripts which
enabled this book to be published: Denise Bowles, Beckie Mitchem, Dolly
Foster, Lynn McBride, Tami Wahl, and Connie Harrison. Most important is
Gretchen Moog Tippett whose work was crucial in the final production of the
manuscript. I want to also acknowledge Jim Harper, my editor, and Nancy
Cintron, production editor, at Wiley.
This book would not be possible without the work of my daughter Stephanie
A. Fischetti who assembled the initial outline and proposal.
Most of all I would like to thank my wife Joyce and our family for all of
their love and support.
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FIGURE 6-7
Floors were replaced
in the Eagle Block
(ca. 1835) in similar
fashion to Watauga
Hall. (See page 87 for
discussion.)
FIGURE 7-10
Lateral bracing
consisting of timber
poles and framing was
installed on both sidewalls. (See Chapter 7
for discussion of
St. Helenas Church.)
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FIGURE 7-19
All exterior surfaces
were renewed,
including the steeple.
(See Chapter 7 for discussion of St. Helenas
Church.)
FIGURE 8-4
The technology used is
common to the timber
period of original
construction. (See
Chapter 8 for discussion of Market Hall.)
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FIGURE 8-5
The iron work was
restored to its original
configuration and color.
(See Chapter 8 for
discussion of Market
Hall.)
FIGURE 8-6
This completed
building again houses
the Confederate
Museum. (See Chapter
8 for discussion of
Market Hall.)
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FIGURE 9-5
The log church has
a false chimney and
cupola. (See pages 131
to 134 for discussion
of the St. Philips Log
Church.)
FIGURE 9-16
The masonry wall
was supported by
the mini-piles. Steel
bands were used to
provide under-slung
support to the wall.
(See Chapter 9 for
discussion of St.
Philips Church.)
FIGURE 10-1
View of the
surrounding property
from the attic. (See
Chapter 10 for
discussion of James
Madisons Montpelier.)
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FIGURE 10-10
Arnold Graton (shown
here) temporarily
braced the chimney
prior to removing soil
and installing jacks.
(See Chapter 10
for discussion of
Montpelier.)
FIGURE 10-12
The chimney extension
provided duct access
into the vertical spaces
within the chimney.
(See Chapter 10
for discussion of
Montpelier.)
FIGURE 12-7
The Horton-DuBignon
House on Jekyll Island
(ca. 1738) is one
of the oldest tabby
structures in Georgia.
(See Chapter 12 for
discussion on Tabby.)
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FIGURE 15-3
The deteriorated
members in the Utica
Road Covered Bridge
were replaced in kind.
(See page 213 for
discussion.)
FIGURE 15-4
The Old Salem
Covered Bridge is a
modified Burr. A partial
arch is shown here
during construction.
(See Chapter 17 for
discussion.)
FIGURE 15-8
The Bunker Hill
Covered Bridge
with repairs almost
completed. (See
pages 219225 for
discussion.)
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FIGURE 16-3
The cable stayed
system allowed for an
orderly rehabilitation
of the roof structure.
(See Chapter 16 for
discussion of the
Cornish-Windsor
Bridge.)
FIGURE 16-8
The governors of both
New Hampshire and
Vermont attended the
dedication ceremony.
(See Chapter 16 for
discussion of the
Cornish-Windsor
Bridge.)
FIGURE 17-1
The acrylic
panels provided
a weathertight
sidewall closure.
(See Chapter 17 for
discussion of the Old
Salem Covered Bridge.)
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FIGURE 18-1
The aqueduct consists
of three equal spans of
66 feet. (See Chapter
18 for discussion of the
Tohickon Aqueduct.)
FIGURE 18-7
The completed
aqueduct won a
National Timber
Bridge Award in 2002.
(See Chapter 18 for
discussion of the
Tohickon Aqueduct.)
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CHAPTER
Historic Structures: The Role of the

Structural Engineer
THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER AS A PRESERVATIONIST

ervices of the structural engineer may include planning, estimating, making structural evaluations, conducting feasibility studies, designing, and
consulting. Adaptive use, the practice of renovating or rehabilitating a structure for a use other than that for which it was first designed, involves, for the
structural engineer, several opportunities to be of service. Although the final
construction cost may include as little as 5 to 12 percent of the total project
cost for structural work, the structural engineer may play a pivotal role in
determining whether a project will be economically feasible. A structural evaluation will indicate whether structural elements are reused, reinforced, or
replaced.
Often, adapting a building to a new use requires extensive structural
changes to be made in order to make the building conform to current needs
and code requirements. A common challenge for the structural engineer is how
to construct, within a historic structure, an elevator shaft so that upper floors
may be accessible. Seismic retrofit is an important concern facing historic
structures in areas where retroactive seismic building code requirements are in
force. The services provided by a structural engineer associated with moving a
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Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer
historic building might include a structural evaluation to determine whether

the structure can be moved intact, partially disassembled, or relocated in sections. Structural reinforcement or the design of a new foundation might also be
required. Registered land surveyors are the most qualified to provide accurate
base measurements when the extensive documentation of a historic structure is
required.
REHABILITATION GUIDELINES
All structural engineers should obtain a copy of The Secretary of the Interiors
Standards for Rehabilitation. Under these standards, rehabilitation means the
process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration,
which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those
portions and features of the property that are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural value. Minimum alteration of the building, its environment, and its distinguishing architectural qualities is required for a project to
qualify as a certified rehabilitation benefiting from the provisions of the tax
act. Archeological resources must be protected, as well as significant historical,
architectural, or cultural material. An understanding of the historical significance of a building must be obtained to enable the engineer to provide an
acceptable solution to a particular design problem while following the secretarys standards.
The guidelines for applying The Secretary of the Interiors Standards for
Rehabilitation recommend recognition of the special problems inherent in
the structural system of historic buildings, especially where there are visible
signs of cracking, deflection, or failure. In addition, stabilization and repair
of weakened structural members and systems when damaged or inadequate
are recommended. Historically important structural members are to be
replaced only when necessary.1
BUILDING CODES AND HISTORIC STRUCTURES

The structural engineer must make a realistic judgment when applying modern
building code live-load requirements to a historic structure. For example, how
much snow can adhere to a steeply pitched slate or tin roof? How does
one rationalize the successful service of a hundred-year-old church roof structure when the forces obtained from the frame analysis appear too great for the
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The Structural Evaluation
connections involved? As in the review and evaluation of any structure, the

engineer must make a judgment, based on available information, of the safety
of such a structure. Should the engineer call for the reinforcing of a timber
floor structure with steel beams when it is safe in bending and shear but exceeds
deflection requirements when loaded with a required minimum live-load based
on occupancy?
The 2006 North Carolina State Building Code, which is the Standard
Building Code with North Carolina amendments, includes several provisions
for historic structures. In Section 1009, Historic Buildings for Public Display
or Exhibition and Section 1010, Historic Buildings for Adaptive Use, the
definition of historic buildings is as follows:
General
(a) Historic buildings means buildings designated as historic properties.
(1) By the state historic preservation officer acting on behalf of the North
Carolinian Historical Commission in accordance with the provisions of
G.S. 121.8 and NCAC 46.0600.
(2) Or by a local historic properties commission constituted in accordance
with G.S. 160A.399.2 subject to review and approval by the Building
Code Council.2
Included in the code are provisions regarding repairs, additions, sprinkler

systems, means of egress, and the moving of historic buildings.
In recent years several codes have adopted the innovations and principles
of the New Jersey Rehabilitation Subcode commonly know as the New Jersey
Rehab Code which was first published in 1997. Chapter 34, Existing Structures in the 2003 International Building Code also includes Section 3407 entitled Historic Buildings states that, The provisions of this code relating to the
construction, repair, alteration, addition, restoration, and movement of structures, and change of occupancy shall not be mandatory for historic buildings
where such buildings are judged by the building official to not constitute a
distinct life safety hazard.2
THE STRUCTURAL EVALUATION

Structural engineers have been reluctant to become involved with historic
preservation projects, often because of the potential liability imposed on the
engineer. By merely providing a structural evaluation of a historic structure,
the engineer may become the engineer of record for a building constructed
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with primitive methods and materials. Many historic structures were not
rigorously analyzed, but proportioned by the eye of an experienced builder or
simply built as was the custom.
If the engineer becomes involved in even a small portion of a historic preservation project, there must be adequate compensation for the assumed liability. The engineer must be completely satisfied that a structure meets the loading
requirements for its intended occupancy, as well as all external forces.
Structural evaluations usually include a determination of the ability of a
floor or roof system to support these service loads. An existing structure might
have to be monitored in order to obtain data for such an evaluation. Testing
programs may have to be designed to aid in determining the strength of component materials or complete assemblies. Methods may consist of destructive
or nondestructive testing of component materials or load tests of structural
members such as beams or assemblies such as trusses. It will likely be necessary to adapt current testing methods for field use on historic structures.
Accurate field measurements are essential in defining the structure and its
condition. Surveying methods have been successfully utilized in determining
the stiffness of deflected beams and trusses. A topographic plan of the floor
surface of a historic structure will yield a useful visual representation of an
irregular floor if the contour interval is small. Irregular floors in a historic
structure could be caused by movement in the supporting soils, timber decay
or shrinkage, or deflection of structural components. The ability to interpret
the response of a structure to background vibrations and induced vibrations
has made vibratory testing a valuable historic preservation tool. X-ray, liquid
penetrant, nuclear particle density meters, and ultrasonic techniques are being
used to evaluate various construction materials.
The correct interpretation of masonry cracks may yield accurate information regarding the location and amounts of settlement or thermal movement.
Monitoring such cracks is possible with telltales such as glass slides epoxied
to the wall surface on each side of a fissure. Even slight movement can be
detected by using such a strategy. Accurate monitoring of cracks is possible
with calibrated telltales accurate to within one millimeter and electronic strain
gauges.
Load testing a historic structure may be the only reasonable way to justify
conditions or materials that are difficult to analyze. In designing a load test, the
engineer must call for the application of realistic loads carefully applied.
Great care should be taken before applying twice the design live load, as
required by many building codes, to a historic structure. For timber structures it
may be unrealistic to apply full live load plus an increase for a period such as 24
or 48 hours, when the structure actually will never reach that service loading for
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Materials Research
FIGURE 1-1
This load test utilized
water to determine
the average stiffness
of a series of recycled
joists.
that length of time. Applying a known, safe load to a historic structure is an

excellent method for determining the stiffness characteristics of various materials. This is of special value when evaluating timber structures. It is important to
realize that because of the variation in the strength characteristics of timber, a
load test of one member of a structure may not be indicative of the true capacity
in other areas of the building.
For any material, before a load test is undertaken, the engineer must be certain that all lateral bracing and slenderness requirements are satisfied. A preliminary analysis must be performed to ensure that the structure will not be loaded
past the elastic limit or further to destruction. The application of strain gages and
other instrumentation is highly desirable in monitoring a load test. Through the
use of monitoring techniques, testing, measurements, observation, and structural
calculations, an accurate interpretation of the structural capability of a historic
structure can be presented in a carefully written report.
MATERIALS RESEARCH
Research may yield information useful in the evaluation, rehabilitation, or renovation of the historic structure. Original plans, construction photographs,
and written or oral accounts may provide clues to the original design or construction methodology. Old textbooks or materials handbooks may provide
design methods and design strengths of various materials.
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The structural engineer must be familiar with the properties of materials

such as timber, steel, cast iron, wrought iron, stone, brick masonry, terra cotta,
and reinforced concrete. Patented floor or roof systems composed of various
materials might appear only in manufacturers literature, with little or no design
information available.
THE EVALUATION OF CONCRETE

Reinforcing steel in older concrete buildings may be square, round, or hexagonal in cross-section with various types of deformations and exhibiting various
physical properties. Early reinforcing steel was produced as plain and deformed
steel in structural, intermediate, and hard grades. Structural grade was normally used unless specified otherwise. Structural engineers should obtain a
copy of CRSI Engineering Data Report, no. 11, titled Evaluation of Reinforcing Steel in Old Reinforced Concrete Structures.3
The first specifications for reinforcing steel were developed in 1910 by the
Association of American Steel Manufacturers. In 1911, the American Society
for Testing and Materials adopted standard specification A15 for billet steel
concrete reinforcing bars. Minimum working stresses and yield strengths for
these and other early specifications are presented in the CRSI report.
The most difficult problem in evaluating historic reinforced concrete structures is determining the size and location of the reinforcing steel. Various instruments now available may be used for such purposes, but should be verified by
exposing the reinforcing steel in noncritical locations to visual inspection.
Development lengths, bending and cutoff details, and effective depths
must be determined. The material properties of both the steel and concrete
should be determined by testing. Samples of reinforcing steel suitable for testing can usually be obtained without affecting the structural adequacy of an
existing structure if the locations are carefully selected. A preliminary structural analysis aids in locating areas of low stress suitable for sampling. Nondestructive load testing of complete flexural members can be employed to verify
calculated deflections. Accurate methods are still needed to aid engineers in
evaluating the effects of voids, cracks, and deteriorated reinforcing.
BRICK MASONRY RESTORATION

Lime-sand mortar, commonly used in structures located above water level, is
of great importance in the repair and restoration of historic buildings. The
structural engineer interested in historic preservation should be familiar with
masonry restoration specifications.
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Brick Masonry Restoration
Mortar for face brick should match the original mortar in color, texture,
density, and porosity. It should have strength equal or less than that of the
original mortar. New mortar should have hardness equal to or less than that of
the original brick, as determined by testing. The color of mortar used for
repointing should be matched to the original by matching the color of original
aggregates and mortar components as closely as possible. An archeological
search may uncover ingredients of the original job mixed mortar, such as oyster
shells, in the soil strata at the site in the builders trench, which contains other
construction debris.
The density and strength of historic brick units are a function of their
position in the kiln and how well they were fired. Salmon brick, which are
lightly burned, were typically reserved for the center of a wall and the harder,
better burned, brick used as exterior face brick. Because of the extreme variations in their strength and durability, the use of salvaged brick should be
discouraged.
There are manufacturers who can match old brick very accurately and
several manufacturers who are making bricks by the old methods. These bricks
and a compatible lime mortar design mix are what is required to match the
brick masonry of historic buildings. Repointing brick masonry is a waterproofing procedure and not a solution for structural problems. The repointing
process is a critical procedure that should be done in carefully selected areas
with great care.4
Materials engineers should become familiar with the components of historic mortars, and in that light review the methods for sampling and testing of
masonry. The Brick Institute of America, Technical Notes on Brick Construction, no. 39A, reviews procedures for testing brick prisms.5 The standard
ASTM methods of tests for masonry assemblages are especially applicable to
the testing of historic masonry because of the possible variation in the mortar
and brick strengths. The performance of historic mortar and brick can be evaluated in this way, not as individual components, but as they would perform
together in the wall. Of course, obtaining suitable undisturbed samples for
testing can be a problem with fragile materials.
Once a replacement brick is selected and the original mortar approximated, prism testing of replacement masonry should yield information regarding allowable stresses that may be used in design. Mortar analysis and mix
design should be accompanied by strength tests that can be evaluated by a
materials testing engineer. There has been a tendency in the field of historic
preservation to select brick and mortar so that they merely look right when
placed alongside original masonry. The structural engineer can best determine
that strength characteristics of replacement masonry materials are as compatible
as the color and texture.
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FIGURE 1-2
The entrance gates
for Camden (Railroad)
Yards in Charleston,
South Carolina, were
restored and the stucco
was renewed.
The use of grinders, sandblasting, sanding discs, or other abrasives normally

are not permitted in the cleaning of brick. Irrevocable damage has been done to
historic masonry by abrasive cleaning. For example, removal of the outer surface
of old brick may expose the more porous inner portion of the brick, which may
lead to spalling due to moisture penetration and subsequent freezing.
TIMBER DESIGN AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Often, the proper analysis and evaluation of a historic structure requires that
the structural engineer have extensive timber design experience. Many historic
structures in the United States are timber framed. Masonry construction is
generally used for foundations, exterior wall support, and building enclosure.
A thorough knowledge of the physical and mechanical properties of wood is
necessary.
Many historic structures were constructed of green timber because of the
considerable time required to air dry large timbers. In the seasoning process,
timber gives off or takes on moisture from the surrounding atmosphere with
changes in temperature and relative humidity until it attains a balance relative
to the atmospheric conditions. Historic structures have had time to reach this
point of balance, known as the equilibrium moisture content.
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Timber Design and Historic Preservation
Moisture content is the weight of the water contained in wood, expressed

as a percentage of the weight of the oven-dried wood. As wood loses moisture,
the water in the cell cavity evaporates first. The condition at which the water
in the cell cavity has been evaporated but the cell wall is still saturated is
known as the fiber saturation point. This point is usually assumed to be at
approximately 30 percent. When the moisture content is reduced below this
point, shrinkage will occur.6
Builders of heavy timber structures usually made allowances for shrinkage
in the design of members and connections. The amount of shrinkage may be
calculated using tables that give amounts of radial, tangential, and volumetric
shrinkage from green to the oven oven-dried moisture content for various species. A moisture meter is an important tool for the structural engineer. What
has been misinterpreted as deflection or settlement in historic structures may
be due to the across-the-grain shrinkage of large timber girders that were
installed in a green condition and subsequently dried to low moisture content.
An increment borer can be used by the structural engineer to obtain core
samples 0.2 of an inch in diameter, which can be used to determine the species,
the number of growth rings per inch, the oven-dried weight, the moisture content, and the specific gravity of the wood sampled.
Often, certain parts of a structure will indicate a moisture content that is
considerably higher than the equilibrium moisture content determined by the
dry bulb temperature and relative humidity. Usually, close contact of timber
with moisture-containing masonry or earth will cause elevated moisture content at the bearing points of timber purlins, joists, beams, columns, or trusses.
The moisture is most readily absorbed through end grain. Once the moisture
content rises above 20 percent, decay will probably occur. Strength-reducing
effects of decay and termite infestation commonly occur at support points.
Repairing these areas of high shear is a challenge to the structural engineer
involved in historic preservation.
The structural engineer evaluating the heavy timber frame of a historic
structure should be intimately familiar with the causes and significance of
checking and the structural considerations.
The structural engineer evaluating a timber structure should become familiar with the grading rules of the various species of wood that he may encounter.
A familiarity with timber-grading rules and the strength reduction properties
of various natural growth characteristics can be obtained from The Wood
Handbook of the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory.7 Obviously, the purpose
here is not to transform the engineer into a grading-rules expert, but to provide
sufficient knowledge so that the engineer is comfortable in assigning a particular grade to the timber framing under consideration in order for the engineer
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10
to assume reasonable design values to be used in the analysis. Certainly, in

historic structures, species and density play a most significant role in determining the strength of a particular timber. Of course, the timbers history is critical
also. Wood that appears to be of a superior grade may have been subjected to
overstressing, cyclic loading, elevated temperatures, or other environmental
conditions. The true capacity of a historic timber is often less than one would
expect based on a visual inspection.
The testing of representative samples to destruction is the surest way
to determine reasonable design values. Results from such tests can be used to
establish appropriate design values in a simplified manner or through statistical analysis of the results.
Certainly, the old-growth, dense, clear timber found in many existing structures built before World War II, in North America, should be judged on the
quality of the wood and not on published design values assigned for timber cut
today. In spite of the insistence of the forest products industry that todays
timber is in every way equal to previously cut old-growth timber, I have
observed a consistent difference in the density of todays timber used for construction and that of the past.
FIGURE 1-3
Cutting through the
floor joists at Market
Hall in Charleston,
South Carolina,
revealed the material
to be dense southern
pine.
The past practice of excessively notching floor or roof joists into carrying
members must be reviewed by the structural engineer using the end-notched
beam formulae presented in various timber design manuals and textbooks.8
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Historic Highway Bridges
11
A joist might be perfectly adequate in bending and deflection and be critical in

horizontal shear at a notched support. This condition may be easily remedied
by installing custom-sized nailed joist hangers to transfer vertical forces from
the joist to the supporting member.
THE TIMBER TRUSS COMPUTER MODEL

Slippage, rotation, shrinkage, or the lack of continuity in a timber joint is difficult to allow for in a computer analysis of a timber truss. Multiple-chord
trusses will invariably appear stiffer when analyzed, even when all joints are
free to rotate in the computer model. Structural engineers are aware that it is
very difficult to produce a true hinge or a true fixed joint in the actual structure. Joints in timber trusses may act somewhere between the two, causing a
very different distribution of forces than produced by the analysis. How does
one model a half-lapped and notched joint in an indeterminate frame? What
about the problem of describing the intersecting member of a multiple chord
truss where half of the member section in each direction passes through a joint
and all pieces nailed together with wrought iron nails?
HISTORIC HIGHWAY BRIDGES

Highway bridge inspection, rehabilitation, and replacement programs have
involved many structural engineers in the evaluation of older, sometimes historic, highway bridges. Many times these bridges are found deficient because
of deterioration of structural elements, the increased magnitude of service
loads, inadequate lane width, or a geometry or configuration of the highway or
the bridge itself that makes the passage of vehicles unsafe at normal speeds.
The structural engineer plays a pivotal role in the determination of possible
methods to retain a historic bridge structure. Many two-lane bridges have been
converted to one-lane bridges with addition of an adjacent span to carry traffic in
the opposite direction. The lacing and cover plates of built-up members and the
eyebolts and pinned connections of older steel truss spans provide the structural
engineer with the opportunity to study design details that are uncommon today.
Repairs and reinforcement can be made to deck, abutments, and superstructure. When this cannot be justified, truly historic spans may be removed
from service by rerouting traffic to a replacement span. Many historic bridges
have been successfully adapted for reuse for pedestrians in areas such as parks
and downtown redevelopment projects.
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12
DISMANTLING HISTORIC RIVETED STEEL

STRUCTURES
There is a method for carefully dismantling a historic riveted steel structure.
Rivets may be removed by drilling a pilot hole into the center of the rivet head,
reaming the head to the same diameter of the rivet shank, and chipping the
head off by means of a chisel or cutting tool held in a pneumatic hammer.
The remaining portion of the rivet may then be driven from the hole with a
drift pin and sledgehammer.
Although this method is not as fast as torch cutting and resplicing by welding, it preserves the original configuration of connections, does not require
splice plates, and does not subject the steel to excessively high temperatures.
Field rivets can usually be identified by their heads, which may not be as well
formed as shop rivets.
Field splice locations can be determined so that a structure can be dismantled in much the same way it was first erected.
FIGURE 1-4
The presence of
field bolts provide
an opportunity to
dismantle a historic
bridge in the same way
it was assembled.
Reassembly in the original manner of construction is possible, with rivets,

if a source for rivets, rivet heaters, and other tools can be secured and if steel
workers experienced in riveted construction are available.
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References
13
HISTORIC STRUCTURES PROVIDE RESEARCH

OPPORTUNITIES
Historic structures can provide a laboratory for engineering research. They
provide an opportunity to evaluate the longevity of materials and the result of
various construction practices. The causes of masonry deterioration and timber decay can be observed. The causes and consequences of masonry cracks
can be determined. Failure modes of various materials may be observed, as
well as the effects of moisture penetration and thermal movement.
Creep deformations in materials such as timber or concrete can be studied,
as well as other time-related properties such as fatigue strength. Someday, we
may understand better the effects of load duration because of historic structures research. This research will provide useful information to designers of
contemporary buildings.
CONCLUSION
As the movement towards the preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and
adaptive reuse of historic structures expands, structural engineers will find
themselves playing an ever-increasing role. To be successful, they must apply
their engineering knowledge and skill in a sensitive manner providing a safe
environment while preserving the significant historic, architectural, and cultural value of historic structures and places.
REFERENCES
1. U.S. Department of the Interior, The Secretary of the Interiors Standards
for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings
(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979).
2. The North Carolina Building Code Council and the North Carolina Department of Insurance, North Carolina State Building Code, vol. I (Raleigh:
The North Carolina Department of Insurance, 2006).
3. Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, Engineering Date Report, no.11,
Evaluation of Reinforcing Steel in Old Concrete Structures, (Chicago:
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute: 1981).
4. Harley J. McKee, F. A. I. A., Introduction to Early American Masonry:
Stone, Brick, Mortar and Plaster, National Trust for Historic Preservation
and Columbia University, Washington Preservation Press, 1973.
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14
5. Brick Institute of America, Technical Notes on Brick Construction, No. 39A

(City: Publisher: 1975).
6. American Institute of Timber Construction, Timber Construction Manual
2nd ed. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: 1974).
7. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Forest Products Laboratory, Handbook, no. 72, Wood Handbook (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974).
8. National Forest Products Association, National Design Specification for Wood
Construction (Washington D.C.: National Forest Products Association: 1977).
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CHAPTER
Preservation and Public Safety:

Structural Safety of Historic
Timber Structures
eeting the requirements of the building code is not the same as assuring the
public of a safe structure. Structural engineers have the training and experience to make the necessary judgments needed to keep a historic structure in
service when parameters appear to fall short of minimum code requirements.
TIMBER MISUNDERSTOOD
Timber is the primary structural component for most historic structures in the
United States and Canada. Although the structures might also include brick
and stone masonry, iron, steel, or concrete, timber is often the most misunderstood construction material of all. Part of the misunderstanding lies in our
educational system. Many structural engineers earn degrees in structural engineering without ever taking a course in timber design. It is unfortunate that in
North America, with our tremendous stock of timber-framed buildings and our
strong forest products industry, more structural engineering curricula do not
include at least introductory courses in timber design.
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16
Preservation and Public Safety: Structural Safety of Historic Timber Structures
In todays residential market, timber is primarily of importance as dimension

lumber. Most timber production consists of dimension framing, prefabricated
trusses, stress-rated panels, and other components. The size of residential framing members is dictated by building codes for various spans and conditions.
Manufacturers provide the design for prefabricated components such as
wood trusses and joist substitutes. As a result, the glued laminated timber
industry is one of the few areas where structural engineers are practicing the
design of heavy timber structures on a daily basis.
PRESERVATION PHILOSOPHY
It is hoped that by learning more about timber design, structural engineers will
develop a preservation philosophy that demands rigorous analysis in order to
justify doing nothing to a historic timber structure that has been performing
satisfactorily for many years. Buildings that analysis (and observation) clearly
indicate are unsafe would be reinforced in the most sensitive manner in an
attempt to retain as much historic fabric as possible. Buildings that require
extensive modification or reconstruction would be restored in a way that is in
keeping with the original construction if possible, while fulfilling safety requirements. Often, engineers are asked to evaluate framing members to determine
the capacity of an existing floor structure in a historic structure. This review
process differs considerably from design.
STRUCTURAL REVIEW
Members in the horizontal planesuch as floor sheathing, joists, purlins, and
beamsare stressed principally in bending. The resisting bending moment is a
measure of the strength of such an element. This measure, stiffness, and horizontal shear make up the three qualities that are normally checked during the
process of selection that we call design. Because timber is available in certain
standard lumber sizes, the designer selects from the available sizes, grades, and
species those that most economically meet the predetermined standards for
bending stress, deflection, and horizontal shear. When the engineer reviews the
capacity of an existing member, many parameters complicate the process of
selecting appropriate lumber. Size, span, and spacing of members are dictated
by the structure. It is the engineers task to determine the size, orientation,
species, grade, and end condition of all of the structural elements in a building
that already exists. Between the factors of limited availability of types of lumber,
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Load Duration and Historic Structures
17
economic considerations, existing standards, and the structure of the building

itself, freedom of choice is eliminated.
ENGINEERING JUDGMENT
Often, the structural engineer must pass judgment on a structure that has
endured far beyond what we consider to be a normal period of service. The
timbers of such a structure were not selected on the basis of modern engineering analysis. They certainly do not bear inspection marks attesting to their
grade and species.
It should be obvious to the engineer that a safe floor structure should not fail
in bending due to the actual loads imposed. But it is important to recognize that
excessive deflection, excessive vibration, or a lack of stiffness, should not automatically categorize a floor structure as unsafe. Strict deflection limitations
should be set for floors that support plaster ceilings in lieu of wood or tin ceilings, or no ceilings at all. But for comfort, the deflection limitation set in most
building codes for floors, no matter what the ceiling, is 1/360th of the span.
It must be said that overstressed structural members may also be perfectly
safe. It is important for the engineer to evaluate the basis for his conclusion regarding the safety of the structure. When making such an evaluation, the loads assumed
for design should be reconciled with the actual loads that will occur in service. The
design values that we assume are critical to the computed capacity of some floor
systems include factors of safety of 2.5 to 3.0. For structures such as mill buildings, average design values yield results that fall well above the minimum code
requirements for adaptive reuse occupancy, such as residential, office, or retail.
The actual distribution of loads in a structure, similar to live load reduction factors for tributary area, can account for the continued service for heavily
loaded members such as stair and fireplace headers, and summer beams that
may appear to the engineer to be grossly undersized. Many times, these members deflect more than is desirable for comfort.
LOAD DURATION AND HISTORIC STRUCTURES

The concept of load factor design is currently making its way into the field of
timber design. This concept is most appropriate for application to timber
design because of the long history of the concept of live load duration. Early
timber research found that timber reacts quite well to short applications of
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18
Preservation and Public Safety: Structural Safety of Historic Timber Structures
load. The duration of load was found to be as critical as the magnitude of the
load. Presumably, this sensitivity to the duration of load is a result of the natural composition of timber, which consists of a tightly bound bundle of cells that
tend to stretch or elongate with time. The larger and more constant the load,
the more stretching of fibers occurs. The effects of this creep can be seen in
many timber structures through excessive deflection. For short durations of
load, allowable design values are increased substantially.
Research into this time-versus-stress relationship is of paramount importance. Only through evaluating historic timber structures can we solve this
puzzle, which is complicated by cyclic loading, original moisture content, member size, span, species, grade, temperature, humidity, and magnitude of stress.
REPLACEMENT-IN-KIND
Often, replacement-in-kind is not economically feasible. More advances are
being made in the field of timber design than in any other area of structural
engineering. Recent products include laminated veneer lumber and numerous
other beam and joist substitutes. The most important benefits of these reconstituted wood products is the availability of long lengths, higher design values,
and greater stiffness. Preservationists and preservation engineers must determine the appropriateness of these materials to each case.
CASE HISTORIES
Presented here are several projects that required us to determine the load
capacity or safety of an existing floor structure. The Montague Building is discussed further in Chapter 6.
Chowan County Courthouse

In a 1988 structural evaluation report, we concluded that the large second
floor assembly hall of the Chowan County Courthouse in Edenton, North Carolina (c.1767), could be used for public occupancy if the area would be posted
to limit the number of people to 200. A deflection limitation of 1/360th of a
span governed the design, producing a bending stress as high as 2,292 psi in
large, dense southern pine timber floor joists and beams.
Walker Building
Sometime later, we reviewed the floor structure of the 1917 Walker Building at
the State Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire. Assuming a reasonable set of
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Conclusion
19
design values equivalent to No. 1D SR southern pine, based on examination of

a wood sample obtained from the building, and a visual inspection of the framing, we concluded that the existing 7 11 timber beams were adequate to
support a live load of 86 psf. This is well within the 50 psf required for office
occupancy with fixed partitions. The live load deflection limitation of 1/360th
of the span controlled the design. Of course, we concluded that this was a safe
structure that met minimum code requirements. The calculations were based
on reasonable assumptions of design values.
Montague Building
In 1985, at my direction, six floor joists from the 1903 Montague Building in
Raleigh, North Carolina, were tested to destruction. Of the five joists tested (of
six joists selected; one was found not suitable for testing), the average bending
stress at rupture was in excess of 5,000 psi. The average modulus of elasticity was
1,295,000 psi. These measures of strength and stiffness were used to evaluate the
capacity of the floor structure. To meet tenant loads for possible retail occupancy
in this speculative office building, I recommended that all of the existing floor
joists be reinforced. (The Montague Building is also discussed in Chapter 6).
Moorfields
At Moorfields, a 1792 house in Hillsborough, North Carolina, the excessive
deflection of a summer beam was evaluated by measuring offsets in the floor
surface above the beam. Based on field measurements and computer analysis,
I was convinced that the summer beam had failed. Indeed, when exposed to
view during construction by removing the ceiling plaster, the summer beam
contained a severe fracture consistent with a typical bending failure. The only
replacement beam available of sufficient stiffness and strength that would fit
between in the space between the floor sheathing and the ceiling was a steel
tube section approximately equal to the original timber beam in size.
CONCLUSION
Only through specialized knowledge and experience can structural engineers
make the necessary judgments needed to properly evaluate historic timber
structures. The engineer must be convinced that the structural model in the
computer is an accurate representation of actual conditions. Once that is clear,
the application of rigorous analysis, testing, and engineering judgment may be
necessary to explain why the historic timber structure in question has performed adequately for many years.
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CHAPTER
Simplified Engineering*
INTRODUCTION
he field of structural engineering has grown more complex as we begin the
twenty-first century. The profession of structural engineering evolved from
principles first developed in the 1840s by American pioneers such as Squire
Whipple (18041888) and Herman Haupt (18171905). These men were
among the first to publish engineering pamphlets and textbooks based on
rational mathematical or graphical analysis of simple structures. At that time,
the unparalleled growth of the railroads required that reliable methods of analysis be invented for bridge construction.
In the last few years, events and certain attitudes have combined to produce a highly complicated world for practicing engineers. Methods of analysis
have grown more complex. For many years, the fundamental principles necessary for the design of simple structures did not change. Now, advances in computer technology, applications, and usage, stronger materials, composite and
orthotropic materials, and plastic or load [resistance] factor design applications have changed the ways buildings and bridges are designed. Other requirements, such as continuing education, peer review, and changes in registration
laws are thrust upon the engineer in an effort to obtain more accountability.
* This paper was originally written for the Fall 1995 Lecture Series, Sponsored by The Structural
Group Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Section American Society of Civil Engineers.
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22
In order to be more productive and efficient in the areas that we can control,
engineers might consider the concept of simplified engineering.
WHAT IS SIMPLIFIED ENGINEERING?

Simplified engineering is a method of reducing the complexity of a problem by
exercising the engineering judgment of an experienced designer in order to
eliminate unnecessary procedures and methods not essential to arriving at a
solution.
When pressed, designers are tempted to take shortcuts in order to produce
an acceptable set of plans and specifications in the shortest length of time. In
recent years, consulting structural engineers have, during the design process,
received fewer dimensions, details, wall sections, and building sections produced by architects. The consulting structural engineers are filling in some of
the gaps, because we have no choice but to describe the complete structure.
There are few shortcuts to producing a complete set of structural design documents. As a result, many engineers are practicing simplified engineering.
Many in the engineering profession look toward the medical and legal
professions as a gauge of our success. Unfortunately, engineers are rapidly losing ground in the one area that offers a quantitative comparison: monetary
compensation. Unlike medical and legal fees, which are cumulative, engineering fees are usually based on fixed financial considerations and represent a
slice of a pie. In most instances, owners, developers, financial institutions or
architects decide what size the pie will be and how it will be divided among the
consultants.
In certain projects, the slice for the structural designer becomes even thinner
when complexity dictates that additional consultants be added. A project may have
building code, seismic, geotechnical, acoustical, lighting, roofing, landscape,
waterproofing, theater, natatorium, security, curtain wall, sprinkler, and other specialty consultants. Not only can the limits of responsibility become ambiguous, but
also, coordination between the various specialties is often difficult or nonexistent.
For most ordinary buildings, analysis is a very small part of the effort. The
production of a fully coordinated set of plans and specifications employs most
of our time. Often, a project is drawn first, and then engineered. At a time of
rising expectations and diminishing returns, engineers need methods of expediting their work without reducing quality. By rapidly advancing the production of plans and specifications through the initial stages of design, simplified
engineering may be one method of reaching the goal of producing a design that
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What is Simplified Engineering?
23
meets all of the requirements of the project. This can be a shortcut to a solution
based on sound engineering judgment, resulting in the appropriate effort
applied to various tasks.
Simplified engineering becomes a critical issue when it is practiced as a response
to unwieldy or difficult computer software. To use most structural software, the
designer requires a block of uninterrupted time. If this time is not available,
the designer may abandon the software in favor of a less accurate hand calculation.
In some cases simplification may actually yield more accurate final results. For
example, a plane frame analysis of a three-dimensional steeple structure may afford
the engineer an opportunity to get the feel of the structure when compared to a
three-dimensional analysis with its complicated coordinate system, which results in
reams of pages of output. The cost of increased accuracy in engineering calculations is a decreased sense and understanding, or feel for the numbersparticularly,
the results. It is reasonable to expect that the design engineer will have a sense of
an expected range of results prior to performing the calculations.
The computer industry lags far behind in the production of efficient userfriendly software for structural engineers. Although great advances have been
made in the development of faster general plane frame analysis programs with
more capacity, design programs for individual beam and column members are
often unwieldy. For example, some Composite Steel Beam Design programs
require two pages of printout for each beam analyzed. Traditionally, structural
engineers have batched tasks, analyzing all columns at one time, or all similarly loaded beams together. One 8 11 sheet of printout should be sufficient to display the output for 12 to 24 beams or columns. Anton Tedesko
pointed out in a recent issue of Civil Engineering magazine that computers
have not diminished the value of back-of-an-envelope calculations.6
Computer analyses are of great help when used in the proper context,
when modeling of the structure is correct, when the actual boundary conditions are taken into account and the output is examined and interpreted by an
experienced engineer. It is a misconception, however, that sophisticated computer analyses through greater accuracy will lead to better designs. The quality
of a design is not a function of the exactness of the calculations, and it is not
necessary to strive for great accuracy in a numerical analysis when the accuracy
of the assumption is not known.
Many of the calculations made today are not necessary. Sometimes calculations are produced because the analyst is fascinated with the program or is
taken in by the sheer beauty of the analysis. At other times, someone wants to
show how many pages of calculations have been produced; sometimes this is
done to impress a client.
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24
A complicated analysis performed on a computer may not necessarily be

an accurate model of the structure to be designed. The engineer must use judgment to decide what elements should be removed from the overall structure in
order to simplify the problem. Computer analysis allows the designer to search
for various solutions in a matter of seconds. Boundary conditions such as
springs can be tried. The computer allows us to achieve a very reasonable
model in a short period of time. Our best designs may still be simplified versions of parts of a structure with added opportunities to input nonprismatic
sections and sophisticated boundary conditions. Antonio M. Garcia, P.E.,
described this state of affairs in an August 1993 issue of Civil Engineering
magazine:
With available structural design software, we can represent any structure on a
screen, apply any load in any direction, and receive output on stresses at any
or all nodes. We can also pictorially represent the deflected structure or, by use
of color variations, picture the intensities of tensile and compressive stresses.
In essence, much of what used to be intuition or feel based on experience
has been replaced by highly sophisticated software and extremely fast hardware: Anyone with funds and little experience can achieve what once took
years of training. The fallacy lies in believing that reams of output providing
every bit of incredibly accurate information are enough to solve the problem.
Experience cannot be purchased; it must be acquired. The fact that an answer
is achieved does not necessarily mean that it is the right answer.
No matter how sophisticated the computer, the engineer needs to understand the materials and construction methods used. The finished plans represent
the designers intentions, and they must be realistic.1
The computer, used by an experienced designer, becomes a powerful tool.

Carelessly used, it can result in a dangerous sense of well being and satisfaction
in a design that may have serious shortcomings. As the computer reduces calculation time, it also reduces the time spent on a project, thereby reducing the
time we spend thinking about the project with all of its intricacies and details.
We thus lose the time spent sleeping on it that can give us a clearer picture
of a project and its idiosyncrasies.
HOW CAN SIMPLIFIED ENGINEERING

BE PRACTICED?
Simplified engineering is practiced every day on thousands of projects when we
choose what to analyze and how to approach the analysis. The more experienced
an engineer is, the greater the latitude should be.
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When is Simplified Engineering a Valid Method?
25
Engineers have simplified their work for many years through the use of
handbooks. Often the use of handbooks requires the engineer to interpolate
between tabulated values. In many cases a code mandated requirement will
govern the design. For example, in concrete, #4 reinforcing steel spaced 12
inches on center may be the minimum reinforcing recommended by the American
Concrete Institute for a specific application. A designer might make the minimum steel beam size a W10x14 to allow sufficient depth for clip angle connections with space for a minimum of two rows of bolts. The Underwriters
Laboratory might require a minimum composite beam size of W8x28 to obtain
a certain fire resistance rating. With minimum requirements in place, the design
effort is simplified by omitting the design of elements, which, by inspection,
exceed the minimum requirements for stiffness and strength.
The Hyatt-Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City and recent economic
forces have changed the way structural engineers work. Previously, the engineer of record had more back-up. Steel companies were then staffed with complete engineering departments. The steel companys engineers would review a
project prior to bidding and construction, adding their input to the estimating
and detailing efforts.
Now, with steel companies employing minimal engineering staffs consisting of contract drafters located at remote sites, the engineer of record does not
benefit from another pair of eyes looking at a project. The profession and the
steel industry have redefined the roles of the various parties. From connection
design to standard details, the steel fabricator assumes no responsibility.
Many fabricators do not check shop drawings prior to submittal, thus shifting
more of the burden onto the structural designer of record.
WHEN IS SIMPLIFIED ENGINEERING

A VALID METHOD?
Simplified engineering is a valid method to use when the result produces an
adequate design. If the engineer is responsible when designing, there is not a
problem with this method as it has been used traditionally. Our natural tendency
has been to simplify everything into a model that is complex enough to accurately describe the structure to be designed, yet is simple enough to be analyzed.
For example, truss analysis for many years assumed members to be prismatic
sections with pinned joints. This facilitated analysis by such means as the method
of joints. Now that we can create more complex models by computer, introducing some rigidity at joints and continuity in individual pieces, are we irresponsible when we abandon the computer and do a quick hand calculation?
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26
WHO CAN PRACTICE SIMPLIFIED ENGINEERING?

Any engineer can practice some form of simplified engineering. Even the newest EIT (Engineer-in-training) can be faced with a problem, for which his education did not prepare him, the first day on the job. Ideally, he would be
working under the direct supervision of a more experienced engineer who
would guide him toward a simplified approach. The more experience an engineer has, the more ability the engineer would obviously have for simplifying
calculations based on knowledge of the subject and feel for the numbers and
expected outcome.
ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES AND POTENTIAL

PROBLEMS
Percival White wrote the following in the July 1920 issue of The Atlantic
Monthly:
Efficiency is fondly regarded in the American mind as the greatest contribution of this age to civilization. It is deemed an agency for good, a thing one
cannot have too much of.
Efficiency is a lightning calculator, by which you may convert time into
anything you like, and read the answer in percentages, to the third decimal
place. By its means, for example, you may change minutes into dollars, which
is, after all, the thing most of us are trying to do.
Yet there is danger in these glib conversions. Money is a tangible thing.
The more you save, the more you have. But time is far more subtle stuff. Saving it does not imply having it. As soon as a man seriously starts saving time,
make up your mind that he will no longer have a moment to spare.2
The greatest advantage of simplified engineering is the time it saves. The

greatest disadvantage is that the solution may not be accurate. Potential
problems may arise when drawings or calculations are reviewed at a later
date. Simplified engineering may cause great difficulty to a peer reviewer
unable to follow the thinking of the engineer of record or not in agreement
with the methodology. Certainly, if the design has to be defended because of
an observed problem in the field during construction or after completion,
simplified engineering can result in lawsuits on the basis of negligence. Simplified engineering, practiced as a response to outside pressure such as fee or
time constraints, does a great disservice to the project. Most clients are concerned with schedule. However, quality is infrequently discussed. It is
assumed that any structural engineer will produce basically the same design.
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Historical Perspective: Rules of Thumb Versus Analysis
27
Does the client care whether the columns in a building frame are to be
designed by computer considering bi-axial bending due to possible eccentricity, or merely selected from a handbook?
Discussion of simplified engineering with owners, clients, and non-engineering
professionals is risky. The decision of whether to simplify a portion of the analysis
should be left to the engineer of record. Discussion with nonengineering professionals of simplified engineering may lead them to think that engineering design
is simple or that it can be simplified. The clients natural conclusion would be that
they should expect a quick turnaround for a reduced fee.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: RULES OF THUMB VERSUS

ANALYSIS
In American structural engineering, analysis as we know it today grew out of
the work of many engineers practicing in the first half of the nineteenth century. They attempted to determine accurate methods of analysis to solve problems that had previously been solved using rules of thumb. Rigorous
mathematical methods of analyzing the forces and stresses in framed structures, such as bridges, were unknown until the 1840s. Structural engineers
Squire Whipple and Herman Haupt independently developed mathematical
truss design methods. In 1842, Haupt produced a small pamphlet, Hints on
Bridge Construction by an Engineer.
Whipple is credited with developing the scientific basis of bridge design in
the United States with his 1847 publication, A Work on Bridge Building. In
1851, Haupt produced his major work, General Theory of Bridge Construction. Earlier bridge builders such as Timothy Palmer, Theodore Burr, Lewis
Wernwag, and Ithiel Town very likely used various methods to determine
stresses and strains. It is not now known whether their methods of proportioning members were based on mathematics or rules of thumb. However, in 1820,
Town advertised his patent for the plank lattice truss by inviting potential
investors to examine the model and the mathematics.
Code of Design
Often, mandated code requirements force engineers to design beyond the limits
of good engineering judgment. For example, it may be obvious to the designer
that certain loading conditions will not be necessary because of the configuration, construction type, location, or occupancy of a building.
We have seen wind-, snow-, and seismic-mandated code requirements
increase in complexity in recent years. Wind load factors, snowdrift coefficients,
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28
and seismic analysis methods have greatly increased the complexity of structural
design for the typical building. Supposedly, complicated and unwieldy loading
conditions are a result of more accurate scientific or engineering research. But,
at the same time, the coefficients provided in the current building codes often
result in less snow, wind, or seismic force being applied to a structure compared to what the previous codes would have required. Most practicing engineers, if given the choice, would opt for the simpler series of loads, knowing
full well that they might be conservative.
From a structural engineers standpoint, there should be provisions in the
code for alternate simple load provisions for wind, snow, and seismic design at
this time when fees for architectural and engineering services are shrinking, and
the expectations of our clients are rising. It is debatable whether the design
community is designing safer structures today because of the complicated snowdrift, wind loads, and seismic requirements than we did with the earlier codes.
Timber Design
Although wood is a very complicated building material, for 150 years it has
been simple to design. The 1991 National Design Specification for Wood Construction (NDS) changed what was for many years a simple column formula
into a more complex mathematical expressionan example of increased complexity in timber design. The previous design procedure shown in the 1985
edition of the Timber Construction Manual and earlier editions of the NDS
was recently revised to include a column-stability factor based on a procedure
proposed by A. Yline in 1956.
This method permits estimation of the buckling stress and the required
cross-sectional area for concentrically applied loads on straight columns in the
elastic and inelastic ranges. The column stability factor is a complicated equation. Bruce Pooley, director of technical services for the American Institute of
Timber Construction, admits, Calculating Cp is lengthy when done by hand,
but quickly computed with a programmable calculator, a computer spreadsheet, or any one of a number of software programs developed for wood
design. He indicated that the new design method was equation based, meaning that it was assumed that practicing engineers would program the equation
into their computers, thus reducing the pain of dealing with such a complicated set of mathematical expressions.7
Load Resistance Factor Design

For many applications, load factor design seems to be a design methodology that
overly complicates the design process for the average engineer. Some proponents
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29
believe that now that we have computers, it does not matter how complicated
the math is. Programs are viewed as a black box, a sort of mixing bowl, where
the ingredients are placed without regard to the internal process but with complete confidence in the results.
To the practicing engineer, LRFD is an unwieldy method of design promoted by the academic community and various large engineering firms. Allowable stress design gives the designer real numbers for use in a simple world
where the design is either OK or no good. Working stress design is simple
and commonly understood. Stress is proportional to strain below the elastic
limit. Why would an engineer want to delve into that domain above which
elastic materials begin to yield? Ultimate strength design, which originated for
concrete in the 1956 and 1963 American Concrete Institute specifications,
required nearly a quarter of a century to replace working stress design.
Vibratory Analysis
Several years ago, the issue of floor vibration was considered by the North
Carolina State Building Code Council for incorporation into the building code.
This came at a time when the expectations of consumers were rising. In North
Carolina, complaints regarding excessive floor vibration in residential structures caused the Structural Committee of the Building Code Council in 1991
to consider making vibratory analysis part of the building code at roughly the
same time that the CABO code was being adopted.
At the time, some argued that the Building Code Committee should not
recommend that a vibratory analysis, by a professional engineer, be a required
part of the code because the vibratory response of a floor is independent of its
structural capacity. The vibratory response of a floor is difficult to quantify, and
requiring a vibratory analysis in the building code would lead to increased litigation for real or imagined problems that are not a measure of safety. A suggestion was made to simplify the problem by placing in the code minimum
depth-to-span recommendations that have been shown to minimize vibratory
problems. That advice was not implemented, and code mandated vibratory
analysis was avoided for the time being.
Seismic Design
In light of the earthquakes in Northridge, California, and Kobe, Japan, engineering researchers are rethinking the current approach to seismic design.
Research undertaken at the present time will result in almost immediate
changes in the building codes. Seismic design is a market to exploit. Grant
monies for studies and research is flowing from Washington in response to
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30
major earthquake activity. Large design firms armed with grants can target
areas of the country susceptible to seismic activity and market their specialized
expertise, filling a void the local consultants may have discounted. Seismic
damage makes great television press. Municipal, hospital, school, and other
administrators cannot ignore the risks associated with a major earthquake. The
more complicated the analysis needs to be, the more important it is to hire
specialists to design seismic resistant foundations and buildings, and to determine how to modify the underlying soils or isolate the foundations of existing
buildings. Will the academic community and code officials recommend simple
methods of analysis that can be applied easily to new and existing buildings in
order to reduce the risk of damage during a seismic event? Probably not.
Several questions should be asked before we adopt complicated or excessive seismic requirements into our building codes. First, what is the risk of
injury, death, or property damage in the United States due to a seismic event?
Second, how much will seismic provisions add to the cost of rehabilitating or
adding to existing structures? Third, how much will a seismic analysis add to
the cost of engineering and architectural fees for new or existing structures?
Fourth, how many clients will be willing to pay extra for a seismic analysis?
History since 1750 indicates that in most of the United States, the risk of
death or property damage from a seismic event is extremely small. There are
many reasons for the low seismic mortality rate. Population density, construction methods and materials, geotechnical conditions, and climate are some of
the factors that affect the number of deaths that may occur as a result of a
seismic event. North American building codes and zoning ordinances limit
population density in our cities. Cultural factors tend to limit the number of
children living in single-family dwellings in North America.
Construction methods in North America tend to limit the risk of earthquake-related deaths. One of the methods worth mentioning involves the use
of mortar and unit masonry, which is far superior to the unit masonry used in
many less-developed countries today or in any country in the past. Joint reinforcing is included in most commercial masonry walls built in North America.
Many residential buildings in North America are framed with dimensional
lumber, which is light and strong. Except in certain regions, North American
builders tend to not roof buildings with heavy concrete or clay tile products.
Buildings constructed in North America today are required by building codes
to bear on properly proportioned footings resting on an adequate subgrade. In
many overpopulated parts of the world, housing is constructed on steep slopes
or filled in land not suited for agriculture or other activities. In American cities,
such as Charleston, Boston, and San Francisco, which are underlaid with soft
clays, pile, or caisson foundations are typically provided for large buildings.
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31
All of the existing buildings in North America are new when compared to
many of the buildings found in other parts of the world. But the most important single factor pertaining to absence of property damaged or deaths during
past seismic events is the absence of large seismic events.
The East Coast has, no doubt, experienced many earthquakes, although
the Appalachian mountain chain is one of the oldest, seismically inert ranges
in the world. Records dating from 1750 indicate that although 2,750,000
people have died as a result of earthquakes worldwide, the record in the United
States is very good and most states have not yet recorded a fatality.
Table 3-1 Major Earthquakes in the United States Since 1750
State
# of major
earthquakes
Largest
number of
deaths in one
event
Alaska
131
March 27, 1962
10
667
April 18, 1906
1049
Idaho
Oct. 28, 1983
Hawaii
173
April 01, 1946
234
California
Date
Total # of deaths
134
Massachusetts
Nov. 18, 1755
Missouri
10
Dec. 16, 1811
10
Montana
Oct. 11, 1936
30
Nevada
Dec. 16, 1954
Oregon
South Carolina
83
Dec. 4, 1993
Texas
August 16, 1931
Utah
March 12, 1934
Total
32
Aug. 31, 1886
2
83
1544
The total number of deaths from earthquakes since 1750 in the United
States is 1544. The earthquake-related deaths in Hawaii were the result of tidal
waves. The 1886 earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina, is the only major
earthquake to be located on the East Coast. The deep layer of marl beneath
Charleston is one reason for the heavy damage. St. Philips and St. Michaels
Churches in Charleston, South Carolina, were both badly damaged. Although
the heavy steeples of both churches settled almost a foot, both buildings were
repaired and have continued in service since 1886. Similarly, they were repaired
after tornadoes and hurricanes such as Hugo in 1989. In the Winter 1990 issue
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32
of Wood Design Focus, Ario Ceccotti presented an earthquake performance

challenge to researchers, code writers, and designers:
It is evident that thorough knowledge and planned balance of the positive and
negative aspects will yield a proper design that guarantees structural safety at
a reasonable cost.
Researchers have the challenge of quantifying the factors that yield ductile behavior and energy dissipation in the structure. They can determine how
to design and detail connections that lead to ductile systems, rather than brittle failures.
Code writers have the challenge of combining the often-disparate results
of research. They must present a few relatively simple and conservative design
rules, which are easy to apply, for the most common structural forms (those
with known ductility and dissipation levels). Yet, for less common structures,
for which experience has demonstrated good structural performance, code
writers must provide simple rules or guidelines based on the engineering
judgment.
Designers have the challenge of finding the best solution among the various ductility classes, creating the most convenient design from technical and
economical points of view.3
The application of complicated seismic requirements, which are subject to

wide interpretation, will only cause the demolition of many existing buildings.
For example, to accurately determine the seismic resistance of an existing
building, the unit weight and shear capacity of the existing masonry must be
known. This requires expensive testing in the field to obtain design values to
be used in the analysis, which owners are often not willing to pay for.
Proposed seismic provisions for building additions will affect the historic
preservation and the renovation and rehabilitation segments of the construction industry. Many owners faced with rehabilitating or adding to an older or
historic structure will elect to demolish when faced with engineering fees for
evaluation, or potentially unknown construction costs, required to bring a
building into conformance with seismic provisions. For example, to construct
a structurally independent stair and elevator tower addition is a difficult and
expensive task. Usually, part of the new elevator lobby is supported by the
existing structure at each floor level.
Upcoming changes to the seismic provisions of the building code should
exempt existing one-story buildings with wood framing or unit masonry loadbearing walls from the seismic provisions of the code and all other buildings in
the Seismic Hazard Exposure Group I category. However, structures with precast concrete structural systems or unusually heavy roof systems should be
included in a special hazard category. Certain elements such as architectural
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33
stone cladding, large chimneys, and masonry parapets above a certain height
should be subject to seismic review in all cases.
Based on the limited risk of a seismic event in most of the United States, it
is in the best interest of the public, the construction industry, and architectural
and engineering professions, to limit the complexity of the seismic code and its
application to existing buildings.
When California and Hawaii are excluded, we have suffered a total of 261
deaths from earthquakes in 245 years. More structural engineers in the United
States will die from heart attacks due to stresscaused, in part, by an effort to
implement a complicated seismic codethan all of the earthquake victims
combined.
Code versus Creativity

In the movie Brazil, Robert De Niros character, Harry Tuttle, is a heating engineer illegally providing mechanical repairs outside the governments inept Central
Services branch. When Sam Lowery questions why he chose to work outside the
system, Harry Tuttle replies that he couldnt stand the paperwork . . . you cant
make a move without a form. Get in, get out, travel light . . . a man alone . . .
is his philosophy as he provides much-needed emergency repair services, which
are considered by the government to be sabotage.
As we dictate methodologies in our building codes in an effort to ensure
uniformity in approach, do we stifle creativity? Do we remove humanity from the
design process as mandated design is implemented? Are mandated design methods an attempt by some in the design community to ensure that designers conform to a certain analysis-based ideal? In the future, will we have to depend on
the Harry Tuttles, working outside of the system, to keep the system running?
Legal Implications
The greatest legal implication of using simplified engineering methods is the
potential needed to defend our designs should they be challenged for whatever
reason. Unfortunately, modern-day structural engineering is so complex that it
is very easy for a sharp attorney armed with the testimony of expert witnesses
to prove negligence.
Engineering Judgment: Engineer of Record

The engineer of record should have some leeway with regard to analysis methods used for a particular problem. At this time, we in the design professions
are faced with the rising expectations of our clients, as well as a reluctance on
their part to pay for professional engineering services. Schedules are often
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34
compressed, leaving the designers very little time to produce documents, let
alone time to cogitate and coordinate. The engineer of record has the ultimate
responsibility for the design. Sufficient time must be provided in the schedule
for a thorough final check and review of all the documents prior to bidding.
Third-Party Review
Simplified engineering can result in real problems in a project with third-party
review if the reviewer does not understand the methodology or does not agree that
the simplified model is sufficiently accurate to produce a correct result. Simplified
engineering can be a valuable tool for checking or verifying a design by others.
EXAMPLES OF SIMPLIFIED ENGINEERING: BUILDINGS

Residential structures constructed in the United States today are an example of
simplified engineering. The great majority of residential structures are not
engineered, but built to minimum code standards that are based on standard
tables developed for timber and masonry elements. The standard tables are
often the results of empirical data derived from observing the behavior of
structures over time.
As a result of Hurricane Andrew, we have complicated our codes with
various wind-load factors and unrealistic loading conditions in order to prevent future damage from a similar storm as if a deficiency in the code were the
problem. Studies have shown that the code in South Florida was more than
adequate, if followed, to produce buildings constructed well enough to resist
wind forces generated by Hurricane Andrew.
The obvious deficiency was in the execution of the design by the building
contractors. Endwalls of gable-roofed buildings were pushed in by high wind
forces because of the absence of endwall bracing required by code. Roof trusses
lacked sufficient tiedowns in spite of code requirements. In many damaged
buildings, plywood sheathing was insufficiently attached and blocked to resist
uplift and shear forces due to wind. The conclusion of the 1992 American
Plywood Association report, no. T92-21, is not that we need to change the
design requirements, but that a more thorough inspection is required during
the construction phase to ensure that fasteners are installed as specified:
Within a week after Hurricane Andrew battered the southern Florida region
on August 24, 1992, American Plywood Association technical and field promotion staff visited the region to inspect damaged and evaluate structural
performance of residential and low-rise commercial structures.
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Bridges
35
The inspections were conducted in conjunction with inspections carried out

under the auspices of a Damage Assessment Team, coordinated and arranged
by the Florida Concrete and Concrete Products Association and endorsed by
the state of Florida, Department of Community Affairs. The 45-member team
consisted of structural engineers, government and university scientists, building code officials and technical representative of the building construction
industry.
Conventionally built residential structures constructed with wood systems performed satisfactorily when the structures were built to meet building
code provisions. Residential structures constructed with masonry block walls
also performed well, in general.
Failures involving plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) roof sheathing or wood-framed roof or wall systems could be traced to improper or inadequate fastenings of connections to other components. Although extensive use
of steel tension straps connecting roof-wall-floor framing was observed, the
structural advantages offered by such connectors could not overcome deficiencies caused by omission of other code-required connections between building
components.4
When, as a consulting structural engineer, have you walked a deck prior to

roofing, to count the number of fasteners and verify their correct attachment
to the structural system below? To reduce wind damage during a meteorological
event, all buildings should be given a structural review to verify that the correct
fasteners were properly installed in sufficient quantity. Is this task the responsibility of the building official, an independent consultant, the contractor, or the
designer of record? It is obvious that code-mandated inspections that complicate the design or construction process for the engineer of record will not solve
the problem. It is unlikely that fees for structural engineers will increase to
cover additional code mandated assurances placed on the designer.
An example of simplified engineering with which few would argue is the
analysis of an unequal-sided suspended two-way flat concrete slab by assuming
a square or rectangular shape with roughly the same proportions as the polygon. By setting a minimum thickness to ensure deflection control and obtaining reinforcing steel size and spacing to resist the bending forces, an adequate
slab can be designed. At no time would the exact long-term deflection or exact
maximum bending moment at any location be calculated. A serviceable design
can thus be obtained without performing a sophisticated analysis.
BRIDGES
Bridges are built using simplified engineering when components such as prestressed, precast concrete are selected from tables for short standard spans.
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36
Of course, the tables are produced by the most rigorous analysis methods. This
type of simplified engineering is often used at the Type Study Phase of bridge
design as a tool for comparison of structure types and costs. Simplified engineering, however, is not likely to be used in the final design phase of a bridge.
The standard code for bridges published by the American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHO) has, like the building codes,
increased in complexity. One example of the increased complexity can be found
in the change of the distribution factor for wheel loadings on interior bridge
girders. The spacing factor of S/11 will soon be changed to a much more complex expression. Fortunately for the designer, computer programs can be used
for the calculation. However, the feel for the number becomes lost, if not
nonexistent.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: DESIGN OF STRUCTURES

As present-day designers, we often are so immersed in our day-to-day operations
that we seldom have the opportunity to formulate a rigorous design philosophy.
We know how to perform our services, but do not always think much about the
process. If asked, most of us would describe the methods we use in order to
illustrate our philosophy. Most of us design structures from the top to the bottom
for vertical loads first. Then, after the horizontal and vertical members are
selected, we determine which system to use to resist lateral forces. Although
most engineers have three-dimensional design capability, we design buildings
through analysis by separating orthogonal systems into components.
ENGINEERING EDUCATION
In the 1960s, the computer became the modern tool for analysis, and many
practical courses disappeared from the structural engineering curriculum.
First, Surveying was eliminated. Then, Mechanical Drafting and Freehand
Drawing were combined into Graphic Analysis. Some design and drafting
courses were dropped from the curriculum in favor of basic computer programming. The Maxwell diagram, the string polygon, and Bows notation are
unknown to the younger generation of engineers. Yet, what simple but beautiful methods of analysis these were! Graphical analysis was so simple and
logical that many truss manufacturers employed drafters to do this work.
Pier Luigi Nervi remarked, I believe that graphical statics should play an
important role in this last educational phase, since its procedures give a direct
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Analysis of Existing Structures
37
understandingmuch better than that afforded by analytical methodsof

force systems and their composition, decomposition, and equilibrium.5
Nervi is well known for his ideas regarding mathematical analysis in building design. In the early 1950s, he wrote:
It is highly regrettable that some of the highest qualities of the human mind,
such as intuition and direct apprehension, have been banned from our schools
and have been overwhelmed by abstract and impersonal mathematical formulas. We cannot forget that in the distant past intuition allowed the execution of
works which cannot be analyzed today by the most modern theoretical methods, and before which we must bow in reverent and humble admiration.
We cannot deny that the potentialities of mathematical methods are soon
exhausted, even when their application is difficult and complex. Special, skinresistant, and highly indeterminate structures cannot be analyzed by mathematical theories, although they are extremely efficient from a technical, economical,
and architectural viewpoint.
Moreover, the most advanced chapters of theory of structures, which
deal with the solution of statically indeterminate systems, can be used only
to check the stability of a structure. They can be used only to analyze numerically a structure already designed, not only in its general outline, but in all its
dimensional relations. The formative stage of a design, during which its main
characteristics are defined and its quality and faults are determined once and
for all (just as the characteristics of an organism are clearly defined in the
embryo), cannot make use of structural theory and must resort to intuition
and schematic simplifications.5
The essential part of the design of a building consists in conceiving and

proportioning its structural system; in evaluating intuitively any dangerous
thermal conditions and support settlements, in choosing materials and construction methods best adapted to the final purpose of the work and to its
environment; and, finally, in seeking economy. When all these essential problems have been solved and the structure is thus completely defined, then and
only then can we and should we apply the formulas of the mathematical theory
of elasticity to specify with greater accuracy its resisting elements.
ANALYSIS OF EXISTING STRUCTURES

The analysis of existing structures, such as in the field of historic preservation,
requires that we have an appreciation for traditional methods of construction
that may have been based on simplified engineering. It is only through testing,
observation, and measurement that we can gather enough information to build
an accurate model of the structure.
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38
DESIGN OR MODIFICATION TO EXISTING STRUCTURES

Most historic structures are constructed of timber and masonry. Simplified
engineering is justified in dealing with these materials when accurate design
values cannot be ascertained. The absence of construction documentation and
quality control in the manufacture and construction of the component elements requires that analysis be based, at least in part, on judgment. Of course
this being the case, ones analysis can only be as good as ones judgment, as
well as the initial assumptions that are made. A thorough testing program can
narrow the range of applicable design values, but engineering judgment must
still be applied. Many historic structures will often times not stand close engineering scrutiny, yet they survive, providing adequate service for many years.
CONCLUSION
It is now time to pause for a moment and study how structural engineering will
be practiced in the twenty-first century. The engineers of record must be
allowed some leeway to determine load criteria and methods of analysis, free
from third-party interference. We should demand the freedom to simplify our
work in order to satisfy our own requirements for structural safety while meeting increased client expectations of time, quality, and cost.
If we are not careful, practicing structural engineers will become mere
technicians designing structures with prepackaged software written by programmers, on the basis of methods and formulas developed by academics and
prescribed by code officials, in accordance with criteria set by architects who
have little to no knowledge of structure whatsoever. Now, it is not enough just
to do the design and bear the responsibility; we must also perform the analysis
in a prescribed manner to the satisfaction of others, all the while assuring them
of our continued professional development.
REFERENCES
1. Antonio M. Garcia, Computers, Creativity, and the Engineer, Civil Engineering, 63 (8) (August 1993): 6.
2. Percival White, The July Almanac, The Atlantic Monthly, 276 (1) (July
1995).
3. Ario Ceccotti, The Earthquake Performance Challenge, Wood Design
Focus, 1 (4) (Winter 1990).
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Bibliography
39
4. Edward L. Keith and John D. Rose, Hurricane Andrew, American Plywood

Association (APA), APA Report T92-21, Tacoma, WA, September 1992
5. Pier Luigi Nervi, Structures Aesthetics & Technology in Building (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1956).
6. Anton Tedesko, Computer Analysis No Substitute for Experience, Civil
Engineering, 64 (2) (February 1994).
7. Bruce D. Pooley, Design of Glued Laminated Timber, Wood Design
Focus, 5(1) (Spring 1994): 38.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO), Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, 15th ed. (Washington, D.C.: AASHTO, 1995).
American Concrete Institute (ACI), Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (Detroit: ACI, 1956 and 1965).
American Institute of Timber Construction (AITC), Timber Construction Manual, 3rd ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1985).
American Society of Civil Engineers, American Wooden Bridges, ASCE Historical Publication no. 4, 1976.
ASCE Standard: Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures
(ASCE 7-95). Public Ballot Draft Copy. ASCE Washington, D.C.
Conrad P Roberge and Glenn R. Bell, Regulated Structural Peer Review,
Civil Engineering Practice (Fall/Winter 1994).
Gerry Gilliam, Brazil, Movie by Embassy International Pictures, starring
Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Catherine Helmond, Terry Gilliam, MCA
produced. 1985.
Herman Haupt, Reminiscences of General Herman Haupt (July 1901).
Wright, John W. ed. The Universal Almanac. Kansas City: Andrews & McMeel
Publishing, 1995. pp. 566567.
National Forest Products Association (NFPA), National Design Specification
for Wood Construction (Washington, D.C.: NFPA, 1991), pp. 103104,
and 125.
National Forest Products Association, National Design Specifications for Wood
Construction, (Washington, D.C.: National Forest Products Association,
1991).
Squire Whipple, A Work on Bridge Building: Consisting of Two Essays (Utica,
NY: H. H. Curtiss, Printer, Devereux Block, 1847).
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CHAPTER
Conservation and the Specialty

Contractor
proper preservation philosophy requires that repairs to timberframe structures respect the work of the original framer. Through observation, measurement, testing, and analysis the structural engineer must select and design a
repair that is appropriate to the task. It is often the structural engineer who
makes the decision to repair or replace. Sometimes that decision is a response
to the desires of the architect working in concert with the owner or a requirement of the contract, based on state or federal funds, or based on a particular
grant, or the necessity to obtain tax credits for historic preservation. How the
design is communicated to owner, architect, and general contractor often
determines whether a project is successful. It is important to persuade stakeholders that craftpersons with specific skills are required, as well as materials
that may not be readily available. Suggestions for temporary shoring and bracing, must be transmitted to those doing the work when such bracing has structural implications. Specific solutions involving traditional connections and
materials must be thoroughly detailed and specified.
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42
My preservation philosophy starts with structural safety and stability, with

the realization that providing a structurally safe building may be independent
of satisfying building code requirements. Second, repairs should be in the same
fashion as the original construction as much as possible. If traditional methods
will not provide adequate strength, then reinforcing may require other technologies in order to preserve the maximum amount of historic fabric. Timber
structures should be rehabilitated as timber structures. Reinforcing and
repairs should deal directly with the inadequacies in a way that would be easily
understood by the original builder.
SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS
We have caused various owners and general contractors to engage specialty
contractors and conservation professionals to accomplish tasks that are not
common in todays construction market. We have recommended manufacturers of handmade brick, restoration masons, timber framers, structural movers,
stone masons, specialty lumber suppliers, glued laminated timber manufacturers, foundries, preservation architects, testing laboratories, surveyors, historians, wood scientists, grant writers, marine contractors, specialists in ground
modification and the installation of mini or pipe pile foundations, and other
conservation professionals.
These days, many general contractors are uncomfortable with aspects of
projects that involve jacking, shoring, or underpinning. Often, the only answer
is to engage a specialty contractor to undertake this work. For many projects,
we have provided qualification-based specifications causing the general contractor to obtain the services of such contractors. Certainly, the standard specifications for shoring and bracing are applicable for projects involving patent
scaffolding used in the typical applications. In these cases, engineers working
for the scaffolding firms expect to receive from the engineer of record a tabulation of the loads to be supported by the patent scaffolding system. They are
very uncomfortable when approached for a project that involves jacking as
well as shoring, or the use of patent scaffolding in unusual ways, such as in a
condition that will require the system to be braced to resist lateral loads.
Although the engineer of record should not become responsible for means
and methods at the construction site, enough information must be provided in
the contract documents to describe the work in sufficient detail for it to be
accomplished. We have received pressure from owners, who should know better, such as state departments of transportation, to provide shoring and bracing
details in the structural drawings. In other cases, we decided to include
suggested information regarding shoring and bracing in the plans, with a
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Specialty Contractors
43
disclaimer stating that means and methods of construction, shoring and bracing
shall remain the responsibility of the general contractor and that the details
shown in the drawings are suggestions only. In several cases, we have specified
that the specialty contractor be a member of the International Association of
Structural Movers. Members of IASM are well versed in shoring, bracing, jacking, and cribbing and the effects on buildings and their components.
Trinity United Methodist Church

We saved several owners considerable expense by simply requiring the general
contractor to either perform these tasks themselves or engage a structural
mover. Trinity United Methodist Church in Darlington, South Carolina, originally contained a roll-up partition that separated a Sunday School annex from
the main portion of the sanctuary. In this flexible scheme, the Sunday School
annex could be opened to the main sanctuary for overflow seating. Unfortunately, the sight lines were not ideal, with many of the congregants unable to
view the chancel platform, choir, or the pulpit. Since, the operation of the rollup partition had long ceased, the building committee was interested in expanding the main sanctuary into this area. Unfortunately, the floor of this ancillary
space was flat with a step dividing it from the sanctuary, which had a sloped
floor. This made a smooth transition between the two floor areas impossible
without major reframing. As an alternate to demolition and reframing, we suggested that the flat floor be reorientated to match the main floor of the sanctuary. Inspection of the crawl space beneath this area revealed that the floor
framing was supported by brick piers in the interior and a four inch brick ledge
at the perimeter. After observing these conditions, we issued a brief report that
included the following:
In the sanctuary, a step separates the sloped floor from the flat floor. It is original to the building, and is required to form a closure for the pull down roll-up
partition. The 2 12 framing of the flat floor can be sloped to match the main
floor by removing the floor sheathing, removing the floor joists, cutting down
brick piers and adjusting bearing conditions of beams and joists. The existing
2 12s can be reinstalled. The existing floor sheathing can be re-installed,
supplementing the existing with new to replace the damaged. Care should be
taken not to damage the sheathings and joists to be reused.
Alternately, it should be possible to cut the boundary of the floor so that
the flat floor can be dropped in one piece to match the slope of the main floor.
Piers would need to be cut down, temporary support jacks added, and the
mechanical ducts would need to be removed during construction. The crawl
space height of 46 inches would be reduced by approximately 13 inches in
the chancel area. This solution would require pier work to occur in the crawl
space with its limited headroom.
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44
Fortunately, we were able to convince the general contractor that the floor
could be separated from its supports, and the supporting conditions modified
in such a way, that with very little effort, the existing floor structure could be
reused. It helped that the crawl space had sufficient headroom and that the
perimeter-wall baseboards were easily removed prior to jacking the floor.
Incorporating the Sunday School annex into the sanctuary increased the
square footage by 75 percent. Existing floor joists that were embedded in
the pockets in the exterior brick wall had to be cut along the face of the wall so
that a double pressure-treated nailer could be inserted as support for the joists.
Joist hangers were supplied to reattach the joists to the nailer, which was bolted
to the brick masonry wall.
The structural aspects of this project included plans and specifications to
describe structural engineering requirements for the new chancel platform;
to design solutions to eliminate the step at the existing roll-down and sloping
the floor of the Sunday School annex; to design miscellaneous framing at a new
pipe organ as well as engineering tasks related to creating an opening in the
existing archway, to address raising the lintel above the arch and cutting
the second floor of the education wing; and to revise walls and openings at the
chancel wall/choir loft. To accommodate a new pipe organ, a Gothic archway
had to be created and the chancel platform enlarged. For all of this to work, the
discontinuity between the sanctuary and Sunday School annex had to be
removed.
At Trinity United Methodist Church, the local general contractor was able
to adjust the slope of the flat floor to match the main floor, once we explained
what we had in mind. Fortunately, very little input was required by us during
construction of this portion of the project. With the church located approximately 120 miles from our office, extensive jobsite observation and consultation would have been difficult.
United Church of Chapel Hill

The sanctuary of the United Church of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, had structural issues that caused the church leaders to make the decision to sell the
property. The roof-framing system consisted of lightly framed, nail-connected,
scissors trusses that, over time, had deflected horizontally, causing the top of
the wood-framed east wall of the nave to translate toward the east five and one
half inches.
The wood-framed wall was actually an interior wall that supported a choir
loft located between it and the exterior brick masonry wall. Obviously, scissors
trusses, in similar fashion to all scissors trusses and pitched roof trusses with
raised bottom chords, tend to deflect in the horizontal direction. In this case,
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Specialty Contractors
45
because the interior wood-framed wall was less stiff than the opposite brick
masonry wall, all of the deflection occurred in the easterly direction. It was my
understanding that the church leaders, rather than soliciting a condition assessment from an architect or structural engineer, responded to the building inspector, who was concerned that the deflection was an indication of great weakness
in the superstructure that had to be repaired. The building inspector went so
far as to say that the building was unsafe. Apparently, rather than obtaining
second and third opinions, they decided to sell this fairly valuable property
consisting of the church sanctuary, fellowship hall, parking lots, and educational and administrative spaces. Faced with unknown expenses associated
with replacing of the roof system and reframing the choir wall, choir loft, and
narthex, they felt justified in selling, at below market value, the property to a
developer team consisting of several real estate investors.
We became involved when the developer, upon the recommendation of a
local architect, decided that we might be able to determine how to repair or
replace the roof system. Our initial contact was a phone call from one of the
investors. The following phone memo was in my in box:
Just bought a historic church in Chapel Hill wants you to look @ the extent
of the roof damage.
We met several of the investors at the church. After a brief inspection, we

discussed the finer points of horizontal deflection in scissors trusses and how the
roof could be fixed. I had no idea whether or not they understood a word I said.
Almost two years had passed when they called again. By then, they had received
their Zoning Compliance Permit and approval from the Historic District Commission and had selected an architect and contractor and construction work was
underway. After measuring the trusses, we performed a plane frame analysis.
The 29 scissors trusses that frame the roof were built with 2" 5"
chords and 1" 8" collar ties. The pitch of the top chord was approximately
10 to 12 and the pitch of the bottom chord was approximately 7 to 12. The
design span used for analysis was slightly less than 32 feet. The spacing between
trusses averaged about 19 inches.
We compared the calculated deflection against field measurements and
reviewed the capacity of the nailed connections against the calculated member
forces. Surprisingly, the analysis indicated that the member sizes and connections were adequate. The actual horizontal deflection was compared to the
long-term calculated deflection.
The total load deflection in the horizontal direction at the right support
was calculated to be 7.47 inches, assuming the left support hinged and the
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46
right support provided with a roller bearing in the x (horizontal) direction.

Horizontal deflection due to dead load only was equal to 3.77 inches. This
compared well to a measured deflection of 5.5 inches. When one considers that
for a 30-foot span, the long-term dead load deflection of a timber structure is
taken as 1.5 times the calculated dead load deflection. For trusses, the actual
measured dead load deflection often exceeds the calculated deflection by a factor of three or four. With a small amount of resistance added to the roller in the
horizontal direction, of 2 kips per inch, the total load horizontal deflection
dropped to 0.41 inches. Obviously, the analysis indicated that the deflected
shape of the roof truss was dependent on the boundary conditions, which in
this case included support on a wood partition able to yield in the horizontal
direction. The roof trusses were carefully modeled in the computer using section properties calculated for the actual dimensions of the truss components,
and a modulus of elasticity of 1,600,000 psi. Lapped members were modeled
as lapped members with a link connector to provide for continuity through the
member intersection as well as rotation.
Long-term deflection in timber scissors trusses is often magnified for a
number of reasons. As in all wood-framed trusses in attics, the reduction in
moisture content over timber affects the members and the joints. Normal creep
is magnified if the roof structure was built from green timbers and high stresses
were sustained over time due to dead loads only. Also, the types of connections
have an effect on amount of deflection experienced. Shrinkage across the grain
and the elongation of metal fasteners and the relaxation of wood fibers all contribute to movement in roof trusses.
At the same time, the developer indicated that he was planning to demolish the sloped floor of the sanctuary because he was renovating the church as
office space to be used for research. He had obtained as a tenant, a private
scientific laboratory. They could only utilize the sanctuary as office space if the
floor was not sloped. Again, we observed that the floor was simply framed and
supported in the partial crawl space and basement on brick walls and piers.
The floor joists of the sanctuary were 2" 9 " southern pine joists spaced
approximately 18 inches on center. This floor area was approximately 30 feet
by 43 feet in size, with half of the floor sloping down to a 15-inch step at the
chancel platform.
At the time of our first visit we recommended that the developer obtain the
services of one of two specialty contractors. We explained to the structural moving firm of Blake Moving Company of Greensboro, North Carolina, what we
had in mind. The idea was to shore the roof trusses, separate them from their
supports at the top of the wood partition, plumb up the partition and then reattach the trusses. We also explained what would be required to level the sloping
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Timber Framer Selection
47
floor of the sanctuary in one piece. Charlie Blake of Blake Moving Company
understood exactly what to do, and accomplished the task in short order.
So the adaptive reuse of this historic church facility into laboratory and
administrative office space required very little new material, although 1,096
days passed from the first contact to completed project, most of the construction involved things other than the structural aspects of the work. We were
able to certify the adjusted roof structure as structurally adequate and the
building retained its historic floor structure.
One interesting note occurred at the dedication of the new laboratory facility. The developer invited the church membership to attend the dedication.
Several of them were less than happy to see their old sanctuary in like-new
condition with the old millwork, flooring, and ceiling still intact. Apparently,
one of the investors described to them how little was required to fix their
former church sanctuary.
At the United Church of Chapel Hill, it was fortunate that we were contacted early enough in the process to recommend a solution, and in particular,
a specialty contractor capable of doing the job. In both of these cases, considerable historic fabric was retained, and money was saved for the owners by providing a unique solution to those capable of executing the design.
TIMBER FRAMER SELECTION

Our most successful projects have been ones where we were able to select the
timber framer in advance, or where we proposed several qualified bidders for
consideration, or where we were able to insert prequalification language into a
technical specification prior to bid. These have included new structures as well
as the restoration and rehabilitation of existing buildings.
Tohickon Aqueduct
For the rehabilitation of the Tohickon Aqueduct in Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania,
we first designed the structure as a timber-frame Burr arch-truss system with
mechanically laminated two-hinged arches. Bill Collins and I consulted with Jan
Lewandowski to predetermine the constructability of the three span continuous timber system on site. As an aqueduct structure with an impervious liner,
because of possible condensation and splash issues on the underside, we specified the material to be pressure treated. The original structure, which carried
the Delaware Canal over Tohickon Creek, was a Town lattice truss. It was
replaced with a riveted iron truss, which collapsed in 1931. The replacement
steel and concrete aqueduct deteriorated to the point where it had to be
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48
replaced to maintain the viability of the canal. Bill Collins proposed that the
latest incarnation be built as a Town lattice structure, similar to the original.
For several reasons, I determined that a Burr arch structure would be preferable. We courted several timber-frame companies as possible bidders, including
Blue Ridge Timberwrights and Pocopson Industries. When the project bid,
neither of the two firms that we were counting on turned in a price. Apparently, construction of the three-span structure in the field, within the right-ofway of the canal, was problematic. This was the single issue we had wrestled
with during the initial stages of the design.
In a value engineering process, we converted the timber-frame arches to
glued laminated timber and deleted the saw-tooth splices resulting in three
identical simple spans that could be shop fabricated, preassembled, and shipped
to the site in sections.
From a philosophical standpoint, we deviated from the original system to
ensure a better structure and a longer service life. Although the Town lattice is
a tough system because of its redundancy, we concluded that a wet environment would cause shrink swell problems in the tightly pinned lattice connections. If the chords and lattice were to be treated, moisture content would also
be an issue for the pinned connections. From a maintenance standpoint, we
concluded that the Burr arch would allow easier replacement of primary elements. (See Chapter 18 for additional discussion of the Tohickon Aqueduct.)
Market Hall
The restoration of the 1841 Market Hall in Charleston, South Carolina,
required that the general contractor hire craftsmen with timber-frame skills.
MBM Construction of Charleston insisted that its carpenters were fully capable of executing the work described in the plans, in spite of its reluctance to
submit qualifications as required by the specifications. Eventually, we prevailed. It was necessary for us to obtain a list of timber framers willing to travel
to Charleston for the duration of the work. I played matchmaker between Mike
Goldberg and Peter Bull and MBM Construction. Within a few days of the
initiation of work, I received a phone call from the superintendent. He said,
more or less the following: Dave! You were right. These guys are fast. Our
carpenters would have not been able to do this. (See Chapter 8 for further
description of the Restoration of Market Hall.)
There is a tendency for general contractors to think that there is nothing
special or difficult about timber-frame work. It is precisely what cannot be easily seen that is critical to the structural engineer. Square and tight joints with
critical surfaces fully bearing are what the typical timber-frame demands. Trunnels and pins must be properly installed without damage to them or the
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49
members joined. Obviously, connections that rely on multiple surfaces being

engaged at the same time, such as saw-tooth or bolt-o-lightning splices, require
great precision. Of course, prior to scribing and cutting the first joint, the
proper grade of timber must be obtained and properly seasoned. Often, it
requires a timberframers eye to determine the actual quality of the timber in
spite of the specified lumber grades, which may be quite stringent.
In most cases, fees to the structural engineer fall quite short of allowing for
the complete detailing of all the connections in a new structure or the repair
details in a restoration project. Certainly, there are a few clients willing to pay
an engineers fee to thoroughly study over a period of time, an existing building
with problems.
Bunker Hill Covered Bridge

For the repairs to the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge in Catawba County, North
Carolina, we convinced the Catawba County Historical Society to allow us to
obtain bids from two qualified timber framers or bridgewrights based on a site
visit where we would all agree on the scope of work. I arranged to meet Arnold
Graton and Jan Lewandowski at Douglas Airport in Charlotte and drove them
to Catawba County. In that way, based on an analysis and a minimum set of
plans, after and informal bid process, we were able to engage lower bidder
Arnold Graton to restore the only remaining covered bridge built in accordance with Herman Haupts patent for the improved lattice. (See Chapter 15 for
additional discussion of the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge.)
Yates Mill
Both Jan Lewandowski and Arnold Graton worked on various stages of Yates
Mill (ca. 1778) in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a member of the Yates Mill
Associates, I did not have a contract for structural engineering plans and specifications. In an advisory role, I prevailed upon Yates Mill Associates to hire Jan
and Arnold for various portions of the work. When Hurricane Fran destroyed
the sawmill portion of Yates Mill, we were engaged by North Carolina State
University to design the repairs.
Again, we inserted prequalification language into the specifications. My preservation philosophy was enhanced while following Jans work around the mill as
he cut out deteriorated wood and inserted all sizes and shapes of inserts and
Dutchmen into posts and beams. At one, point I asked Jan about some notchedend cuts at some new floor joists that did not appear terribly good. He replied
that those end cuts looked that way because his crew was mimicking the work of
the original framer. I thought, of course! The original builder was a miller interested in grinding some corn as soon as possible. He was not a timberwright.
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50
FIGURE 4-1
Yates Mill required the
services of a timber
framer.
A Tale of Two Plantations

Two very different projects, involving two similar historic structures, illustrate
the impact that a structural engineer can have on a project, only if the owner is
willing to act on the advice of the engineer.
For Burnside Plantation, in Henderson, North Carolina, at my recommendation, the owners agreed to hire Arnold Graton to replace a 26-foot-long
portion of a white oak sill in the traditional manner, using a timber cut from a
very large white oak tree on the property previously knocked down by Hurricane Fran. In contrast, in Wake County, North Carolina, the relocation of Midway Plantation (ca.1848), the house, and all of its dependencies, had sills
replaced by carpenters using pressure-treated 2 8s scabbed and nailed
together. For the Midway project, we were able to recommend Michael Blake
as the structural mover but had no influence with the owners with regard to
the timberframe aspects of the work.
From a philosophical standpoint, total replacement of a badly deteriorated
sill in a traditional manner or scabbing a piece onto a partially decayed sill is
much more satisfying than merely nailing a bunch of boards together in place
of missing sill material.
Connecticut Barn
One of our most satisfying projects was the reconstruction and expansion of a
barn in Connecticut. The client desired an indoor space sufficient in size to
accommodate basketball. Our solution was to span the large space with two
Town lattice trusses.
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51
FIGURE 4-2
The Barn was greatly
expanded by adding
two Town lattice
trusses parallel to the
ridge.
The architect selected me to assist with the design, and I recommended

Arnold Graton as the best craftsman to undertake the project.
FIGURE 4-3
The 73-foot-long Town
lattice trusses provided
a clear span of almost
45 feet.
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52
Miles Brewton House

In spite of a lack of control, sometimes we have been pleasantly surprised by
the skill that craftsmen previously unknown to us have brought to a project.
I met Tommy Graham of McClellanville, South Carolina, at the Miles Brewton
House (ca. 1769) in Charleston in 1988. The two-story portico of the Miles
Brewton House features four columns of Oxford (England) limestone. It was
thought that cracks in the columns were the result of the corrosion of the iron
pins between drum sections. We determined by a review of historic photographs that the cracks more likely were caused by the 1886 earthquake. A
survey of earthquake damage included a historic photograph of damage to the
capital of one column. A subsequent historic photograph showed a newly
installed iron band, most likely made by a blacksmith. There was considerable
damage to the second level portico. A lack of bracing indicated that with movement in the north-south direction, during a seismic event, the portico could
easily rack. Analysis indicated that the Oxford columns contained enough
mass to produce a large lateral force when accelerated during an earthquake.
Examination of nearby properties indicated that movement was in the northsouth direction. Damage to nearby parapets, chimneys, garden walls, storefronts and porticos indicated that this was true. Tommy Graham and his crew
brought timber frame, carpentry, and painting skills to the Miles Brewton
House.
St. Michaels Episcopal Church

In the steeple of St. Michaels (ca. 17561761), Charleston, South Carolina,
Tommy Graham provided the necessary craftsmen to rehabilitate a steeple constructed of cypress timbers. Initially, we proposed that several of the 6 8
framing timbers be replaced. Tommy pointed out that although he could mine
large dense cypress timbers in nearby rivers, lakes, and swamps, acquisition of
dry cypress timbers might be problematic. He instead proposed epoxy repairs
to the steeple framework. In response, we instructed him to have his crew
prepare a dozen lap joint samples under field conditions that could be tested in
a laboratory. With segmental in-fill and the installation of Dutchmen we were
able to rehabilitate the deteriorated timbers in a systematic way while maximizing the retention of historic fabric.
Darrah Hall
After our experience at St. Michaels, we recommended Tommy Graham to
undertake the rehabilitation of Darrah Hall at Penn School (ca. 1882) on
St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Darrah Hall had totally collapsed due to an
unchecked long-term roof leak.
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53
FIGURE 4-4
Darrah Hall in St.
Helenas Island, South
Carolina, had totally
collapsed.
Again, using epoxy techniques, we restored the structural system of the

building with a minimum loss of the original material.
FIGURE 4-5
Darrah Hall was
restored using
90 percent of the
original material.
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54
Bloomsbury
We also recommended Tommy Graham to rehabilitate a pair of two story porch
columns at Bloomsbury in Camden, South Carolina. This home was the city
home of Sarah Chesnut (18131889) during the Civil War. Tommy transported
each column, in turn, to the shop where they were rehabilitated by segmental
infill while controlling the moisture content of the pie shaped Dutchmen inserts
and the solid timber cypress columns.
Montpelier
Recently, we provided design to Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, and Baker, Architects
of Albany, New York, for the restoration of James Madisons Montpelier in
Orange, Virginia. Although the array of craftsmen included several with timber-frame experience, most considered themselves furniture makers. Three
tasks required special know-how that generated uncertainty among the assembled crew. Again, we recommended Arnold Graton to underpin the 1750s
chimney, providing space for underground mechanical ducts to make a transition to the vertical space within the chimney. Also, leveling the floors required
some expertise with shoring that the staff was not prepared to undertake. With
a topographic map of the surface of the floors in hand, Arnold installed towers
of 6 7, by 4 foot long, spruce cribbing. Floors were leveled starting at the
attic floor, moving downward in stages, in one portion of the building at a time.
Montpelier consists of a central portion with wings added on both sides.
Between theses sections are masonry walls that served as the division between
the phases in the floor leveling effort. We also asked Arnold to provide a price
to rehabilitate a 12" 16" deteriorated first floor timber by routing out the
decayed wood in its core and replacing it by segmental infill with laminated
veneer lumber. The advantages of using laminated veneer lumber are similar to
glued laminated timber in that the timber possesses considerable strength and
the moisture content is strictly controlled. We also brought wood scientist Ron
Anthony to the project to do some investigative resistance drilling. His work in
the basement was critical in finding this deteriorated beam, which felt hard
to the touch and appeared to be sound. (See Chapter 10 for additional discussion of James Madisons Montpelier.)
PLAN STAMPING
You would think that the ideal project for a structural engineer is one that the
timber framer initiates. Unfortunately, most of timber framer work involves
the requirement that the shop drawings for new timber-frame buildings bear
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Plan Stamping
55
the seal of a professional engineer attesting to the design. In those cases, the
engineer is hired after the fact. In some cases, it is an afterthought, or seems to
be, or it was simply a requirement of the project from the beginning, but the
general contractor and timber-frame company chose to ignore it, hoping that it
would go away.
In these cases, it is important to provide the specialty structural engineer
with all of the project requirements. It is not sufficient to provide only the shop
drawings in the expectation that they will be sealed without much of a review.
Besides live loads, the structural engineer should be informed of the grade and
species of the wood and of any unusual conditions such as fragile finishes,
deflection requirements at large openings such as above-glass partitions, or
retractable folding doors, or unusually heavy roofing or flooring materials.
Standard practice should involve providing a full set of plans and specifications to the specialty structural engineer. Without complete information, the
structural engineer can review the design on the shop drawings based only on
what is provided. It is then the timber framer who is responsible for transmitting the project requirements. Structural engineers and timber framers alike
should be aware of stringent requirements place on specialty engineers by the
building code and the engineers board of registration in such states as Florida.
It is becoming increasingly more difficult to practice as a registered professional engineer in multiple states. Variations in the method of sealing a sheet
of drawings and what information must be provided are becoming more complicated. Many states require the engineers corporation to be registered as a
business entity and/or pay license. In Tennessee, it is not possible to hire an
engineer to seal shop or submittal drawings after the initiation of the project.
The board of registration has consistently interpreted this section of the
law to mean that a registrant is prohibited from sealing or stamping any document for which the registrant was not responsible for the original design. To
merely review and seal or stamp drawings is most commonly referred to as
plan stamping; the boards discipline for plan stamping ranges from a warning
or reprimand, to the imposition of civil penalties, to the suspension or revocation of a certificate of registration.
Ironically, it is often the large engineering firms that initiate specifications
requiring the timberframe or glued laminated timber manufacturer to produce
the final design, the design of connections, and an engineers seal on the shop
drawings. In many cases, calculations must be submitted for approval. Of
course, the board of registration members who are horrified at the thought of
plan stamping are usually principals of these same large firms.
So, in an era of globalization, the states are becoming more provincial in a
rigorous effort to eliminate plan stamping. Unfortunately, they dont recognize
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56
the timber engineer as a rare individual willing to review drawings for timber
structures serving the timber frame and glued laminated timber industries
where other engineers are not.
The best projects initiated by timber framers are the ones requiring the
engineer to exercise his skills in developing a design solution in the initial
stages. In the preliminary design effort, the engineer often can produce a
unique solution. This is a valuable service that provides the engineering
designer great satisfaction; it also may provide the timber framer with a competitive edge.
BLUE RIDGE TIMBERWRIGHTS AND AL ANDERSON

We utilized the services of Blue Ridge Timberwrights and Al Anderson for
several projects. Blue Ridge Timberwrights provided the superstructure for the
New Covered Bridge at Old Salem and two, two-story replicated buildings at
Somerset Place State Historic Site in Washington County, North Carolina. Blue
Ridge Timberwrights were one of several firms that met the prequalification
requirements of the specifications. Al Anderson also provided timber-frame
services for Single Sisters House in Old Salem and Whites Mill in Abington,
Virginia.
CONCLUSION
To ensure success of many of our projects, we have had to prevail upon the
owner, architect, contractor, and others in decision-making roles to engage
subcontractors and craftsmen with specific skills. Structural engineers must
take this proactive role to ensure that the work has the best chance to be completed in accordance with the engineers intent. In cases where this process was
derailed for one reason or another, the results were less than satisfactory. For
all concerned, it is best for the engineer to simply walk away from these projects
if contractual relationships will permit him to do so.
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CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
hrough specialized knowledge and experience, engineers can make the
judgments needed to properly evaluate historic timber structures.
The structural engineer may also be called on to utilize his or her skills to reinforce, rehabilitate, or restore historic structures.
This chapter will deal with timber as the primary structural component for
most historic structures in the United States and Canada. Although timber is
but one component of a historic structure, which may consist of brick and
stone masonry, iron, steel, or concrete; it often is the most misunderstood construction material of all.
The engineer must be convinced that the structural model is an accurate
representation of actual conditions. Once that is clear, the application of rigorous analysis, testing, and engineering judgment may be necessary to explain
why the historic structure in question has performed adequately for many
years.
Structural engineers must play an integral role in historic preservation
efforts. Although architects, planners, art historians, city officials, real estate
developers, investment bankers, politicians, and conservators have been in the
forefront of the preservation movement, it is the structural engineer who
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58
FIGURE 5-1
Hurricane Fran
destroyed the sawmill
portion of Yates Mill
in Raleigh, North
Carolina.
possesses the knowledge and skills necessary to solve many of the problems
associated with renovation, restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of
historic structures. The structural engineer is best qualified to measure, monitor, analyze, and evaluate historic structures.
The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 eliminated an economic bias
in favor of new construction. Tax incentives for rehabilitating older buildings were simplified and substantially improved, especially in the case of
historic buildings. The tax act gave impetus to the historic preservation
movement. Structural engineers found themselves more involved in historic
preservation projects as owners and developers discovered the benefits of
the 1981 tax act.
TIMBER DESIGN AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Often the proper analysis and evaluation of a historic structure requires that the
structural engineer have extensive timber design experience. Many historic structures in the North America are timber framed. Masonry construction is generally
utilized for foundations, exterior wall support, and building enclosure.
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Timber Design and Historic Preservation
59
A thorough knowledge of the physical and mechanical properties of wood

is a necessity. Many historic structures were constructed of green timber because
of the considerable time required to air dry large timbers. In the seasoning process timber gives off or takes on moisture from the surrounding atmosphere with
changes in temperature and relative humidity until it attains a balance relative
to the atmospheric conditions. Historic structures have had time to reach this
point of balance known as the equilibrium moisture content.
Moisture content is the weight of the water contained in wood, expressed
as a percentage of the weight of the oven dry wood. As wood loses moisture,
the water in the cell cavity is evaporated first. The condition at which the water
in the cell cavity has been evaporated but the cell wall is still saturated is
known as the fiber saturation point. This point is usually assumed to be at
approximately 30 percent. When the moisture content is reduced below this
point, shrinkage will occur.
Builders of heavy timber structures usually make allowances for shrinkage
in the design of members and connections. The amount of shrinkage may be
calculated by utilizing tables that give amounts of radial, tangential, and volumetric shrinkage from green to oven-dry moisture content for various species.
A moisture meter is an important tool for the structural engineer. What has
been misinterpreted as deflection or settlement in historic structures may be
due to the across-the-grain shrinkage of large timber girders that were installed
in a green condition and subsequently dried to low moisture content.
An increment borer can be utilized by the structural engineer to obtain core
samples 0.2 of an inch in diameter, which can be used to determine the species,
the number of growth rings per inch, the oven-dried weight, the moisture content, and the specific gravity of the wood sampled. Many times in old, dry buildings with dense wood, the increment borer is ineffective because the wood is too
hard to penetrate or the sample crumbles upon extraction. In those cases, larger
samples can be cut out that, upon testing, will yield more accurate test results.
Many times, certain parts of a structure will indicate a moisture content
that is considerably higher than the equilibrium moisture content determined
by the dry bulb temperature and relative humidity.
Usually, close contact of timber with moisture containing masonry or earth
will cause elevated moisture content at the bearing points of timber purling,
joists, beams, columns, or trusses. The moisture is most readily absorbed
through end grain. Once the moisture content rises above 20 percent, decay
may occur. Strength-reduction effects of decay and termite infestation many
times occur at support points. Repairing these areas of high shear is a challenge to the structural engineer involved in historic preservation.
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60
The structural engineer evaluating the heavy timber frame of a historic structure should be intimately familiar with the causes and significance of checking
and the structural considerations. A familiarity with timber-grading rules and the
strength-reduction properties of various natural growth characteristics can be
obtained from The Wood Handbook of the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory.1
The structural engineer must review the past practice of excessively notching floor or roof joists into carrying members using the end-notched beam
formulae presented in various timber design manuals and textbooks. A joist
might be perfectly adequate in bending and deflection and be critical in horizontal shear at a notched support. This condition may be easily remedied by
installing custom-sized nailed joist hangers to transfer vertical forces from the
joist to the supporting member.
Checking is caused by the difference in the moisture content between the
inner and outer wood fibers of timber members. As timber dries from the fiber
saturations point (approximately 30 percent moisture content) to zero moisture content, it shrinks. As the outer wood fibers dry, large stresses form
between the inner and outer wood fibers. Checking is merely the separation of
the wood fibers that occur as shrinkage stresses are relieved. In general, shrinkage is greater in larger timbers than in small timbers of the same species and
greater in hardwoods than in softwoods.
Although season checks affect the horizontal shear strength in timber, the
design values for various grades and species have to be set up anticipating
season checking in excess of the grading limitations. Season checks at middepth of a beam near a support are important to shear strength. Compression
or tension members are normally not affected. In Japan, a common practice is
to cut a saw kerf, or artificial check, along the centerline of one face of a large
timber half the depth of the timber (to the pith) in order to relieve stresses due
to differential shrinkage before they cause checking.
TIMBER MISUNDERSTOOD AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

Almost all buildings constructed during the first 300 years of settlement in the
New World were of timber-frame construction. Even brick, stone, and log
buildings had timber-framed roof and floor systems. This form of construction
is characterized by the use of substantial pieces of timber, of square and rectangular sections, fabricated into a braced frame. The timbers in the frame are
connected to each other by timber joints such as the mortise and tenon, half
lap, dovetail, wedged half-dovetail, birdsmouth, and scarf. Joints may be pinned
with wood pins, sometimes called pegs, treenails, or trunnels.
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Traditional Timber Joinery
61
Although timber is but one component of a historic structure, which may

consist of brick and stone masonry, iron, steel, or concrete; it often is the most
misunderstood construction material. Part of the misunderstanding lies in our
educational system. Many structural engineers earn degrees in civil engineering
without ever taking a course in timber design. It is unfortunate in North America,
with our tremendous stock of timber-framed buildings and our strong forest
products industry, that more civil engineering curricula do no include mandatory
courses in timber design.
In the 1990s, timber in most important to the residential market as dimension framing, prefabricated trusses, stress-rated panels, and other components.
The size of residential framing members is dictated by building codes for various spans and conditions.
TRADITIONAL TIMBER JOINERY

The key to timber frames and timber-framed trusses is the connections between
members. The Achilles heel of timber joinery is tension connections. Early
truss builders learned to provide iron straps at connections that were susceptible to failure. Consider the king post connection of a simple truss. Many postto-bottom-chord connections in king post trusses were furnished with iron
straps and pins, especially where the bottom chord carried a suspended plaster
ceiling or attic floor.
Engineers evaluating timber frames and trusses should pay particular
attention to tension joints. Sometimes the orientation of members is perpendicular, parallel, or of some angle in between. Usually, timber frames include
braces that are oriented close to a 45-degree angle between posts and beams.
It is important to consider the connection of the braces in the analysis of a
frame. If a plane frame analysis results in high-tensile forces at brace end joints
that appear inadequate, it may be appropriate to reanalyze without the tension
braces included or provide a certain amount of slip in the joint. In many frames
it can be assumed that only knee braces in compression are capable of resisting
lateral loads.
Joints may rely on pins (hardwood or iron), bearing surfaces, or side plates
to transfer load. Tension splices of large timbers may be lapped or scarf joints
with shear blocks, keys, shear pins, splice plates, fish plates, iron dogs, or a
combination of two or more elements.
The modern engineer can learn much from historic timber splice joints.
Todays shear plate, split ring, and spike grip timber connectors can maximize
the capacity of a splice because a relatively small cross-section is removed in
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62
FIGURE 5-2
At James Madisons
Montpelier, a simple
fork and loose tongue
connection provided
sufficient strength.
FIGURE 5-3
Simple scarf joints
were provided to
extend the ends of
the ceiling joists at
Montpelier.
order to install such connectors. Only in recent years has the design code recognized that long lines of connectors may result in unequal sharing of load due
to drilling and punching tolerances.
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Structural Evaluation
63
Connection of posts and beams in many buildings may contain mortise and
tenon joints of various configurations. Continuity in the frame may be accomplished with long tie beams with splines and pins.
Rafters may be tenoned into a ridge member, a supporting plate, a tie
beam, or a post. Joints, purlins, and beams may be connected to girders, rafters, beams, or trusses with mortise and tenon joists or housed or unhoused
dovetail joints.
STRUCTURAL EVALUATION
Engineers are most commonly asked to examine the timber frames of public
structures, such as courthouses, churches, and bridges. Although wall posts,
interior columns, sills, and plates are usually found adequate to their tasks according to modern engineering criteria, roof systems and trusses, bracing,
joists, and tension joinery, when quantitatively analyzed, often appear barely
able to carry their own dead load. Since most of the frames being examined
have been successfully carrying dead and live loads for a hundred years or
more, the conclusion that they will not work indicates that there may be something wrong with our analysis.
Accurate field measurements are essential in defining the structure and its
condition. Surveying methods have been successfully utilized in determining the
stiffness of deflected beams and trusses. A topographic plan of the floor surface
of a historic structure will yield a useful visual representation of an irregular
floor if the contour interval is small. Irregular floors in a historic structure could
be the result of movement in the supporting soils, timber decay or shrinkage, or
deflection of structural components. Obtain accurate measurements.
Apply some engineering judgment when standard procedures do not fit the
situation. For example, you might assume that the original wood in use in a
historic structure, unless inspection tells you otherwise, has design values that
are as high as possible for the species. The straight-grained timber from the
old-growth forest, with its small and scattered knots, was almost always much
better material than the samples that modern design values are based on. Keep
in mind that quality may be more important than species. Most of the great
railroad bridges built in the northeast in the nineteenth century were of white
pine, which is not favored for structural purposes today, but was favored then
because it was available in great quantity as clear and dense growth.
Structural evaluations usually include a determination of the ability of a
floor or roof system to support service loads. Monitoring of an existing structure
may be required in order to obtain data for such an evaluation. Testing programs
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64
may have to be designed to aid in determining the strength of component

materials or complete assemblies. Methods may consist of destructive or
nondestructive testing of component materials or load tests of structural members (such as beams) or assemblies (such as trusses). Adaptation of current
testing methods for field use on historic structures will be necessary.
Computer models used to analyze steel trusses may not be totally appropriate for analyzing wood trusses. A timber member is often moved away from its
ideal point of bearing in order that there be room to construct the joint. The
original builder was building a truss, and it probably functions like one.
The problem for us today is to model it correctly.
Obtain the advice of an engineer with experience evaluating timber structures, particularly in cases where maintaining the historic integrity of a frame
was a parallel goal to ensuring structural stability. Ask your state Historic
Preservation Office or the National Park Service, or a timber framer, for recommendations to locate an engineer qualified to undertake the structural
evaluation.
LIVE LOAD DURATION AND HISTORIC STRUCTURES

This is a most appreciated concept to apply to timber design because of the
long history of the concept of live load duration. Early timber research found
that timber reacts quite well to short applications of load. The duration of load
was found to be as critical as the magnitude of the load. Presumably, the natural composition of timber consists of a tightly bound bundle of cells that tend
to stretch or elongate with time. The larger and more constant the load, the
more the stretching of fiber occurs. The effects of this creep can be seen in
many timber structures through extensive deflection. For short durations of
load, allowable design values will be increased substantially.
This timber verses stress relationship is a most important research area.
Only through evaluating historic timber structures can we solve this puzzle,
which is complicated by cyclic loading, original moisture content, member
size, span, species, grade, temperature, humidity and magnitude of stress.
Members in the horizontal plane such as floor sheathing, joists, purlins, and
beams are stressed principally in bending. The resisting bending moment is a
measure of the strength of such and element. This, together with stiffness and
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Load Tests
65
horizontal shear, are the three qualities that are normally determined during
the process of selection we call design. Because timber is available in certain
standard lumber sizes, the designer selects from those available, the size, grade,
and species that most economically meets the preordained standards for bending stress, deflection, and horizontal shear.
When the engineer reviews the capacity of an existing member, many
parameters complicate this process. Size, span, and spacing of members are
dictated by the existing structure. It is the engineers task to determine the size,
orientation, species, grade, and end condition of all the structural elements in
a building that already exists. The freedom of choice afforded by design is
therefore reduced in the review process.
Often, the structural engineer must pass judgment on a structure that has
served far beyond what we consider to be a normal period of service. The timbers were not selected on the basis of modern engineering analysis. They certainly do not bear inspection marks attesting to their grade and specie.
It should be obvious to the engineer that a safe floor structure should not
fail in bending due to the actual loads imposed. But it is important to recognize
that excessive deflection, excessive vibration, or lack of stiffness, should not
automatically categorize a floor structure as unsafe.
Strict deflection limitations should be set, however, for floors that support
plaster ceilings in lieu of wood or tin ceilings, or no ceilings at all. But for comfort, the live load deflection limitation set in most building codes for floors, no
matter what the ceiling, is 1/360th of the span.
safe. It is, however, important to evaluate the basis for the conclusion. The
loads assumed for design should be reconciled with the actual loads that will
occur in service.
The design values that we assume are very critical to the computed capacity of some floor systems. For structures such as mill buildings, average design
values yield results that fall well above the minimum code requirements for an
adaptive reuse occupancy such as office or retail.
LOAD TESTS
Load testing a historic structure may be the only reasonable way to justify conditions or materials that are difficult to analyze. In designing a load test, the
engineer must call for the application of realistic loads carefully applied. Great
care should be taken before applying twice the design live load, as required by
many building codes, to a historic structure. For timber structures, it may be
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66
unrealistic to apply full live load plus an increase for a period such as 24 or 48
hours, when the structure actually will never reach that service loading for that
length of time.
Applying a known, safe load to a historic structure is an excellent method
to determine the stiffness characteristics of various materials. This is of special
value when evaluating timber structures. It is important to realize that because
of the variation in the strength characteristics of timber, a load test of one
member of a structure may not be indicative of the true capacity in other areas
of the building.
For any material, before a load test is undertaken, the engineer must be
certain that all lateral bracing and slenderness requirements are satisfied. A preliminary analysis must be performed to ensure that the structure will not be
loaded past the elastic limit or further to destruction. The application of strain
gages and other instrumentation is highly desirable in monitoring a load test.
Through the use of monitoring techniques, testing, measurements, observation, and structural calculations, an accurate interpretation of the structural
capability of a historic structure can be presented in a carefully written report.
THE TIMBER TRUSS COMPUTER MODEL

Slippage, rotation, shrinkage, or the lack of continuity in a timber joint is difficult to allow for in a chord-plane frame analysis of a timber truss. Multiple
chord trusses will invariably appear stiffer when analyzed, even when all joints
are free to rotate in the computer model. Structural engineers are aware that it
is very difficult to produce a true hinge or a true fixed joint in the actual structure. Joints in timber trusses may act somewhere between the two causing a
very different distribution of forces than produced by the analysis. How does
one model a half-lapped and notched joint in an indeterminate frame? How
about the problem of describing the intersecting member of a multiple chord
truss where half of the member section in each direction passes through a joint
and all pieces nailed together with wrought iron spikes?
When analyzing a timber structure, the structural engineer must remember that wood is a orthotropic material with unique properties parallel and perpendicular to grain. Not only are properties in tension, compression, and shear
unique for various species, but also the modulus of elasticity varies with grain
direction.
The moduli of elasticity along longitudinal, radial, and tangential axes of
wood vary between species and with specific gravity and moisture content.
A computer program for the analysis of wood structures should include the
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A Repair Philosophy
67
12 constants needed to describe the elastic behavior of wood. Three moduli of

elasticity (E), three moduli of rigidity (G), and six Poissons ratios can be found
in the Wood Handbook for some common species. For timber design and analysis, todays computer programs should be using the relationships between
stress and strain, which have been worked out for homogenous, orthotropic
materials.
The ideal timber analysis program would input species, specific gravity,
and moisture content. Obviously, with such a tool we could vary the moisture
content to reflect the drying out of a timber frame or truss during a long period
of service. We could then better understand the effects of shrinkage in members and joints.
A REPAIR PHILOSOPHY
When repairing timber trusses it is better to reinforce than replace members or
connections. Epoxy has been used with success to fill and consolidate areas of
decayed wood. If it is necessary to replace individual members, it is important
to not modify the configuration of the existing truss unless the action of the
truss is easily understood.
In many timber structures it is not the members themselves which are
critical elements but rather the connections. Connections made with cut or
wrought nails are difficult to evaluate. Hardwood dowels, iron pins, cast iron
seats or keys, saw-tooth splices, scarf joints, mortise and tenon joints, shear
connectors, metal hangers, and anchors vary in capacity, depending on the
direction of the load with respect to the angle of the grain.
A review of the lateral bracing of historic roof trusses in many cases will
indicate that although the members and connections can withstand very high
forces, the mode of failure would be buckling of the truss at much lower stress
levels. The addition of appropriate bracing may be the only required repair.
Because of its availability, controlled moisture content, and known design
values, glued laminated timber should not be overlooked as a replacement for
large timber members. Pressure-treated wood should be specified as replacement material for timbers in contact with masonry or in an area susceptible to
moisture.
In reinforcing members or connections, the structural engineer must be
very familiar with the National Design Specification for Wood Construction of
the National Forest Products Association.2 Design values, edge distances, and
installation procedures are specified for shear plates, split rings, nails, screws,
lag screws, and bolts.
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68
The reinforcement or repair of a historic timber truss should be treated

with sensitivity and care. The ideal reinforcement or repair would involve the
fewest modern fasteners and utilize ring-shank nails and lag screws instead of
bolts, if possible.
In many cases, supplemental structural framing has to be introduced into
a historic structure in order to relieve the original structural framework, which
may be deficient. Not only must methods and locations of support for the new
structure are determined, but also methods and locations for support of the
existing structure, and the effects of the interaction of the two. The problem of
erecting the new framework within the confines of the existing structure may
present the most difficult challenge to the structural engineer.
REPLACEMENT-IN-KIND
Of course modern timber products should not automatically replace traditional timber framing and joinery. Replacement-in-kind of members with
mortise and tenon, dovetail, tongue and fork, slotted, or oak-pinned joint connection is a possibility that must be considered.
In recent years many designs for new post-and-beam frames have been
produced containing little or no metal connectors. Traditional technology is
available through timber framers located in many areas of the United States
and Canada.
Often, replacement-in-kind is not economically feasible. More advances
are being made in the field of timber design than any other area of structures.
Recent products include laminated veneer lumber and numerous other beam
and joist substitutes. The most important benefits of these reconstituted wood
products is the availability of long lengths, higher design values, and greater
stiffness.
Preservationists and preservation engineers must determine the appropriateness of these materials to each case.
All structural engineers should obtain a copy of The Secretary of the Interiors
Standards for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Under these standards, rehabilitation means the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through
repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while
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Summary
69
preserving those portions and features of the property which are significant to
its historic, architectural, and cultural value.3 Minimum alteration of the
building, its environment, and its distinguishing architectural qualities are required for a project to qualify as a certified rehabilitation benefiting from the
provisions of the tax act. Archeological resources must be protected, as well as
significant historical, architectural, or cultural material. An understanding of
the historical significance of a building must be obtained to enable the engineer
to provide an acceptable solution to a particular design problem while following the secretarys standards.3
The guidelines for applying the Interior Departments standards for rehabilitation recommend that the special problems inherent in the structural system of historic buildings, especially where there are visible signs of cracking,
deflection, or failure be recognized.3 Stabilization and repair of weakened
structural members and systems when damaged or inadequate are also recommended. Historically important structural members are to be replaced only
when necessary.3
The actual distribution of loads in a structure, similar to live load reduction factors for tributary area, can account for the continued service for heavily
loaded members such as stair and fireplace headers, and summer beams, which
may appear to the engineer to be grossly undersized. Many times, these members deflect beyond comfortable amounts.
These excesses are often dismissed because this house is old. The failure
rate of historic structures form sudden structural collapse is very small. Even
when deterioration due to decay or termites is accounted for, the sudden collapse of an old timber structure is rarely reported. The reports usually involve
accidents, such as collision of an automobile with a cast-iron column in the
storefront of a commercial structure.
SUMMARY
By learning more about timber design, engineers will develop a preservation
philosophy that demands rigorous analysis in order to justify doing nothing
to a historic timber structure that has been performing satisfactorily for many
years. Buildings that analysis, testing, and observation clearly indicate are unsafe should be reinforced in the most sensitive manner in an attempt to retain
as much historic fabric as possible. Buildings that require extensive modification or reconstruction should be treated in a way that is in keeping with the
original construction if possible, while fulfilling safety requirements.
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70
FIGURE 5-4
The sawmill portion of
Yates Mill was replaced
in kind, except that
positive anchorage of
the timber frame was
added.
REFERENCES
1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Forest Products Laboratory Handbook, no. 72. Wood Handbook. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974.
2. National Forest Products Association, National Design Specification for
Wood Construction, Washington D.C.: National Forest Products Association, 1977).
3. U.S. Department of the Interior, The Secretary of the Interiors Standards
for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.
Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979.
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CHAPTER
Watauga Hall and the

Montague Building
ver the years I have noticed, or maybe simply imagined, that there
appeared to be incredible leeway given by state preservation offices
regarding the acceptability of certain architectural and structural decisions
involving historic structures. As the structural consultant on many design
teams, it often appeared that the other guy, usually a developer with minimal
professional design input, was allowed to do certain things that our team was
not. Was it because our team, headed by a competent and conscientious architect, was able to deal with various requirements while the developer could
plead ignorance? Did the developer have more political pull, or was the success of his project more important for the community than ours? Most of the
controversies seem to involve architectural decisions such as whether to replace
or restore the windows.
Although I cannot present a situation where a controversy regarding a
similar issue occurred on two different projects, I can present two similar
projects with very different outcomes. The Montague Building and Watauga
Hall were both built in the early twentieth century with exterior load-bearing
brick masonry walls and an interior load-bearing structure of wood. The floors
of Watauga Hall consisted of 2 12 framing supported by load-bearing wood
studs. The Montague Building was not much different, with floors consisting
of 2 12 joists supported by a timber post and beam system.
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72
The rehabilitations of the two buildings were different in that Watauga

Hall was a university project administered in part by the North Carolina
Department of Administration with no oversight by federal officials. The Montague Building was a privately owned building restored by a developer with
oversight by the United States Department of the Interior acting through the
state preservation office (SHPO).
OVERVIEW OF WATAUGA HALL AND THE MONTAGUE

BUILDING
Sometimes decisions regarding the existing structural system of a building are
made of the basis of issues other than structural. Upgrades required to address
fire safety concerns may be due to changes in occupancy or the need to
separate tenants by a enhanced fire rated wall or floor system. The restorations for Watauga Hall and the Montague Building can be judged by The
Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Guidelines for Historic Preservation,
last amended in 1983, and the Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, dated 1995. The Standards are not technical or prescriptive, but provide
a philosophical basis for the decisions that structural engineers should make
regarding historic properties. Whether or not Watauga Hall and the Montague Building are on the National Register of Historic Place is irrelevant.
They both are certainly old enough to qualify, and important enough from a
cultural standpoint.
Deterioration, damage, and defects should, more often than not, be mitigated
through reinforcing, or the replacing-in-kind critical elements, or by supplementing the original structure. The standards for preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration require that the historic character of a structure including, distinctive
materials and examples of craftsmanship, be retained or preserved, repairing
deteriorated features rather than replacing them.
Although Watauga Hall and the Montague Building are similar in size, age,
and type of construction, their histories are quite different. In 1985, the renovation of Watauga Hall was completed at a cost of $2.5 million. The renovation of the oldest dormitory on the campus of North Carolina State University,
in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been judged a success. The project converted a
1903, three-story, wood framed, underutilized building into a noncombustible,
four-story, steel and concrete dormitory for graduate students at a cost almost
8 percent below budget.
The renovations to Watauga Hall may have been somewhat heavy handed
with regard to the recommendations of The Secretary of the Interiors Standards
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Overview of Watauga Hall and the Montague Building
73
FIGURE 6-1
The attic of Watauga
Hall was converted
into dormitory space
by raising the elevation
for the new roof
structure.
for Guidelines for Historic Preservation. As a design team, we did what was
necessary to stabilize the building and accommodate the needs of a modern
graduate student dormitory.
At Watauga Hall we demonstrated that historic timber-frame buildings
can be renovated using a cast-in-place two-way flat plate concrete floor system.
Historic timber-frame buildings can also be rehabilitated by reinforcing, with
steel, every undersized joist and beam if testing and analysis require this. The
service life of these two methods of construction can be vastly different, with
the former proving more satisfactory in the long run, and the latter barely
meeting current building codes in the short term. The challenge for structural
engineers is to advise owners, architects, and developers about the aspects of
each solution. Although the latter method will certainly not jeopardize the tax
credits so necessary in converting a historic structure into a serviceable
building, the resulting building may not be the best system for the building.
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74
Obtaining historic certification from governmental agencies that administer

the tax credit status of the project is crucial to the success of a project.
WATAUGA HALL
Watauga Hall reflects much of the character and tradition of North Carolina
State University, as it is named for the Watauga Club. The Watauga Club was
a small but influential group of North Carolinians who were instrumental in
the establishment of the land grant agricultural and mechanical arts college
commonly known as State College, which is now North Carolina State
University.
Watauga Hall, originally constructed in 1896, was destroyed by fire during
Thanksgiving weekend in 1901. The existing Romanesque Revival building
was constructed in 1903 on the foundations of the original building. It is the
only survivor of several dormitory structures built in 1896 to serve an expanding student body. Watauga Hall functioned, at various times, as the kitchen
and dining hall, laundry, and office space for Campus Planning, Personnel, and
Information Services. It functioned as a dormitory until 1968. For its last years
of use as a dormitory, it provided the first housing on campus for women.
Watauga Hall remained empty, between 1968 and 1983, when renovation
began.
Watagua Hall Structural Evaluation

Conditions inside of the long vacant Watauga Hall were discouraging. The
interior was wood framed, including a monumental wood-framed stairway
between the first and second levels. The room layout, governed by the location of load-bearing stud walls, was not ideally suited for a modern dormitory
containing suites to house graduate students. The square footage was limited
for the minimum number of beds that the university housing officials were
requiring for efficiency. The architectural and structural response to the limitations of Watauga Hall included replacing the wood-framed floor system,
raising the level of the roof to provide an additional floor in the former attic,
and converting some of the crawl space to basement for ancillary functions.
This was accomplished without underpinning and without extensive shoring
and bracing.
The original structure for Watauga Hall consisted of 3 12 floor joists
spaced at 16 inches on center in some areas and 2 12 floor joists spaced at
18 inches apart in the great majority of the building.
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Watauga Hall
75
FIGURE 6-2
Watauga Hall was a
wood-framed dormitory
building.
The roof structure consisted of 2 12 rafters, 18 to 24 inches on center.

Although the upper floors were supported by timber-stud corridor walls at
interior locations, the basement and crawl space support consisted of 10 10
timber girders on iron pipe columns or brick masonry piers.
A computer-aided analysis was used to evaluate floor joists in an area
where the 10 10 timbers and iron columns supported the parallel corridor
walls above. Opposing 3 12 floor joists lapped each other as they cantilevered over the central timber beam support below. Analysis indicated that the
existing floor joists were capable of supporting a 40 psf live load in rooms and
at least 100 psf live load in corridor areas. The 10 10 timber beams beneath
the first floor were generally inadequately sized, supporting an average floor
live load of no more than 20 psf on the floors above.
Interestingly, the center of each portion of the building exhibited considerable settlement in the floor system. This settlement increased in amount from
the first floor upwards. At the same time, the perimeter of the floor at each
level varied by less than three one-hundredths of a foot in elevation on any one
floor. I determined that the settlement in the center of each floor area was due
to the cumulative vertical shrinkage across the grain of load-bearing beams,
joists, headers, and plates. This contradicted a previous report from a geotechnical/structural engineer, who indicated that the depression in the floor system
was due to subsurface settlement in the soils.
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76
The moisture content of the existing timber framing was measured in the
field with a Delmhorst J-1 moisture meter. The moisture content registered
5 percent or less in all areas. The total amount of shrinkage was calculated
assuming average 19 percent initial moisture content for the 66.0 inches cumulative depth of joists, beams, and girders for the full height of the building. The
total shrinkage across the grain for all these members computed to be 4.158
inches.
A 19 percent initial moisture content was assumed because of the tendency of large timbers to retain moisture for a long period of time. In fact, the
larger 10 10 timbers were probably installed close to a green state (30 percent moisture content). Obviously, the load-bearing timber structure shrank
while the exterior brick masonry bearing walls did not. The computed value
agreed closely with the 4.0 inches of settlement measured by a Registered Land
Surveyor on the fourth floor.
For Watauga Hall, samples of the timber framing were obtained with a
0.20-inch-diameter incremental boring tool. Laboratory tests consisting of
moisture content, unit weight, and specific gravity were performed on each
sample. The specific gravity values of the wood samples were somewhat erratic
because of the variations to the size of the specimens, which often broke or
crumbled when removed from the hollow auger of the incremental borer. The
use of an incremental borer proved less acceptable than merely obtaining larger
samples cut from the structure in noncritical locations. Typically, the incremental borer is a tool foresters use to obtain samples from living trees. Advancing
such a tool into dry wood is much more difficult and is not recommended.
Brick Masonry Evaluation

Several large cubes of brick masonry were obtained from Watauga Hall with a
hammer drill from an abandoned masonry pier in the crawl space. Two prism
sections were sawed from the cube sample in the laboratory and compressive
strength tests were performed. Seven individual bricks were tested in accordance with ASTM C67-80a for compressive strength and modulus of rupture
(flexure test).
The compressive strength tests of the brick masonry from Watauga Hall
indicated that the existing bricks complied with the compressive strength
requirements set forth in ASTM C62-80, standard specifications for building
brick, Grade SW brick. The compressive strength tests performed on the prism
samples indicated that the masonry specimens exceeded the ASTM strength
requirements for Type S mortar.
In both Montague Building and Watauga Hall the pullout capacity of epoxy
capsule bonded 3/4-inch diameter threaded rod anchors placed into the interior
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Watauga Hall
77
wythes of brick of the exterior wall was evaluated by testing in the field.
A calibrated hydraulic jack, anchored to the floor surface, was utilized to apply
incremental loads. The average pullout force of less than 600 pounds indicated
that satisfactory anchorage to the walls would require that the ties extend
through the walls to be fastened to large washers placed on the exterior face
of the building.
The New Structural System for Watauga Hall

The rehabilitation of Watauga Hall was bid on December 5, 1983, with eight
general contractors participating. The low bid for general construction was
$1,440,550, with all bid alternates taken. The general, plumbing, electrical
and mechanical low bid total was $2,016,209, or approximately 8 percent
below the architects estimate.
The new structural system selected for Watauga Hall consisted of a twoway flat-plate cast-in-place reinforced concrete slab supported by steel tube
section columns with shear heads. The concrete slab was placed on the existing
timber floor surface to be used as a temporary form.
FIGURE 6-3
Column splices and
shear heads were
positioned at the
existing floor level.
The steel columns were threaded through openings cut into the existing
floors and braced prior to placing reinforcing and concrete. The existing timber joists were also supported with additional shoring placed at mid-span locations. The steel columns were carried down to new isolated column footings in
the basement or crawl space.
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78
FIGURE 6-4
New steel columns
were set on new
isolated footings in the
crawl space/basement.
Almost the entire suspended floor load for the renovated structure was
supported by the steel columns, while the edge of the floor slab provided lateral bracing to the original exterior brick walls.
Replacing the existing floor system with a two-way flat-plate structure had
structural advantages in that a 6-inch-thick slab could easily support a 100 psf
live load with the spans anticipated. An important advantage was the three-hour
fire rating easily obtained between floors of the building to be used as a dormitory. The major construction advantage of this system is that once the columns,
which are spliced with a simple connection at each floor level, are erected and
braced, the other construction materials are easily fabricated and placed.
Concrete placed for the floor slab can take any shape contained within the
exterior walls without a lot of field measurements required to verify that fabricated components will actually fit into the space to be reframed.
The typical reinforcing in the floor system consisted of straight #4 bars.
Cast-in-place concrete was conveyed into the building by pumping. Construction was simple in the horizontal direction in that large prefabricated structural shapes, difficult to erect inside an existing building, were not required.
Although accurate steel column placement was required for the new structural
steel roof system to fit, perimeter dimensions between the columns and the
periphery of the building were not critical.
The most important advantage is that erection of a new structural system
within the brick envelope did not require the complete gutting of the building,
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Montague Building
79
which would have required the introduction of extensive temporary bracing

and shoring to protect fragile, laterally unbraced exterior brick masonry walls.
This reduced the risk to the contractor during construction.
The major disadvantage with the flat plate structural system utilizing the
existing floor as a form is that the new floor surface is 6 inches higher than
the original floor surface. This changed the relationship of the floor level to architectural details, door heads, and fenestration. Construction was unique in that
concrete placement proceeded from the upper levels downward. After each concrete slab reached the required strength, the timber sheathing and joists for that
floor were removed as well as the load-bearing studs from the floor below.
FIGURE 6-5
The load-bearing stud
walls were stripped
from the floor below
after the slab above
cured sufficiently.
This provided an unobstructed floor surface to be used as a form for the

next floor below. The only vertical structural elements remaining at each floor
level were the exterior masonry walls and the new steel columns. The structural solution selected for Watauga Hall was unique because it involved the
systematic removal of the existing timber structure as the steel and concrete
structural system was retrofitted.
MONTAGUE BUILDING
A few years later, and across town, the 1912, three-story Montague Building
was undergoing a $1.8 million renovation, the goal of which was to bring new
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80
life to a wood-framed office building that had been vacant for at least 15 years.
The Montague Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Located
in the central business district of Raleigh, it had been the subject of several
architectural and engineering analyses during prior years because of the potential value of leasible office space in the rapidly growing Sunbelt city.
FIGURE 6-6
The south face of the
Montague Building
contained severely
deteriorated brick
masonry.
The three-story Montague Building was constructed in 1912. The first floor
was divided into six retail bays with storefronts on the north side. The upper two
floors were, for the most part, office space separated by a double-loaded central
corridor. Architectural features included tin ceilings in all areas except the basement. Glass sidewalk prisms allowed natural light into the basement area on
three sides of the building. The basement area extends to approximately 4 feet
beyond the outside face of the building below the glass prism grates. The glass
prisms on the north side had an unusual purple tint. The magnesium content of
the glass prisms reacted with the ultraviolet rays in the sunlight to provide the
purple color, according to information obtained from the Corning Glass Museum
in Corning, New York.
The builder of the Montague Building, Benjamin F. Montague, built in a
developing section of downtown Raleigh, near the new City Sanitary Farmers
Market and Tabernacle Baptist Church on Moore Square. It never reached its
potential as an income producing property because Mr. Montague could not
find enough satisfactory tenants.
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Montague Building Structural System Reinforced
81
The upper floors of the Montague Building were used as office space until
the 1950s. The lower retail bays were in use until the mid-1960s. Insufficient
egress and the absence of a sprinkler system and a fire-rated floor system prevented the upper floors of the Montague Building from being used in more
recent times.
MONTAGUE BUILDING STRUCTURAL

SYSTEM REINFORCED
On February 14, 1986, we forwarded the following report to the developer of
the Montague Building:
Based upon our observation on January 25, 1985, February 4, 1986, and several other times, we have performed a design analysis of the existing floor
joists which frame the floor structure of the Montague Building.
The Montague Building structural system is a three-story timber post
and beam structure consisting of 6 6 timber columns, 8 10 beams and
1 58 11 58 timber joists, 12 inches on center, which span 19-6 between
frames.
There is considerable deterioration of the structural system due to roof
leaks. A fire damaged a portion of the floor system in the basement area in the
east end of the building.
Utilizing a dead load of 23 psf which includes the addition of one inch of
Gypcrete topping, a sprinkler system, and a layer of sheetrock to the underside
of the joists, it appears that the floor joists cannot safely support a live load of
50 psf in accordance with the 1978 edition of the NC State Building Code.
Allowable live load for the floor joists was computed to be 36 psf.
We utilized a modulus of elasticity of 1400 ksi and an allowable bending
stress of 1400 psi for repetitive member use in accordance with the tabulated
design values for Southern pine as found in the 1982 edition of the National
Design Specification for Wood Construction. These values were modified by
the test results of Froehling and Robertson, Inc. report number RM66-079
date February 1985.
Froehling and Robertsons geotechnical exploration and materials testing
report indicates the following:
1. The basement floor slab is inadequate. The thickness of the basement

floor slab is 3/4 to 1 inches. There is no vapor barrier beneath the
slab.
2. The underlying soils are stiff, providing and allowable bearing capacity of 3,000 psf. The site is dry with the water table located probably
at an elevation of 30 feet below grade.
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82
3. Pull-out tests of masonry anchors indicate that the existing masonry is

quite soft with a low bearing capacity. The condition of the south wall
is critical. Masonry deterioration due to water damage and the number
of large window openings combine to make the south wall a critical
structural element.
4. The six timber joists tested indicate that the existing floor joists are
equivalent to No. 2 southern pine except in deflection.
Note that the following minimum uniformly distributed live loads will
require reinforcement or replacement of the structure in certain areas:
Office (fixed partitions) 50 psf
Office (movable partitions) 80 psf
Retail, first floor, 100 psf
Lobbies, office buildings, 100 psf
Corridors, above first floor, 80 psf
Business machine equipment, 100 psf
Library stack rooms, 150 psf
File Room, 80 psf
Rest Rooms, 60 psf
Public Rooms, 100 psf
Also note that the 36 psf allowable live load for the Montague Building is less
than most of the uniformly distributed live loads tabulated above.
As in many historic buildings, modification to this structure will be necessitated by fire code requirements as well as the inability of the structure to
support minimum required design live loads in all floor areas. Joists, columns,
and beams are all undersized for minimum office occupancy live loads.
We have made a full exploration of options resulting from an in-depth
investigation which, in the judgment of this engineer, justifies structurally
reconstructing the interior of the building.
After providing a detailed description of the new interior structural concrete flat-plate system that we proposed, we concluded our report with the
following:
Reinforcement of the very deficient structural system, in a building which has
been vacated for 15 to 20 years, is a difficult, risky and costly endeavor. With
no question, the existing structural system of the Montague Building should
be replaced.
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Montague Building Structural System Reinforced
83
It is hoped that the recommended structural solution will be seriously

considered during the evaluation for integrity by the United State Department
of Interior and that the 25% tax credit status will be maintained. We would
not want the issue of the loss of tax credits to affect what we believe to be our
best judgment as professional engineers when that decision affects the life,
health, and safety of the public.
In the Montague Building, this same system of flat-plate concrete slabs and
steel columns could have been used to an advantage in that the original noteworthy tin ceilings could have been reinstalled at their proper elevations, close
to the existing window heads, while the space previously occupied by the flooring, subfloor, and joists could have accommodated mechanical ducts. In order
to accomplish this, the tin ceiling would be taken down, cleaned, paint primed,
stored, and then reinstalled on a ceiling framing system suspended from the
completed concrete floor structure above.
The original structural system for the Montague Building was a three-story
post and beam structure consisting of 8 8 timber columns, 8 10 beams,
and 2 12 timber joists, spaced at 12 inches on center. Considerable deterioration to the timber structural system was due to roof leaks and fire damage.
Although I recommended the flat-plate concrete structure with steel columns for the Montague Building, the developer argued that the replacement of
the existing structure would jeopardize the 25 percent tax credit incentive for
a certified rehabilitation.
The reinforcement of the existing structure of the Montague Building for
minimum office occupancy live loads required the reinforcement of every joist
and every floor beam. The floor beams were reinforced by applying steel side
angles to the outside face of each member with hardened annular threaded,
ring shank nails. Reinforcing the joists required the application of a composite
metal cover plate to the underside of all joists. The design of this reinforcing
was based on transformed section combining the wood joists with the steel
cover plate acting in tension. To ensure composite action, the installation of
the straps required the contractor to jack the joists above level and fasten the
straps to the underside of the joists in a sequential and symmetrical manner
starting from mid-span of the joists. The carpenters were less than happy, having to drive thousands of screws, overhead, into the underside of the joists
using 1980s-era (very heavy) screw guns. Two types of screws were tested at
the North Carolina State University Department of Wood and Paper Science
Laboratory to obtain reliable design values in shear for the threaded fasteners.
Thirteen assemblies were prepared using 14 gauge by 2-inch-long slotted hexhead screws. Twelve specimens were assembled with 14 gauge by 1 -inch
hexhead self-tapping screws. The specimens were fabricated by the general
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84
contractor under jobsite conditions using wood samples from the Montague
Building and then transported to the laboratory. The tapping screws were
selected based on test results and ease of installation.
GEOTECHNICAL EVALUATIONS
Testing of the existing building components prior to design was a part of the
structural assessment for both the Montague Building and Watauga Hall. Subsurface evaluation at each building included test (or observation) pits dug by
hand to establish footing depth and configuration, hand auger borings, and test
borings drilled with a truck mounted drill rig.
Geotechnical testing at Watauga Hall consisted of seven standard penetration test borings drilled to a depth of 25 feet, one hand-auger boring drilled in
the crawl space to a depth of 10 feet, and five test pits dug around the perimeter of the building.
With respect to underlying geology, both Watauga Hall and the Montague
Building are located in the Piedmont physiographic province of Wake County,
North Carolina. The in-place chemical weathering of the mica gneiss of the
parent bedrock has produced an upper mantel of residual soils with clayey soils
confined to the upper stratum.
For the Montague Building, a total of six hand-auger borings with dynamic
cone penetration tests ranging 2 to 8 feet in depth were made in the basement
area. Eight test pits were hand excavated to determine footing configuration,
elevation, dimensions, and soil consistence immediately below the footing
base. To the exterior of the building, a truck-mounted drill rig was used to
advance borings made in accordance with ASTM Specification D-1586 utilizing a hollow stem auger. Soil samples were obtained with a split-barrel sampler driven to a depth of 18 inches or to a blow count of 100 blows with a
100-pound hammer falling 30 inches. The standard penetration resistance N,
denoting the number of blows per foot, is an indication of the in-place density
strength and foundation support capacity. The soil samples were placed in
glass jars, sealed, transported, and visually classified in accordance with ASTM
D-2488.
In the basement, where access was prohibited to the truck-mounted drilling machine, hand augers were utilized. Handheld penetration testing was performed through the augured holes with a portable dynamic cone electrometer
which utilizes a 15-pound steel ring weight falling 20 inches on an E rod
slide guide. The blows for 1 -inch increments were recorded. These cone
resistance values were correlated to the standard penetration values to
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Timber Materials Evaluation
85
determine the stiffness of the underlying soils. At the time, the use of the
portable dynamic cone penetrometer had shown to be most reliable in four
geologic regions, including the sandy or clayey sandy micaceous silts of the
Piedmont geologic province of the southeastern United States.
In addition, relatively undisturbed soil samples were obtained by hydraulically forcing sections of 3-inch diameter, 16-gauge steel, thin wall, or Shelby
tube samplers into the soil at desired sampling levels. The samples were
removed in the laboratory by a hydraulically operated extrusion press, measured, sampled in accordance with ASTM D-1587, Standard Method for ThinWalled Tube Sampling of Soils. The tabulated laboratory test data for the
various soil samples included the percentage of natural moisture, Atterberg
limits, grain size analysis, the unified soil classification, and a cyclic shear stress
versus strain curve for one sample.
I requested that the Raleigh office of Froehling & Robertson, Inc. provide
materials testing and geotechnical exploration for both Watauga Hall and the
Montague Building. Included were geotechnical exploration as well as wood
and masonry materials testing. The geotechnical exploration consisted of borings, test pits, and laboratory analysis. The two geotechnical evaluations indicated that the Montague Building and Watauga Hall were both constructed on
underlying soils that were stiff, providing a bearing capacity of 3,000 psf. Both
sites were dry, with the water table located at an elevation of 30 feet or more
below grade
TIMBER MATERIALS EVALUATION

Evaluation of the timber joists in the Montague Building required the sampling
of six full-length joists selected at random. Field-obtained moisture meter readings were compared with the oven-dried moisture content measurements made
in the laboratory on 4-inch square samples in accordance with ASTM D-2016.
Tabulated data included specific gravity measured in accordance with ASTM
D-2395, annual timber growth rings per inch, of the slope of grain, unit weight
of the timber samples, and cross-sectional dimensions of each sample.
The 2 12 timber joists were tested to failure in a laboratory utilizing a
calibrated hydraulic jack that applied a concentrated load at the midpoint of an
11-foot span. The load was applied in 500-pound increments and deflection was
recorded to the nearest .001 of an inch utilizing an Ames Dial Deflectometer.
Although the timber samples were visually classified as one of the seven species of southern pine with a grade equal to a high quality No. 2, the test results
indicated that the actual stiffness of this material was less than expected.
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86
The average modulus of elasticity of five samples tested was 1,395,600 psi
or approximately 7 percent less than the published modulus of elasticity used
for No. 2 southern pine at the time the tests were conducted.
TAX CREDITS
The potential loss of historic integrity and the subsequent loss of tax credits in
the latter stages of a project could prove disastrous to a developer. A structural
engineers report should represent a full exploration of options for structurally
reconstituting the building. In exercising professional judgment, the designers
should consult with the reviewing agency to determine the acceptability of the
various options as they relate to historically significant features.
The tax status of the Montague Building was retained because the reinforcement option was selected. It appears that if the preferred structural solution for the Montague Building had been a suspended two-way concrete floor
slab, the project would have been decertified and not eligible for preservation
tax incentives.
Although there is a need to develop methods of evaluating the probable
service life of structural solutions, we must also be able to identify the other
decision-making factors inherent in rehabilitating buildings.
Designers must walk a narrow path with regard to renovation options so as
to not cause the decertification of a historic property and the loss of tax credits.
They must deal sensitively with the feeling of the building so as not to destroy
the quality of the building that evokes an aesthetic or historic sense of a past
period of time. This feeling may depend on the presence of surviving physical
characteristics such as timber-framed floors or exposed roof trusses. Historic
authenticity can be lost through extensive replacement of historic material and
cannot be recaptured by reconstruction with new material in the rehabilitation.
The U.S. Department of Interior has issued interim guidelines for evaluating
deteriorated building in order to amplify previously published National Park
Service requirements and guidance for the Preservation Tax Incentives Program.
How will the serviceability of the reinforced Montague Building compare
with the restructured Watauga Hall? The steel and concrete structure within
Watauga Hall is a complete structural system supported by new column footings, while the three-story reinforced wood frame of the Montague Building is
supported on its original corbelled brick and rubble stone fill column footings
and exterior brick masonry walls.
The Montague Building is an example of a project in which the original structural system was reinforced in order to meet minimum design load requirements.
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Subsequent Flat-Plate Applications
87
I proposed a solution similar to the successful flat-plate system used for Watauga
Hall, but it was rejected by the owner. The State Historic Preservation officer did
not render a clear judgment with regard to the acceptability of the proposed concrete floor system. Although the general contractor preferred the flat-plate
approach, sufficiently accurate cost estimates of the two alternate systems were
not generated prior to construction.
Clearly, our preservation philosophies need to recognize the potential liability inherent in the difficult decisions made by design professionals such as
structural engineers. Aesthetics weighs heavily in the decision-making process
utilized by governmental agencies administering tax act preservation projects.
A solution that requires the designer to reinforce a marginal timber structure,
rather than replace the structure with a new system, involves additional risk to
the owner, designer, and contractor.
The structural engineer is responsible for the structural adequacy for
the renovated building through its service life no matter the solution. Reinforcing a structure requires utilization of existing materials, which may not
be reliable. The reinforcement of existing structures is more difficult, requiring innovative solutions. When the renovation of a building requires reinforcing of the existing structure, adequate testing of the existing materials is
critical.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible for the structural engineer to make
the best decision with regard to future serviceability and building safety. Constraints imposed by owners and lenders, eager to obtain tax credits, may sway
an engineer toward the solution of meeting minimum code requirements for
the short term. Success of an historic preservation project depends on many
related and unrelated factors. The engineering judgment of the structural engineer should be given considerable weight in making decisions that affect the
desired result.
Time will tell which solution was best. At the present time, Watauga Hall
is fully occupied, limiting space to graduate-level students based on an application process. The Montague Building now houses Caf Luna, several offices,
and a branch office of a large consulting engineering firm.
SUBSEQUENT FLAT-PLATE APPLICATIONS

I have recommended that use of the existing floor framing as a form to support
a two-way cast-in-place flat-plate system on five occasions. We used it for the
Garrett Hotel in Ahoskie, North Carolina, and more recently with great success at the Eagle Block Hotel in Newport, New Hampshire.
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88
FIGURE 6-7
Floors were replaced
in the Eagle Block
(ca. 1835) in similar
fashion to Watauga
Hall. (See color insert.)
The structural system utilizes the existing wood-framed floor structure as

a form for a flat-plate (two-way) concrete floor system. Steel-tube section columns on isolated spread footings support the concrete floor slabs. These are
installed and braced prior to placement of concrete. Shear heads transfer the
floor loads to the steel columns at each level. Cast-in-place perimeter angles
connect the concrete floor slabs to the exterior masonry walls.
There are many advantages to this structural system for a renovation such
as this. The most important advantage is that the existing floor system can be
used as formwork. It is not necessary to deal with tall, unbraced masonry walls
The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute states the following advantages of
a flat-plate structural system:
The two-way flat plate is one of the most efficient structural systems for economy. Flat plates can be constructed in minimum time with minimum field
labor because the flat plate utilizes the simplest possible formwork and reinforcing steel layout. Flat plates result in minimum story height for required
clear headroom, and provide for most flexibility in layout of columns, partitions, small openings, etc. Where job requirements permit direct application
of the ceiling finish to the flat plate soffit, elimination of ceiling construction
permits additional substantial cost and construction time savings compared
to other structural systems. Flat plates have become increasingly economical
and widely used as the cost of field labor has increased relative to materials.
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Subsequent Flat-Plate Applications
89
They have been applied with particular advantage to multi-story motel, hotel,
hospital, dormitory, and apartment buildings 1
As in many historic buildings, modification to the Eagle Block Hotel was

necessitated by fire code requirements, as well as the inability by the structure
to support minimum required design live loads in certain areas.
There are many advantages of a solid two-way flat-plate concrete floor
system for the renovation of historic structures. The use of a flat-plate system
enables the contractor to utilize the existing floor framing and sheathing as
formwork and existing load-bearing walls as shoring. Steps in this process
would be as follows:
1. Remove of plaster and millwork from the interior stud walls and
ceilings.
2. Construct interior column footings and erect new steel columns with
shear heads through the existing floors.
3. Brace the steel columns and apply additional shoring and bracing to the
formwork and original structure as needed.
4. Install continuous shelf angles with masonry and concrete tie systems
between the perimeter of the flat slab and the existing exterior masonry
wall.
5. Place reinforcing steel on the upper level floor structure.
The process of setting reinforcing steel, and placing the slab, proceeds, by
stages, downward until all levels are in place. At all times the structure is laterally braced by existing or new floor systems. Removal of original vertical supports proceeds from the top floor downward as each concrete slab above
reaches sufficient strength.
A flat-plate system works well in historic buildings because of the short
spans involved. A flat-plate system gives considerable flexibility to the contractor with regard to actual field dimensions that can be a problem when utilizing
a framing system of shop-fabricated components. Rectangular or odd bays of
varying dimensions can be easily accommodated. The advantages of pumped
concrete can also be utilized. This will minimize the amount of vertical floor
load transferred by the floor system to the existing walls by providing for cantilevers wherever possible. Usually the use of a flat-plate system eliminates the
need for a fire-rated ceiling or spray-on fireproofing.
The south wall of the Eagle Block Hotel in Newport, New Hampshire, had
a considerable bow in it that had been reinforced early in its history by bolting
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90
two channels to the outside face of the wall. We described how the steel and
concrete system could be used to pull the south wall into alignment so that the
existing reinforcing channels could be removed. When the contractor priced
this operation as an add alternate of $150,000, it was very quickly deleted
from the project by the developer as too costly.
In conclusion, the two-way flat-plate system provides a structural system
to accommodate the requirements of a modern building without the risk of
working within an open masonry shell requiring considerable temporary bracing. This structural system will satisfy all floor live-load and fire-separation
requirements. The existing timber roof and attic framing systems can remain in
place, as they did at the Eagle Block.
REFERENCE
1. Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI). CRSI Design Handbook, 9th
ed. Schaumburg, IL: Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, 2002.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Froehling & Robertson, Inc., Subsurface Exploration & Materials Testing of
Watauga Hall, Report #RJ66-179, July 9, 1982.
Froehling & Robertson, Inc., Supplementary Report, Watauga Hall Renovation, July 23, 1982.
Froehling & Robertson, Inc., Geotechnical Exploration and Materials Testing
of the Montague Building, Report #RM66-079, February 11, 1985.
Froehling & Robertson, Inc., Tension Test, Restoration of the Montague
Building, Report #RN66-195, June 11, 1986.
United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Interagency
Resources and Reservation Assistance Divisions and Office of the Solicitor, Interim Guidance on Evaluating Damaged/Deteriorated Buildings in
Registered Historic Districts for Purposes of the Preservation Tax Incentives Program.
U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering
Material, (Washington, DC: USDA Agr. Handbk. 72, Rev. 1974).
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CHAPTER
The Restoration of
St. Helenas Church
he restoration of St. Helenas Episcopal Church in Beaufort, South

Carolina (1724), grew out of a preliminary structural evaluation we
provided regarding the deterioration of one end of one queenpost roof truss.
The deterioration occurred next to a sidewall chimney flue, which penetrated
the roof.
A leak in the vicinity of this roof penetration caused severe deterioration
to the heel of one of the roof trusses where the top and bottom chords engage
each other at the sidewall bearing point. Shortly after the completion of the
structural report regarding the roof truss, George T. Fore, Materials Conservator of Raleigh, North Carolina, was engaged by the vestry to study the exterior
of the church.
Concerns raised in George Fores November 1994 Conditions Analysis and
Conservation Studies report became the focus of additional study and debate.1
They included a question regarding settlement of the sidewalls due to the bearing
capacity of the underlying soils. Planned repair of the roof trusses based on the
1993 study needed to be expanded to include repairs to individual truss connections in other locations and the lateral support of some individual truss members
that had bowed out of alignment.
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92
FIGURE 7-1
The end of one
queenpost truss was
badly deteriorated.
Fore pointed out that tower work including repair of millwork, the bell
support frame, and miscellaneous bracing of several elements was also required.
Replacement of the Portland cement stucco at the base of exterior walls with
a lime based stucco was identified in the Fore report as a task sensitive to
seasonal changes in temperature. Stucco repairs required in areas affected by
structural repairs to the truss would be a part of the stucco portion of a large
construction contract anticipated by the vestry.
In 1997, we provided a more thorough structural evaluation of the masonry
and timber structure, including tabby foundations, balcony, framing, steeple, and
roof structure, based on information obtained on April 7 and 8, 1997. We also
included additional findings based on our inspection with George Fore in
August 1994 and our previous work in 1993 with regard to the roof trusses.
We described repairs that emphasized the use of traditional materials compatible with the original construction. In this way, the interaction of dissimilar
materials would not be an issue. We pointed out that the use of reinforced concrete, structural steel, and epoxy-reinforcing methods have all been shown to
result in less than perfect structural systems when combined with timber, brick
masonry, and lime-based stuccos and mortars. By utilizing traditional materials, a certain sensitivity is achieved that is more in the spirit of The Secretary of
the Interiors Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating
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Roof Trusses
93
Historic Buildings. We argued that building systems such as St. Helenas

Church can be made structurally sound by applying the usual engineering principles to those materials and the existing building geometry.
DESCRIPTION
St. Helenas Episcopal Church is a building with a timber-framed roof, balcony,
and second-floor level supported on load-bearing brick masonry exterior
walls and interior timber columns. The main floor is framed with joists that
run across in the transverse direction. The major expansions to the original
1724 building was an 1817 reconstruction of the sanctuary in brick and a large
side balcony expansion in 1842, which included sidewalls, balconies, and a
new roof structure, resulting in a sanctuary plan approximately 66 feet square
with projections at each end for a narthex and sacristy. The steeple was rebuilt
in 1940. A steel structural system was added to the steeple at that time. The
underframing and platforms of the side balconies were reworked in 1969 to
accommodate air-conditioning ducts.
OBSERVATION
In August 1994 we measured a relative humidity of 72.3 percent and a temperature of 76.3F inside the church at the balcony level. The principle balcony beams
8 by 11 inches in size had a moisture content of 10 percent. We observed the framing of the bell tower and revisited the attic to observe the condition of the queenpost trusses. We observed the condition of the steel beam above the choir loft.
ROOF TRUSSES
The condition of the roof-framing system had not changed since our previous
inspection.
We concentrated our efforts in determining the condition of the exterior
load-bearing walls that supported the balconies and roof trusses. We verified
overall dimensions and wall thickness. It was determined that, based on marriage marks, the truss numbers ran from I to VI. Upon closer examination, it
appeared that the roof trusses had suffered some recent wind damage. Besides
the repairs to truss number IV, which had a deteriorated bottom chord, there
were other members and connections that deserved attention.
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94
FIGURE 7-2
At this time the roof
structure appeared
unchanged from our
previous visit.
BALCONIES
In August 1994, with Mr. B.J. Pinckney of the church, George Fore and I
opened the sidewall balcony framing for observation by removing some boards.
We were able to observe the condition of the bearing seat at the upper end of
the balcony framing beams.
The principal framing of the balconies consisted of sloped 8-inch by 11-inch
timbers that ran from the interior columns to the exterior wall where they rested
on a 10 - by 10 -inch sill plate supported and enveloped by the exterior wall.
The exterior sidewalls had deformed outward over time. The maximum movement was at the balcony sill beam level. George Fores report showed that the
maximum horizontal deformation of the wall was 2 58 inches on the north side
and 3 916 inches on the south side. A horizontal crack had formed that ran along
the full length of the sidewall, except at the ends where the masonry was tied
back into the corners of the building.
The great concern with regard to the adequacy of the balconies was based
on the deformation shown in George Fores report. Two disturbing possibilities
were put forward by others regarding this movement. First, the underlying
soils might be overstressed, allowing the sidewalls to settle and rotate about
the toe of the footing.
This appeared to be a possibility because of the settlement observed in the
floor joists and the door openings in endwalls, which had deformed into a
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Balconies
95
FIGURE 7-3
The balcony framing
was exposed for
additional examination.
FIGURE 7-4
The horizontal cracks
in the sidewalls had
been patched many
times.
parallelogram shape indicating movement of the sides of the nave down in a

vertical direction. The second explanation was that the sloping balconies
themselves were exerting pressure on the exterior walls, causing them to crack
at the balcony level and forcing the now-hinged wall to rotate outward.
A sloped end condition would tend to push the exterior wall outward because
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96
FIGURE 7-5
The sidewalls appeared
to have settled,
although diagonal
settlement cracks were
not visible.
there would be a horizontal component of the beam reaction normal to the

bearing surface.
The masonry wall is 27 inches thick below the balcony sill beam. If the
beam was installed green, shrinkage would have occurred across the grain as
much as a quarter of an inch. A small amount of shrinkage at the sill could act
as a notch, causing a hinged effect in the masonry wall. The eccentricity of the
notch, combined with rotation at the top of the wall due to truss defection,
would be sufficient to cause the amount of rotation that was observed in
the wall. This, I determined, was the principal mechanism causing the balcony
wings to rotate away from the building. It was significant that the horizontal
crack is located at the thinnest portion of the masonry wall at the top of the
sill beam.
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Balconies
97
FIGURE 7-6
The 10 10 sills
embedded in the
masonry sidewalls were
somewhat decayed.
One of the two balcony beams observed had a sloped bearing surface at
upper end rather than a horizontally cut seat. The stucco at the hinge in the
exterior wall had been patched several times. This indicated that the movement of the wall had been progressive over time.
In the computer, the north and south sidewalls were modeled as an integral part of the building cross-section. We utilized a low modulus of elasticity
of 350,000 psi for the brick masonry. Assumed allowable design values for the
masonry are as follows:
Compressive strength, 56 psi
Bearing, 100 psi
Shear, 9 psi
The 12-foot spacing of the building cross-section modeled in the computer
included one roof truss, a bay of balcony framing, and the masonry sidewalls
with window openings.
Overall building stability in the cross-section appeared tenuous, except for
the balcony acting as a deep horizontal beam fastened to the endwalls. In the
analysis we included the horizontal contribution of the balcony as a spring support based on the stiffness of the plywood sheathing on the balcony steps.
There was evidence that the balcony, with its considerable plywood sheathing,
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98
was performing well in that there was no cracking of the plaster ceiling under
the balcony. Of course, all of the lateral loads applied to the sidewalls needed
to be resolved through the balcony sheathing, roof sheathing, and ceiling framing into the endwalls of the nave.
I argued that through jacking, the exterior wall could be forced back into
alignment. In order to do this, both the balcony and roof loads would have to
be temporarily relieved and the sidewall temporarily braced. All mortar joints
that had opened over time and have been filled, in the vicinity of the fold,
would have to be raked out in order to reverse the alignment. The gap above
the balcony sill would have to be filled and the end of the balcony beam flat
cut, blocked, or tied in where the sloped bearing conditions exist. The balcony
sill beam would have to be replaced where deteriorated, with a dry timber that
would not shrink over time.
TOWER
The tower was rebuilt in 1940 in accordance with architectural drawings by
architect Albert Simmons of Charleston. The 1940 architectural tracings
(drawings) for the tower were stored in the Fireproof Building in Charleston in
flat files. The tower as built included wood siding on diagonal sheathing on
wood studs attached to a steel framing system.
FIGURE 7-7
The bell tower was
reframed in 1940 with
wood on a steel frame.
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Church Garden Wall
99
The steel frame provided great rigidity to the steeple up to the transition
level where the framing changes to timber. The bell support system appeared to
be much older than the 1940s work. The new tower structure was apparently
designed to accommodate the geometry of the bell and its framing system.
The lantern and spire sections were framed in timber in a configuration
similar to St. Michaels in Charleston. The west side of the tower rested on two
cast-in-place concrete blocks supported by the original west wall. The east side
of the tower rested on a 30-inch-deep steel beam that spanned the masonry
opening between the narthex and the nave.
Critical to the bell tower were loading conditions that included northsouth wind, which would tend to place unbalanced loads onto the supporting
wall or the W30 beam. Wind in the east-west direction would impose the greatest total load on the 30-inch-deep steel beam.
In the computer analysis of the tower, we applied a 120 mph wind in accordance with ASCE-7, except that a shape factor of 0.8 was used for the spire and
lantern levels. The bell and bell frame were included as a 1,500-pound load.
The analysis was performed in the north-south and east-west directions.
The calculations indicated that the steel structure was rigid and that most
of the movement in the spire is a result of the open lantern level. Diagonal
sheathing was simulated in the timber-framed portion of the steeple to provide
a reasonable amount of rigidity. A theoretical deflection of 4 inches at the
top of the spire was calculated with these assumptions. The 30-inch-deep steel
beam, steel tower legs, and the steel cross-bracing appeared to be adequate in
size. Critical to the performance of the steeple in a 120 mph wind load was its
anchorage to the top of the outside wall and the anchorage of the 30-inch-deep
steel beam to the inside wall on either side of the choir loft. The 22,000 pounds
of resistance to hold the steeple legs down could be achieved by assuring that the
tie-down points contained a minimum of 150 cubic feet of concrete, or 225 cubic
feet of brick masonry. The bearing pressures at all support points were adequate
as long as each location has 240 square inches of contact against the brick. The
uplift capacity of the steeple could be enhanced by rebuilding the beam and
tower bearing points with a compatible but harder brick rather than concrete
and facilitating a tie that engages at least 225 cubic feet of masonry.
CHURCH GARDEN WALL

The church property is surrounded by a brick wall that defines the perimeter
of the block that contains the sanctuary and churchyard. This free-standing
brick wall contains portions built at various times. Differences in grade causing
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100
lateral earth pressure and pressure from trees have pushed the wall out of
alignment. The wall contains settlement and temperature cracks, as well as
shear cracks at various locations. At the time of our inspection, mortar was
missing or deteriorated in areas, and bricks were deteriorated, broken, or missing. Unsuitable repairs with Portland cement mortar and stucco had been
made. We recommended that a tree survey that notes not only species, size,
condition, and location, but also location in regard to present or potential damage to the church wall or monuments be undertaken. This would require the
services of an architect, landscape architect, structural engineer, and materials
conservator working together. The condition of the garden wall varied greatly
along its length and required various types of repairs.
MASONRY
The masonry of the existing walls of the church consisted of a lime-based mortar
and oversized bricks. The bricks appeared to be of medium hardness and the mortar medium to soft. The interior plaster and exterior stucco served to provide a finish, while protecting the wall on the exterior from the weather. Historic walls with
plaster on the inside surface tend to provide better service than unplastered walls.
In an unplastered wall, mortar joints tend to deteriorate at a more rapid rate with
a loss of bond within the lime mortar causing the sand component to spill from
the joints. Obviously, even with deterioration of mortar joints in a plastered
wall, the sand component would be contained. Deterioration in a masonry wall
with a plaster finish will eventually be obvious, as the plaster will crack and separate from the face of the brick wall as the wall disintegrates. In contrast, at
St. Helenas we had a building in which the existing interior plaster was well bonded
to the brick walls except at a few notable locations. The service life of lime-based
mortar in historic walls is dependent on the structure remaining relatively dry. The
roof of St. Helenas had been well maintained, and the crawl space was dry. The soil
beneath St. Helenas consisted of well-drained light gray or brown sands and clayey
sands. In August 1995, S&ME, a geotechnical firm from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, reported that the water table was at 15 feet below the ground surface.
Historic lime-based masonry walls can be reinforced after construction by
installing pencil rod or all thread rods reinforcing into horizontal masonry joints
during deep repointing. In this manner, common thermal stress cracks can be
stitched back together at locations such as above the numerous window openings in St. Helenas. Such stitch reinforcing, although disruptive to walls covered with plaster or stucco, work well in repairing cracks in masonry walls that
have been troublesome for many years.
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Masonry
101
In the past, we have also applied metal lath to historic masonry walls as a
reinforcing procedure, which when plastered, acts to seal the mortar joints
from extremes in moisture and temperature. The wall over the Chancel arch at
St. Philips in Charleston was treated in this manner. Besides serving to structurally tie the wall together and bridge cracks, this system provides a tell-tale
system to indicate future movement in the wall. The inside faces of the interior
walls of one wing of the circa 1903 Kivett Hall at Campbell University, in
Buies Creek, North Carolina, were covered with metal lath and plaster in 1976.
During a recent inspection, no cracks were observed in these walls, which consisted of interior wythes of very soft brick and lime mortar.
The large cracks in the endwalls of the nave of St. Helenas Church resulted
from an inadequate masonry tie between sections of walls built at various times.
FIGURE 7-8
Very little bonding
connected walls built
at various times.
The large cracks beneath the 30-inch-deep steel beam were the result of
just such a discontinuity due to faulty construction. To properly tooth a wall
together requires that the original and new bricks match in size, that the addition courses with the original, and that sufficient skill and effort is expended to
ensure that as many of the original bricks are engaged by the new brickwork.
In the large crack that was exposed between the walls constructed at different times, only one tie brick was observed. The joint between wall sections
was quite wide, indicating that the tendency of the balconies to move outward
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102
could not be restrained across the joint. The wildly random coursing of the
brick in the two sections of wall could be corrected by reworking a sufficient
width of masonry to obtain coursing, or by stitching across the crack with joint
reinforcing.
The clay tile in the east and west gable walls of the attic obviously did not
course with previous brick masonry when used to rebuild gable ends blown
out by a storm.
FIGURE 7-9
The gable walls were
rebuilt in 1940 with
clay tile instead of
brick masonry.
This material was used because it is light, economical, and a popular

method of construction in the 1940s. We recommended that the clay tile be
replaced with brick units to match the original in size.
PLASTER AND STUCCO

Traditional plaster and stucco applied to brick masonry is an excellent telltale system for crack evaluation. Any discontinuity or crack that causes movement will telegraph through the plaster or stucco system. The history of a crack
can be determined by observing its progression in historic photographs and
evaluating the materials used as crack fillers in the past. The fine cracks in the
sidewalls above the windows were, for the most part, thermal in nature, typical
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Subsurface Evaluation
103
of cracks in eighteenth and nineteenth century un-reinforced brick masonry

walls with large window openings. Most of the sidewall cracks in St. Helenas
were thin hairline cracks. They were observed to be running in a vertical direction usually above or near window head locations. These cracks were located
above most of the windows in the sidewalls of the nave.
TABBY
Tabby is an early cast-in-place construction material consisting of sand, lime
(from shells and wood ash), and water. The foundations of the 1842 addition to
St. Helenas consist of a 26-inch-deep unreinforced footing of tabby on which
rested the brick masonry walls. The original foundation walls are of brick construction extending to a greater depth than the foundations of the addition.
Because of its relatively low strength, tabby performs well when uniformly
loaded. The support of a post or beam is problematic when concentrated loads
are not distributed such as on a wood plate or brick masonry-bearing block.
The computed design pressure for the combined dead load and live load of
6.8 psi was low when compared to the 350 psi compressive strength obtained
by Sickels-Taves. In St. Helenas we had a fairly uniform load. There were no
cracks in the sidewalls related to settlement caused by failure in the tabby.
SUBSURFACE EVALUATION
To determine the nature and consistency of underlying soils in the vicinity of the
exterior wall, in 1994 we requested that the S&ME office in Charleston provide
a proposal to the church for a geotechnical investigation and analysis consisting
of borings, small test pits and laboratory analysis. S&MEs proposal was accepted
and field exploration occurred in August of 1995. The purpose of the soils investigation was to determine the amount of settlement that had occurred, its cause,
and how much future settlement was anticipated. We also wanted to determine
the probable response of the underlying soils during a seismic event.
S&MEs subsurface exploration Report No. 1131-95-034 dated August
18, 1995, presented the results of the exploration and analysis. We were in
contact with Billy Camp, P.E. of S&ME, during this procedure and also consulted with George Fore prior to, and after, obtaining the results from S&ME.
The purpose of the exploration work was to determine the nature and consistency of the soils directly below the balcony sidewalls of the church and the
configuration of the wall at the bearing elevation. It was thought by others that
this might explain the outward rotation of the walls. The question of whether
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104
the movement was due to settlement or rotation in loose or unconsolidated

soils was important to answer because foundation underpinning solutions are
very expensive.
The results of the settlement analysis indicated that the supporting soils
are sands that are relatively dense. Settlement occurred during construction as
load was gradually applied. The report concluded that there is no reason to
believe that the foundation soils have caused ongoing settlement. In the report,
S&ME proposed that a 1,500 psf allowable bearing pressure be used for design.
This compared well with the calculated wall loads.
At this point, we discarded underpinning as a part of the work. Monitoring
was recommended to study the problem further. The results of a monitoring program would indicate whether the movement shows seasonal fluctuations due to
temperature or moisture changes. This would determine how active the hinge
point was.
The crack and wall movement was an indication of a problem. As long as
the balcony remained attached, there was no danger of collapse due to vertical
loads. The weakened (open) horizontal joint was a possible problem with
regard to high wind forces acting outward on the exterior wall.
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
Previous comments by other structural engineers had raised the level of concern in the congregation with regard to seismic safety. As a result of those discussions, we included in the evaluation report a rather extensive discussion of
seismic issues affecting St. Helenas.
We insisted that several broad questions be asked before we would recommend or adopt a complicated or excessive seismic mitigation. First, what is the
risk of injury, death, or property damage in Beaufort due to a seismic event?
Second, how much would seismic provisions add to the cost of rehabilitating
St. Helenas? Third, what were the current requirements of the state and federal building codes with regard to seismic reinforcing and repairs to historic
structures?
From this, it was apparent that the risk of death or injury in a seismic
event for a person in St. Helenas Church is extremely small. Although the
building code required that higher seismic factors be used when reviewing an
assembly type building such as St. Helenas, which seats 300 or more people
in one room, in reality the building is fully occupied for only a very few hours
each week. As part of the geotechnical analysis, we asked S&ME to review the
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Liquefaction
105
potential for the liquefaction of the soils underlying St. Helenas in a seismic
event because the greatest amount of damage is often caused by the subsidence of masonry buildings on soils as occurred in Kobe, Japan, and in nearby
Charleston in 1886.
To enhance the wind and seismic capacity of St. Helenas, the exterior walls
could be rehabilitated by repairing cracks. The balcony floor and roof framing
had to be securely anchored to the exterior walls. Repairs had to include a positive anchorage to all of the exterior walls in accordance with the Bolts-Plus
philosophy of seismic reinforcing. This method of seismic reinforcing relies on
traditional methods to tie building elements together. The seismic (and wind)
resistance of a building can be greatly enhanced by simply providing a positive
connection between the floor and roof framing and the exterior walls. The
earthquake anchor, developed in Charleston as a result of the 1886 earthquake,
is an example of a Bolts-Plus type seismic repair. For Bolts-Plus to work, we
insisted that deteriorated masonry and timber be repaired.
LIQUEFACTION
Liquefaction, the loss of a soils shear strength due to the increase in water
pore pressure resulting from seismic vibrations, is always a concern in the
Charleston area. Liquefiable soils are commonly found in South Carolina, and
much of the geological evidence suggests that liquefaction has occurred during
past earthquakes. The potential for liquefaction depends on the nature of the
soils, groundwater potential, and the magnitude of the earthquake. Using
standard methods of analyzing liquefaction, based on the seismic risk of the
Beaufort area, the probability of liquefaction or the liquefaction potential for a
given exposure time can be predicted. The amount of ground settlement due to
liquefaction can also be predicted.
The S&ME report indicated that assuming an earthquake magnitude of
about 5.9 and a base acceleration of 0 to 12g, the liquefaction potential of the
underlying soils beneath St. Helenas was within acceptable limits.
Based on the above assumptions, factors of safety against liquefaction
were calculated for the potentially liquefiable deposits. Standard Penetration
data (N values) from the soil test borings indicated that the factors of safety
were greater than 1.5 and, consequently, the risk of liquefaction would be
acceptable by todays standards. The report concluded that some densification
of the loose sands above the water table, and therefore settlement, could occur
during an earthquake even without liquefaction.
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106
The liquefaction potential can be reduced in one of six ways: base isolation,
deep foundations, drainage wells, chemical grouting, jet grouting, or compaction grouting. These methods range in cost from the most expensive to the
least expensive. The first two are structural modifications to the foundation of
the building; the others affect the subsoils. At that time, recent experience
from the West Coast indicated that seismic events varied to such a degree that
predicting the response of a building that has been modified or that rests on
remedied soils was almost impossible.
Since the costs for mediation were high and the benefits unpredictable, a
reasonable solution was to not do anything if the potential for liquefaction and
the amount of settlement was determined to be tolerable. Damage from a
major seismic event can be controlled by ensuring that wall and floor systems
are tied together and masonry is contained and reinforced. In this manner, settlement due to liquefaction can be tolerated and structural stability does not
depend on soils mediation or foundation modification. In fact, the summary of
S&MEs report concluded that the underlying soils were resistant to liquefaction, and that modification to the foundation was not necessary.
Based on the soil conditions encountered at the site, there was no reason
to believe that the foundation soils were settling. However, settlement would
be expected if the foundation loads or soil stresses were increased. Consequently, from a geotechnical standpoint, ground modification or foundation
underpinning was not necessary.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on our analysis, and by applying engineering judgment relating to other
historic structures such as St. Helenas, we offered the following recommendations for the building committee and vestry to consider:
The sidewalls of the building should be jacked into a vertical alignment
and the masonry reworked, reducing the eccentricity of the wall and
increasing the net section of the masonry at the critical juncture with the
balcony while reestablishing vertical continuity. At the same time, the balconies should be securely tied into the masonry sidewalls in a manner
often referred to as bolts-plus reinforcing. This will require the installation of a new balcony header sill in accordance with sketches enclosed
with our report.
Roof truss number IV should be repaired by replacing the deteriorated
lower chord. This will require the shoring of the curved plaster ceiling
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Recommendations
107
and ceiling framing. Other repairs are required to individual truss

joints and members. Additional bracing should be applied to the ceiling structure to tie the roof structure into the endwalls. Lateral bracing
added to the top chord of the trusses will greatly increase their capacity
to resist buckling.
The bell tower will require miscellaneous repairs to various items,
such as the bell support frame. A proper paint restoration specification should be followed to renew the exterior millwork and siding,
which is very important in protecting the structural system of steel and
wood. To properly anchor the tower will require the reworking of the
two concrete-bearing blocks at the corner of the front wall and at
the bearing of the 30-inch-deep steel beam. Sufficient masonry should
be reworked to ensure that an adequate amount of masonry is engaged
with an anchor bolt tie to prevent the overturning of the tower by
strong winds.
The greatest portion of the work will involve masonry restoration by
rebuilding and reinforcing weakened or inadequate sections of wall.
A masonry restoration and repair program consisting of compatible
brick units and lime mortar should be implemented to repair the joints
in the endwalls and the horizontal balcony level joints in the sidewalls.
Minor temperature cracks should be stitch reinforced.
In summary, the following items of work were required to structurally stabilize St. Helenas Church. All of these tasks were completed, resulting in a
structural shell and building envelope that should provide continued service
for many years:
Protect interior plaster work.
Shore the roof structure.
Use cribbing temporarily to support balcony.
Make timber repairs to the roof trusses.
Laterally brace sidewalls.
Replace the balcony sill plate.
Jack balconies, sidewalls.
Repair masonry and stucco at sidewall cracks.
Rework brick at endwall cracks.
Repoint the brick masonry.
Paint exterior at steeple.
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108
FIGURE 7-10
Lateral bracing
consisting of timber
poles and framing
was installed on both
sidewalls. (See color
insert.)
FIGURE 7-11
Great care was
taken to protect the
monuments in
the church yard.
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Recommendations
109
FIGURE 7-12
JR Graton provided
much of the labor
required to build and
set the temporary
lateral bracing.
In fact, the project included several other work components, resulting in a

comprehensive and coordinated project that was bid in the traditional manner.
These other work items included rebuilding the floor of the narthex, anchoring
the supports of the steeple to resist wind forces, and providing a lateral bracing
system in the attic to ensure resistance to wind acting in the transverse direction across the sanctuary.
The general contractor for the renovations to St. Helenas Episcopal
Church was Ruscon of Charleston, South Carolina. Their bid was based on a
set of architectural and structural drawings compiled by architect J. Stephen
Smith of Camden, South Carolina. When it was apparent that the building
could be fixed by pulling the sidewalls inward to a plumb position, I recommended that the church contact Arnold M. Graton, Master Bridgewright (of
covered bridges), who was engaged at the time rebuilding the Auchumpkee
Creek Covered Bridge in Thomaston, Georgia, which had been destroyed in a
flood. After a visit to Georgia to meet Arnold, the building committee stipulated that Ruscon include Arnold M. Graton & Associates as the subcontractor
to perform this work.
Temporary vertical supports of 6 8 spruce cribbing were installed inside
the church, through the balconies, to support the roof.
The sidewalls were laterally supported by braced timber frames, placed on
the outside of the building, and the sidewalls were gently and carefully pulled
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110
FIGURE 7-13
Cribbing consisted of
6 7 (actual dimension)
by 4-foot-long eastern
white spruce.
FIGURE 7-14
The timber frames
were used to stabilize
the sidewalls during the
straightening operation.
inward using a large number of Griphoists (cable ties with come-alongs)

placed across the sanctuary.
Arnold Graton secured the Griphoists to timber framing secured to the
outside of the sidewalls.
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Recommendations
111
FIGURE 7-15
Griphoists were used
to pull the sidewalls
together.
FIGURE 7-16
The Griphoists were
secured to timbers that
straddled the window
openings.
The renovation of St. Helenas Episcopal Church won a 2001 South Carolina
Honor Award by the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation.
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112
FIGURE 7-17
The completed project
won an award from
The Palmetto Trust for
Historic Preservation.
FIGURE 7-18
The underside of the
side balconies were
replastered.
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Reference
113
FIGURE 7-19
All exterior surfaces
were renewed,
including the steeple.
(See color insert.)
REFERENCE
1. George Fores November 1994 Conditions Analysis and Conservation
Studies report
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CHAPTER
ot only did Charlestons 1841 Market Hall survive war, tornados, hurricanes, fire, and the 1886 earthquake, but also it suffered underutilization
and neglect forced by Reconstruction and the Depression that hit South
Carolinas economy especially hard. During the bombardment of the city from
Morris Island by federal forces, an artillery shell burst through the roof, grazing the bottom chord of one kingpost roof truss.
Damage by historic events such as the Civil War and the 1886 earthquake,
combined with the low countrys harsh climate of sun, rain, and humidity, were
abundantly evident when Phillips & Oppermann, PA obtained the architectural design contract for its restoration in 1992.
This chapter will relate the design teams struggle to apply conservation principles by integrating high-tech solutions of analysis and materials testing with
simple traditional approaches of timber framing and masonry restoration.
Once the strategy for structural rehabilitation was developed, it had to be
defended on several occasions prior to the start of construction and through a
construction period that lasted more than three years. Major items of discussion
were shoring and bracing, masonry rehabilitation, and timber framing. Although
Charleston, being a port city, is hardly isolated, much of the expertise for the
rehabilitation was obtained at a distance from the project. The Winston-Salem
based architect Joseph K. Oppermann assembled a team consisting of a structural engineer, materials conservator, and a mechanical engineer from such
diverse locations as Raleigh, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
East Norwalk, Connecticut.
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116
FIGURE 8-1
The Civil War was
especially hard on
Charleston. An artillery
shell penetrated the
roof of Market Hall.
The structural engineers decision to pull the floor structure out and rehabilitate timber-bearing pockets was a much-debated issue. To enhance Market
Halls resistance to wind and seismic forces, the design strategy called for the
existing flooring to be temporarily removed and the floor joists lifted out to be
rehabilitated or replaced. A diagonal subfloor consisting of 5/4 sheathing
boards was specified to be installed between the original joists and flooring
forming a structural diaphragm. Both shear and axial forces had to be transferred between the two elements of wall and floor.
The number of floor joists requiring replacement or rehabilitation was a
question of debate. I insisted that the contractors carpenters could best make
that determination after the joists were pulled out and examined. The contractor
wanted, in advance, to be provided with the exact number of timbers to order.
Much of the masonry had to be rebuilt with loose bricks pulled out and
relaid. The masonry restoration contractor questioned the scope of the work
after their bid proposal was accepted.
Construction management issues such as these greatly impacted the overall preservation plan. A diverse team of designers led an extensive construction
team through a difficult rehabilitation tempered by constraints inherent in
municipal capital projects. Through friendly persuasion, the design team ultimately prevailed in rehabilitating Market Hall as designed and detailed.
The rehabilitation of the main floor system required that the original 4 14
floor joists be reinforced, supplemented, or replaced. The original span of 34 feet
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117
was excessive by modern standards for any application including the intended
Confederate Museum. The ends of the floor joists in the masonry pockets were
severely deteriorated, especially beneath the wide window openings.
FIGURE 8-2
The ends of the joists
were exposed for
examination.
Most of the joists were sound immediately beyond the inside face of the
masonry with few exceptions. One or two joists were severely deteriorated for
their full length.
The original survey of the floor framing was made through gaps in the
flooring where the architect had arranged to remove the first one or two floorboards on each side of the building. Access to the floor framing from below
was limited by the presence of four retail establishments on the first floor that
continued to operate during the design phase.
The ceiling in the lower level was tongue-and-groove 134 beaded-ceiling
boards nailed directly to the joists. The flooring of the main room was oneinch-thick dense pine tongue-and-groove boards nailed to the floor joists.
Attachment of the floor system consisted of the simple embedment of the joist
ends into the wall approximately 8 to 10 inches. The joists rested on a 3-inchthick timber plate that was severely deteriorated, especially below the windowsills. Termite tracks were visible on the face of several joists.
To maximize the use of existing fabric, I recommended that the floor system
of northsouth joists be reinforced with two lines of support running eastwest.
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118
The support would be at the third points of the joist span, greatly increasing the
stiffness of the floor system. To maintain the floor system as a timber structure,
the primary reinforcing members were specified to be two 8 -inch-wide glued
laminated timber beams. I recommended that these members be let into the
floor joists rather than be set below the joists. This decision caused a great deal
of concern to the architect and owner and had to be defended through several
discussions and special meetings. The insertion of the floor beams provided an
excellent opportunity to gain length in the soon-to-be three-piece floor joist system if each joist was first removed, end trimmed, and then cut into thirds.
FIGURE 8-3
The gaps in the floor
joists to accommodate
the 8 3/4-inch-wide
glued laminated timber
beams allowed for the
deteriorated ends to be
removed.
In this way, 8 inches would be gained in two places, offsetting the loss of
deteriorated wood at the joist ends.
The need for total structural intervention had to be defended through preliminary design and into design development, during special meetings with city
project managers and department administrators. The structural design concept was subjected to an informal peer review during which alternate solutions
were offered. Apparently, the citys primary concern was that the proposed
solution appeared to be too drastic, resulting in a possible loss of historic fabric
and possibly excessively high construction costs.
All manner of alternate concepts were suggested, including the application
of load-bearing metal studs to support the floor and roof and steel channels to
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119
act as ledgers epoxy bolted to the masonry to support the floor joists and tie the
floor system to the perimeter walls.
My intent to transform the floor system into a diaphragm had to be
explained. Floor joist removal was integral to this effort also because the application of 5/4 (1 inch thick) diagonal flooring as a subfloor was key to that
effort. For the finish floor to remain at the original level, the floor joists would
have to be lowered to compensate for the inch-thick diagonal floor sheathing.
This could only be accomplished by temporarily removing all flooring and
joists, and reworking the masonry joist pockets and bearing plates. Obviously,
this would also require the installation of temporary shoring and bracing during construction to ensure stability of the masonry walls.
Various forms of cross-bracing or sheathing were suggested to be installed
beneath the floor system by the architect, peer reviewers and city officials. All
suggestions were aimed at not disturbing the floor joists in their original state.
Unfortunately, decay and deterioration had greatly impacted a severely undersized floor system, which would be required to support the display cases and
exhibits of a newly minted Confederate Museum.
City managers insisted that the existing flooring would be difficult to
remove without destroying it. To be fair, their concerns were fueled by the
advice of peer review engineers and consulting contractors.
All of the suggested alternates seemed to contain either steel or plywood as
a primary ingredient. Many of the suggestions were verbally transmitted without
benefit of a written report or calculations. Each was required to be debunked as
we progressed over many months into the construction document phase. In my
opinion, the steel-stud support system would not work because it would forever
change the original structural system of the building. Often, structural engineers
propose this solution without considering that the stability of the building
depends on the weight of the floor system resting on the masonry walls. Take
that away, and the original, thick masonry walls become unstable. Their answer,
to tie the masonry to the studs, further debases the original system.
Although the American Plywood Association credits the ancient Egyptians
with the invention of plywood by alternating the direction of grain of wood
veneers in the construction of mummy cases, I did not want to use a twentiethcentury construction material in the restoration of Market Hall. One concern
of using plywood for such an application is that the layers of adhesive,
although thin, might act as an improved vapor barrier, retarding the movement of moisture through a building. A practical reason for resisting the use
of plywood is that traditional framing rarely is at an even spacing, accommodating 8- or 12-foot sheets of plywood without trimming. This leads to waste
and additional labor.
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120
Most structural engineers feel very comfortable designing steel structures.

As a result, many reach for the Steel Manual when rehabilitating historic buildings. There are places where structural steel is most appropriate, and often it is
the only workable solution. For Market Hall, a masonry box with a timber lid, a
traditional approach utilizing technology similar to the original, was called for.
FIGURE 8-4
The technology used is
common to the timber
period of original
construction. (See
color insert.)
Key to my concept was the utilization of restoration masons and timber

framers in the restoration of Market Hall. The general contractor embarked on
the project with the intention of utilizing his own forces to undertake the
timber-frame portion of the work.
Many of the timber frame tasks were unique and difficult to execute. Besides
rehabilitating the kingpost trusses in a traditional way utilizing through bolted
splices and shear blocks, a seismic resisting X-bracing system had to be integrated into the attic to transmit shear forces between the masonry walls and the
timber structure. Timber plates were keyed into the masonry with timber shear
blocks that had to be laid up in the masonry and dapped into the timber plates.
This work was required both at the main floor level and at the ceiling level.
Discussions between the design team, contractor, and the city managers
finally resulted in subcontractor proposals being solicited from among a few
qualified individuals with timber frame credentials. The project specifications
attempted to pre-qualify the timber framer component by requiring membership
in the Timber Framers Guild of North America or other prerequisite experience.
From the start, the work of timber framers Michael Goldberg of Woodstock,
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121
Georgia and Peter Bull of Cleveland, Georgia greatly impressed project superintendent Tom Magee of NBM Construction.
Once the structural design concept was accepted by the County and the
contractor was on board, work a Market Hall proceeded smoothly.
FIGURE 8-5
The iron work was
restored to its original
configuration and
color. (See color
insert.)
FIGURE 8-6
This completed
building again houses
the Confederate
Museum. (See color
insert.)
Timber framers and masons worked together to rehabilitate a landmark

building that had suffered greatly.
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122
AWARDS
The Restoration of the 1841 Market Hall received the following honors:
Restoration and Renovation 2004 Palladio Award for the Restoration of
Market Hall, Charleston, South Carolina
2003 South Carolina Historic Preservation Honor Award for the Restoration of Market Hall, Charleston, SC
2003 South Carolina Historic Preservation Honor Award The Palmetto
Trust for Historic Preservation SC Department of Archives & History
Governors Office for the Restoration of Market Hall, Charleston, South
Carolina
2003 National Preservation Honor Award National Trust for Historic
Preservation for the Restoration of Market Hall, Charleston, South
Carolina
2002 Samuel Gaillard Stoney Conservation Craftsmanship Award by
the Historic Charleston Foundation for work on the Restoration of 1841
for the Restoration of Market Hall, Charleston, South Carolina
2002 Carolopolis Award presented by The Preservation Society of
Charleston for the Restoration of Market Hall, Charleston, South Carolina
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CHAPTER
Differential Settlement at St. Philips

Moravian Church at Old Salem
ifferential settlement caused by the degradation of underlying organic

materials is a common occurrence in many building sites. Often, a building is placed on marginally adequate soils without the benefit of a deep foundation or the removal of pockets of organic material. A similar occurrence often
happens when an addition to a church building is placed on top of a cemetery.
The consolidation of these features can produce quite dramatic amounts of
differential settlement. Correcting the problems associated with differential
settlement is but one aspect of the Old Salem project, which included restoration of the existing church and replication of a previous log church known only
through a single photograph, church history, and archeology.
HISTORY
The Salem community was founded in 1766 by the Moravians, a Protestant sect
from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with origins in the Czech states of Moravia and
Bohemia. How the Moravians came to North Carolina is quite interesting. In
November of 1751, leaders of the Moravian church met in London to consider
the offer of one of the Lords Proprietors, John Carteret, the Earl of Granville,
to sell them a large tract of land in North Carolina. Under the leadership of
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124
Differential Settlement at St. Philips Moravian Church at Old Salem
FIGURE 9-1
Historical photograph
provided by Old Salem,
Inc.
FIGURE 9-2
The termite damaged
floor joists were
removed to provide
access for the
archeologist.
Count Zinzendorf, the Moravians accepted the offer and directed Bishop August
Gottlieb Spangenberg to lead a small exploratory expedition into the interior of
North Carolina to select a suitable tract of land. After much effort, the explorers
staked out a tract containing 98,985 acres to be known as Wachovia.1
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Replication and Restoration
125
From almost the beginning, enslaved and free African Americans lived in
Salem. The African American congregation of St. Philips Moravian Church
in the community of Salem was formed in 1822. In 1823, the Moravians constructed for their black citizens a simple log church a few blocks south of
Salem Square adjacent to the Strangers Graveyard. In 1861, the congregation
moved into a newly constructed Greek Revival brick church, again built by the
Moravians, which is now the oldest standing African American church building in North Carolina. The black church prospered so well after the Civil War
that the Moravian Church agreed to enlarge the building in 1890. The 1890
addition to the 1861 St. Philips Moravian Church in Winston-Salem was constructed on a portion of the preexisting Strangers Graveyard. The addition
contains two first-floor rooms, a central corridor, and a balcony above.2
REPLICATION AND RESTORATION

Work at St. Philips included the reconstruction of a replica of the 1823 log
church based on photographic and archeological evidence. Restoration of the
brick church included replication of the original steeple and underpinning
repairs to the 1890 addition. The other major structural issue was to provide
adequate support inside the attic of the log church for the addition of a replicated belfry and the additional weight of a mechanical unit.
FIGURE 9-3
The log church was
replicated based on
one photograph and
archeological evidence.
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126
FIGURE 9-4
A pair of structural
steel trusses was
designed to support the
replicated belfry.
Between the two projects, structural engineering tasks at St. Philips included
the design of traditional timber frames and connections, structural steel, underpinning, masonry restoration and repair, and a number of construction details.
Drawings for the log church were executed by John Milner Architects, Inc. of
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, based on review, input, and sketches provided by us.
FIGURE 9-5
The log church has
a false chimney and
cupola. (See color
insert.)
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Description of The Church
127
For St. Philips, we provided comprehensive drawings depicting suggested

underpinning, means and methods for the underpinning, and complete detailing of the steeple frame and supporting trusses.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH

St. Philips is approximately 40 feet wide by 85 feet long with exterior brick
masonry walls and first-floor framing above a crawl space.3 We estimated
that the 2 10 floor joists, spaced at 24 inches on center in the 1861 building, were equivalent to No. 1 dense or better timber and the 1890 floor
joists equivalent to No. 2 or No. 3 dense southern pine. The 1890 floor joists
and floor sheathing were removed from the front portion of the building
prior to construction so that archeologist could map the features without
interference.
The roof of the 1861 church is framed with queen rod trusses consisting
of 5 8 timber top chords, double 7/8-inch square iron queen rods, 2 -inch
by 3 -inch braces (webs), and a bottom chord consisting of double 4 10
timbers spliced together with trunnels (wood pegs).
FIGURE 9-6
The bottom chord
consists of two 4 10s.
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128
Technically, these members constitute an assembly better described as tied

and braced principal rafters with sag rods.
FIGURE 9-7
The connection at
the queen rod joint
appears to have been
reworked during the
original construction.
The exterior walls and the corridor walls of the 1890 addition are constructed of brick masonry, with very shallow footings. Obviously, when setting
the bearing elevation for the walls, the builders were well aware of the numerous burial sites in the area of the addition.
Subsidence of the remains within disturbed pockets in the stiff clay caused
major cracks to form in the exterior walls at the northwest corner of the 1890
building addition. Numerous settlement cracks in the masonry of the northwest corner of the 1890 addition were obvious by the 1980s.
The cracks extended from the base to the top of the wall on both the front
face and north side of the building. The cracks were through-wall cracks as
much as 1 to 2 inches in width.
During the exploratory phase, distance from the underside of the floor joists
to the bottom of the walls was measured to be from 17 inches to 26 inches.
The bases of the walls were found to be rectangular in shape without projections or footings of any kind. The foundation walls, as found, were approximately 17 inches thick at the exterior locations and 8 inches thick at the
corridors. The oversized brick units of the 1890 addition measured 3 inches
high, by 4 inches wide, by 8 inches in length.
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Recommendations for Repair
129
FIGURE 9-8
The northwest corner
was temporarily
braced prior to our
involvement with this
project.
FIGURE 9-9
The cracks extended to
the top of the wall and
were up to 2 inches in
width.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REPAIR

Our involvement in this little church repair spanned a period of more than
10 years. The original preliminary structural evaluation report was based on a
January 1993 jobsite observation made for architect Charles A. Phillips of the
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130
firm Phillips & Oppermann, P.A. of Winston-Salem. In a condition assessment

report of that visit, we stated the following:
Although the walls of the 1890 addition can be successfully underpinned, it
will require considerable engineering to accomplish the task. Consideration
should be given to removing the 1890 addition altogether.
The two reasons for recommending this alternative are that the 1890
addition should not have been built over a cemetery to begin with, and second, replacing the steeple with the 1890 addition intact would result in a
church with a steeple located at the third point of its length in lieu of directly
above the narthex3.
By 1995 it was made clear to me that St. Philips would have to be interpreted as an 1890s building and the addition could not be removed. In a letter
to John Larson of Old Salem, Inc., we listed the order of tasks required to
repair the front section of the church . . .4 First, the cracks in the masonry
needed to be located, in the drawings, on the building elevations. The location
of the graves under the addition needed to be mapped, noting the depth of these
features and the extent of undisturbed soil. With the benefit of an archeological
base map and a geotechnical report, the type, number, location, and depth of the
mini piles (or other ground modification techniques) would be determined so
that budget prices could be derived. By this time, John Milner had been retained
to execute the design of both the log church and St. Philips Moravian Church
restoration.
In 1993, we had recommended that a subsurface investigation be undertaken to determine the relative depth and configuration of the 1861 and 1890
wall footings, as well as the nature of the soils located directly beneath the
footings in both areas.3 Successful underpinning of a wall requires that it be
uniformly supported continually along its length. It was obvious that support
needed to be provided along the wall by bridging the less consolidated pockets
of soil without disturbing those areas. The main purpose of the proposed soils
investigation was to determine the capacity of the firm soils to support a continuous grade beam with, or without, the installation of soil modification or
support elements, such as piles. If sufficient support could be obtained in the
undisturbed locations, then a continuous concrete grade beam could be
designed to span the archeological features. The underpinning approach that
we devised was to install the mini piles first so that they could be used for temporary support of the building and act as hard points to jack against in lifting
the badly cracked masonry walls. In order to be successful, the walls would
have to be lifted and pulled together simultaneously. In this way, the maximum
amount of existing masonry could be retained by merely closing the cracks.
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The Log Church
131
The project documents included structural details and notes that spelled out a
suggested sequence of work, a suggested method for execution, and a layout of
the mini piles.
SUBSURFACE EXPLORATION
Froehling & Robertson, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina, was finally authorized
to undertake a subsurface exploration in April of 2002 to evaluate subsurface
conditions for underpinning of the west wall of the addition. At our request, it
had provided a proposal for this work in 1993. F&R drilled two 40-foot-deep
borings approximately 5.5 to 6 feet west of the exterior face of the west wall at
locations cleared by the project archeologist. Borings were drilled with an allterrain CME-550 drill rig using hollow stem augers to advance the borings.5
The usual approach of including test pits, also known as observation
pits, in the soils exploration was not necessary because the work of the archeologist exposed the bottom of the walls in the interior of the 1890 addition.
The configuration of the base of the wall and the nature of the supporting soils
could be observed without the need for observation pits.
General engineering characteristics of the subsurface soils were determined from samples obtained at selected intervals in accordance with Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) procedures (ASTM D-1586). Beneath a thin veneer
of topsoil and approximately 2 feet of firm, silty clay residual soil, there was
8 to 12 feet of very stiff micaceous, fine sandy silts. Extending for the remaining 40 feet of depth, firm to stiff slightly micaceous to very micaceous, fine
sandy silts were encountered. After 24 hours, a piezometer installed in Boring
B-1 detected no groundwater. F&R concluded that the conditions encountered
at the two borings would be favorable for the installation of friction-type mini
piles to a depth approximately 25 to 35 feet below existing grades. F&R
anticipated that steel mini piles could develop a design skin friction of 300 to
400 pounds per square foot.5
THE LOG CHURCH

The schedule for the reconstruction of the 1823 log church, which included
historical research, archeology, design reviews and approvals, and construction, was developed by John Larson of Old Salem, Inc. The log church was
scheduled to be opened for visitors as the plans and specifications for the
1861/1890 masonry church were completed. Most of this work occurred in
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132
1996 and 1997. Starting in July 1991, archeologist Dr. Leland Ferguson from
the University of South Carolina and his team of students had verified the original location of the 1823 log church and located 120 to 130 graves of people
buried in the Strangers Graveyard between 1775 and 1890.4
Although Old Salem had photographic and archeological evidence of the
log church, the configuration of the structural system to support the roof was
based on conjecture and other similar buildings. Structural design issues at
the log church included the design of an A-frame roof structure, support of the
false chimney clad with brick veneer, bracing of the gable endwalls, design
and support of the open belfry, determination of porch and balcony details,
tie-down details connecting the log structure to the foundation and the design
of the roof structure. The principal element in the roof structure for the log
church is partially exposed to view tied A-frame, with the collar tie located
approximately midway between the apex of the frame and the level of the
supports.
FIGURE 9-10
The A-frames with
collar ties were
pre-fabricated in a
shop.
Three horizontal ties were placed across the building at the top of the log
walls to resist the horizontal thrust of the A-frames. A traditional timber joint
consisting of a tongue and fork type connection was inadequate for the loads
involved in these tie members, and the end connections had to be reinforced
with steel.
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The Log Church
133
FIGURE 9-11
The connection of the
ties to the A-frames
had to be reinforced
with steel.
Blue Ridge Timberwrights of Christiansburg, Virginia, erected the log walls

on a temporary foundation consisting of loose laid concrete masonry units at
the direction of Old Salem, Inc. These timbers were allowed to air dry for about
a year with double steel channels bolted through the joints between the logs for
alignment. Openings for doors and windows were not cut until later.
FIGURE 9-12
The log church was
erected and allowed to
dry for about one year.
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134
At one point, the partially complete (under construction) church structure,

with roof structure installed, was moved off its foundation by high winds. The
building was lifted and pushed by the wind, causing the bottom log at the rear
to fall out and others to be displaced. The roof suffered no damage. The damage
was relatively easy to fix, and construction resumed.
UNDERPINNING WITH MINI PILES

Foundation Services, Inc., which at the time was a division of Hayward Baker, Inc.
located in Greensboro, North Carolina, was contacted regarding possible
approaches to underpinning the west end of the church. Scott Harshman of Foundation Services determined that the existing door openings into the church were
large enough to permit the passage of the equipment required to install mini piles.
A pile is a long, slender, timber, steel, or concrete structural element driven, augered,
jetted, or otherwise embedded on end into the ground for the purpose of support,
or to modify or stabilize the earth. In this case, Hayward Baker, Inc. recommended
the use of relatively small-diameter piles called mini piles, pipe piles, pin piles, pencil piles, or tubular steel piles. The advantages of mini piles are that they can be
drilled or driven through virtually any subsurface condition with drill rigs small
enough to access difficult areas with low headroom. In some cases, similar pier and
pile systems are hydraulically advanced depending on the nature of the soil.
FIGURE 9-13
The shoring beams are
supported on the mini
piles
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Construction
135
Once the gaps in the masonry walls were closed, the cracks could be
healed by a combination of rebuilding and stitching. The stitching process
relies on the installation of retrofitted joint reinforcing placed into raked-out
horizontal mortar joints straddling the cracks. By necessity, the masonry repairs
had to occur after the walls were fully supported by the underpinning system
consisting of temporary steel beams and mini piles. A new cast-in-place reinforced concrete footing served as both pile cap and grade beam, spanning
between the piles while supporting the wall above. The piles were inserted between
the features mapped by the archeologist into stiff soil. The archeologist provided an AutoCAD layout of the Strangers Graveyard, which we incorporated
into the structural drawings, enabling us to direct the placement of the piles in
undisturbed locations. To avoid conflict, the concrete footing was set as high as
possible, but comfortably below grade.
CONSTRUCTION
Structural drawings included photographs of existing conditions showing
repairs to the masonry and suggested ways to brace the building. These drawings, as well as specificationsincluding a section describing mini pileswere
included in the bid package. The low bidder for the restoration, general contractor H. M. Kern Corporation, selected Foundation Services, Inc. of Greensboro
(now Hayward Baker, Inc.) and Blake Moving Company of Greensboro, North
Carolina, as the subcontractors.
Hayward Baker, Inc. utilized a KB1 Drill Rig with a hydraulic generator
and a diesel powered grout mixer. A 2.2-to-1 Portland cement-to-water ratio
was used to achieve a grout design mix with a compressive strength of 4,000 psi
at three days. The design capacity of the 4-inch outside diameter micropiles was
5 tons, with a factor of safety of 2.2. The 4-inch O.D. piles had a wall thickness
of 0.525 inches, with a yield strength of Fy 36 ksi. Piles were inserted in
accordance with our layout with the exception of three, which had to be offset
slightly to avoid obstructions to the drill rig.
Charlie Blake of Blake Moving Company used a simple and direct method
to pull the walls together.
Sets of flat steel bands were placed horizontally around straight sections
of wall.
Head joints in the masonry were knocked out so that the bands could pass
through each section of wall, encompassing the portion to be pulled together.
This operation required that the open cracks be cleared of debris so that the
cracked sections of wall could be leveled and moved while floating on steel.
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136
FIGURE 9-14
The mortar in the
cracks had to be
removed prior to
pulling the wall
together.
FIGURE 9-15
Bands of steel were
installed through
mortar joints. Building
corners were protected
with wood.
Using the banding system, the discontinuous sections of wall were slowly
and carefully pulled together so that the mason could heal the cracks using
common masonry restoration techniques.
The reconstruction of the belfry of the masonry church proved to be interesting. Its configuration was determined by Philips & Oppermann, using the
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Construction
137
FIGURE 9-16
The masonry wall
was supported by the
mini-piles. Steel bands
were used to provide
under-slung support
to the wall. (See color
insert.)
early photograph that showed it and the log church. Other evidence included
the remnants of the belfry support timbers and framed out openings in the attic.
We determined that without supplemental support, the existing structure was
inadequate to resist forces derived from wind acting on a new belfry. The solution was to design a wood-framed belfry supported by a pair of steel trusses to
span the width of the church.
FIGURE 9-17
The steel trusses
were designed to be
lightweight with bolted
connections to ease
assembly within the
attic space.
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138
These trusses were located in the attic, spaced to avoid the original framing.
An added consideration was the erection of this structural system in an tight
space. To accommodate the geometry and allow for assembly in place, the steel
truss components and lateral bracing consisted of structural angles field-bolted
together.
SUMMARY
The underpinning fix for St. Philips consisting of strategically placed mini
piles, concrete grade beams, and the efforts of a general contractor and his
subcontractors consisting of a foundation specialty contractor, a structural
mover, and a masonry restoration contractor to provide permanent support for
the building while avoiding the archeological features beneath the building
that were the source of its distress.
REFERENCES
1. C. Daniel Crews, Villages of the Lord, The Moravians Come to Carolina
(Winston-Salem: Moravian Archives, 1995).
2. Old Salem, St. Philips Church, An Overview, (Winston-Salem: Old Salem,
Inc., June 11, 2003).
3. Fischetti, David C. Preliminary Structural Evaluation Report, January,
1993.
4. Fischetti, David C., Letter to John Larson, 1995.
5. Charles A. Phillips, St. Philips Moravian Church, Report of Findings,
(Winston-Salem: Phillips & Oppermann, P.A., 1993).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
John Sensbach, Preserving North Carolinas Old Surviving Black Church, North
Carolina Preservation, #86 Summer 1992.
Ralph E. Sanders, Report of Subsurface Exploration, Froehling & Robertson,
Inc., No. D66002, April 15, 2002.
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CHAPTER
10
James Madisons Montpelier
ames Madisons Montpelier is a historic building, with great cultural value,

now undergoing a $60 million dollar transformation, restoring it to the size
and form it was in the 1820s. This is no small task. The rural Virginia home of
James Madison, fourth president of the United States had been altered in the
mid- and late nineteenth century and greatly expanded after William DuPont
Sr. purchased it in 1901.
The ninth owner of Montpelier, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, engaged the architectural department of Colonial Williamsburg in 1997
to undertake a study to determine how the building evolved. This, and other
studies, contributed to a body of knowledge that expanded during construction
to include information gleaned through the hands-on work of archeologists,
architectural historians, architects, engineers, and the various craftsmen
engaged to undertake the work.
Restoring Montpelier to an earlier time has involved many complex structural issues. These had an array of solutions ranging from traditional repairs,
to the application of modern materials, depending on the overall goals of the
project. For example, the roof structure consisting of braced principal frames,
which had been partially cut out to convert the attic into habitable space.
Replacing the missing parts and reinforcing the heel, brace, and post connections of the principal frames to compensate for deterioration and defects involved
the application of traditional timber joinery, as well as modern connectors.
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140
FIGURE 10-1
View of the
surrounding property
from the attic. (See
color insert.)
FIGURE 10-2
The up and down
braces had been
removed to transform
the attic into habitable
space.
Where reinforcing was accomplished with miscellaneous steel, each connector was designed to resist the forces involved at locations deemed deficient
or damaged, with a minimal amount of intervention, while allowing for reversibility where practical. At several locations, a wood mock-up of the connector
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141
FIGURE 10-3
The braces were
replaced in kind.
assembly was made to ensure an adequate fit. The actual wood mock-ups were
provided to the steel fabricator, along with the engineers drawings. The small
fabrication shop had tool-and-die capabilities, and was not strictly a miscellaneous steel fabrication shop. As a result, reinforcing connections were made
with great precision, in stainless steel, to suit each individual situation.
FIGURE 10-4
The post-to-beam
connection was
damaged in several
locations.
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142
FIGURE 10-5
Each reinforcing
connection was custom
fabricated by providing
a wood mockup to the
steel fabricator for
each location.
Some rafters, beams, and purlins required reinforcing with steel knife plates
where a simple traditional scarf joint would not suffice.
FIGURE 10-6
The proposed knife
plate connection was
load tested.
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143
In these cases, the knife-plate connection actually preserved the maximum

amount of historic fabric.
FIGURE 10-7
Several rafters were
spliced with knife
plates to maximize the
retention of original
fabric.
Deterioration in several beams and timber plates and sills was verified, and
in some cases discovered, through the use of resistance drilling.
FIGURE 10-8
Wood scientist
Ron Anthony used
resistance drilling to
discover deterioration
in timber member.
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144
Segmental infill using laminated veneer lumber was used at two locations.
The serrated roofs of the wings were reconstructed on the basis of historical writings, prints, architectural evidence, and knowledge of similar construction at other sites contemporary to Montpelier, such as Thomas Jeffersons
Monticello, Poplar Forest, and the University of Virginia. Anchorage of the
plates supporting the serrated roof joists to the masonry included tie-down
anchors and shear keys to resist lateral loads such as wind and seismic.
FIGURE 10-9
The serrated roof
followed Thomas
Jeffersons original
design, which was
verified by ghost
marks.
The structural interventions typically were exposed to a process that included

review by the architects (The architectural firm of Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker
Architects of Albany New York), the on-site project superintendent, John Jeanes
(Director of Restoration) for Montpelier, Inc., the various craftsmen undertaking the work, and the Restoration Advisory Committee engaged by the owner.
Structural concerns at Montpelier included reconstructing the sawtooth
roofs, reconstructing the portions of the hipped roof structures modified by
DuPont, and reinstalling roof framing, consisting of posts and up and down
braces, which were removed to create an apartment from the attic space. In
reverting that space back to an attic, floor joists that had been added were
removed. Two dormers were removed and the associated framing was replaced
by splicing. Timber plates were installed after the two-story wings were lowered
to their original one-story condition. Anchors were installed throughout the
structure to ensure resistance against wind.
Every area of the building required some timber repair or reconstruction and
masonry reconstruction, underpinning, or repair. We persuaded John Jeanes to
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145
engage Arnold M. Graton of Ashland, New Hampshire, to level the floors.

Arnold also underpinned the 1750 chimney to provide a 2-foot-tall vertical
clearance at its base to allow mechanical ducts to transition into the vertical space
within the chimney.
FIGURE 10-10
Arnold Graton (shown
here) temporarily
braced the chimney
prior to removing soil
and installing jacks.
(See color insert.)
Arnold used 16 jacks to support the chimney mass.

FIGURE 10-11
The jacks consisted of
20-ton air jacks with
dial gauges.
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146
The mason constructed the chimney, filling the gap between the original
chimney and a new concrete footing.
FIGURE 10-12
The chimney extension
provided duct access
into the vertical spaces
within the chimney.
(See color insert.)
The newer floor openings had to be closed up and the original stair openings reconstituted. In some cases, framing for floor openings became quite
complex. Joist hangers, splice plates, and laminated veneer lumber were all
utilized in an effort to make more than adequate repairs while removing as little historic fabric as possible. We utilized Dutchman inserts with epoxy to
repair some deteriorated timbers.
In the lower level, one large deteriorated beam was repaired by removing
the deteriorated center of the beam and replacing it with laminated veneer
lumber.
Many of the original connections required enhancement for the members
joined to carry the required load. The connection between the attic posts and
the ceiling and dragon beams became a very complicated connection of stainless steel, which was first patterned in wood and then built by a small tool and
die shop using the wood pattern as a guide.
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147
FIGURE 10-13
The deteriorated
interior of the large
beam was hollowed out
to sound wood.
FIGURE 10-14
Dutchmen consisting
of laminated veneer
lumber were installed
from the top using a
gap-filling epoxy.
Through the use of contemporary materials, technology, and analysis, as well

as traditional framing techniques, the structural portions of Montpelier, which
remain from the time period associated with James and Dolly Madison, were
preserved through restoration and reconstruction.
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CHAPTER
11
Timber, Glulam, and Conservation
eeting the requirements of the building code is not the same as assuring
the public of a safe structure. As structural engineers, it is critical that we
make the judgments needed to keep a historic structure in service when parameters appear to fall short of minimum code requirements.
In this chapter we will discuss timber structures in general and the structural repair of glued laminated timber structures and the use of laminated
timber in the conservation of other timber structures.
TIMBER MISUNDERSTOOD
Timber is the primary structural component for most historic structures in the
United States and Canada.
In todays residential market, timber is primarily of importance as dimension lumber. Most timber production consists of dimension framing.
Manufacturers provide the design for prefabricated components such as
wood trusses for the complete framing of floors and roofs. Other manufactured products, such as laminated veneer lumber and joist products, are
selected on the basis of load tables provided by the manufacturer. As a result,
the glued laminated timber industry is one of the few areas where structural
engineers are practicing the design of heavy timber structures on a daily basis.
Some timber-frame manufacturing firms have in-house engineers, but most use
the services of private consulting engineers.
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150
It is hoped that by learning more about timber design, structural engineers will
develop a preservation philosophy that demands rigorous analysis in order to
justify doing nothing to an historic timber structure that has been performing satisfactorily for many years. Buildings that analysis (and observation)
clearly indicates are unsafe should be reinforced in the most sensitive manner
in an attempt to retain as much historic fabric as possible. Buildings that
require extensive modification or reconstruction should be restored in a way
that is in keeping with the original construction if possible, while fulfilling
safety requirements. Often, engineers are asked to evaluate framing members
to determine the capacity of an existing floor structure in an historic structure.
This review process differs considerably from design.
STRUCTURAL REVIEW
Members in the horizontal plane, such as floor sheathing, joists, purlins, and
beams, are stressed principally in bending. The resisting bending moment is a
measure of the strength of such an element. This measure, stiffness and horizontal shear make up the three qualities that are normally checked during the
process of selection that we call design. Because timber is available in certain
standard lumber sizes, the designer selects from the available sizes, grades, and
species those that most economically meet the predetermined standards for
bending stress, deflection, and horizontal shear. When the engineer reviews the
capacity of an existing member, many parameters complicate the process of
selecting appropriate lumber. Size, span and spacing of members are dictated
by the structure. It is the engineers task to determine the size, orientation, species, grade, and end condition of all of the structural elements in a building
that already exists. Between the factors of limited availability of types of lumber, economic considerations, existing standards, and the structure of the
building itself, freedom of choice is eliminated.
Often, the structural engineer must pass judgment on a structure that has served
far beyond what we consider to be a normal period of service. The timbers of
such a structure were not selected on the basis of modern engineering analysis.
They certainly do not bear inspection marks attesting to their grade and species.
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Load Duration and Historic Structures
151
It should be obvious to the engineer that a safe floor structure should not
fail in bending due to the actual loads imposed. But it is important to recognize
that excessive deflection, excessive vibration, or a lack of stiffness, should not
automatically categorize a floor structure as unsafe. Strict deflection limitations should be set for floors that support plaster ceilings in lieu of wood or tin
ceilings or no ceilings at all. But for comfort, the deflection limitation set in most
building codes for floors, no matter what the ceiling, is 1/360th of the span.
safe. It is important for the engineer to evaluate the basis for his or her conclusion regarding the safety of the structure. When making such an evaluation, the
loads assumed for design should be reconciled with the actual loads that will
occur in service. For example, if we think about the uniform design live load of
40 psf for residential floors used as living areas, packing a group of people
weighing 160 pounds each into a room and allocating four square feet of space
each would be equal to 40 psf. In reality, it is difficult to imagine such a situation, and when one considers that most furniture weighs less per square foot,
it is very difficult to see how residential floor loading could attain 40 psf.
The design values that we assume are critical to the computed capacity of
some floor systems. For structures such as mill buildings, average design values
yield results that fall well above the minimum code requirements for adaptive
reuse occupancy, such as Office or Retail.
LOAD DURATION AND HISTORIC STRUCTURES

The procedures of load factor design in timber were developed over a period of 10
years based on 20 years of research. In 1996, the American Forest & Paper Association published the first Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) manual.
This concept is most appropriate for application to timber design because
of the long history of the concept of Live Load Duration. Early timber research
found that timber reacts quite well to short applications of load. The duration
of load was found to be as critical as the magnitude of the load. Presumably,
this sensitivity to the duration of load is a result of the natural composition of
timber, which consists of a tightly bound bundle of cells that tend to stretch or
elongate with time. The larger and more constant the load, the more stretching
of fibers occurs. The effects of this creep can be seen in many timber structures
through excessive deflection. For short durations of load, such as impact,
allowable design values are substantially increased.
Research into this time-versus-stress relationship is of paramount importance. Only through evaluating historic timber structures can we solve this
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152
puzzle, which is complicated by cyclic loading, original moisture content,

member size, span, species, grade, temperature, humidity and magnitude of
stress. Although the concepts of LRFD design are most appropriately applied
to timber structures, the vast majority of practicing timber engineers continue to
use working stress design (WSD).
CASE HISTORIES
The portico of the Miles Brewton House in Charleston, South Carolina
(c.1757), required a timber 6 18 in size and 52 feet long. Glued laminated
timber was specified because of the need for such a large member. The replacement roof structure for the Thomas Day/Union Tavern (c.1850) in Milton,
North Carolina, includes laminated veneer lumber. The tapered rafter, collar
tie, and ceiling joist system duplicates the profile of the original structural elements, which were destroyed in a fire three years before we first inspected the
building in 1977. Of course modern timber products should not automatically replace traditional timber framing and joinery. Replacement-in-kind of
members with mortise and tenon, dovetail, tongue and fork, slotted, or oakpinned joint connections is a possibility that must be considered. In recent
years, various designs for new post-and-beam frames have been produced containing few or no metal connectors. Traditional technology is available through
timber framers located in many areas of the United States and Canada.
In a 1988 structural evaluation report, we concluded that the large second
floor assembly hall of the Chowan County Courthouse in Edenton, North Carolina (c.1767), could be used for public occupancy if the area was posted to
limit the number of people to 200. A deflection limitation of 1/360th of a span
governed the design, producing a bending stress as high as 2292 psi in large,
dense southern pine timber floor joists and beams.
In 1991, we reviewed the floor structure of the 1917 Walker Building at the
State Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire. Assuming a reasonable set of design
values equivalent to No. 1D SR southern pine, based on examination of wood
samples obtained from the building, we concluded that the existing 7 11
timber beams were adequate to support a live load of 86 psf, which is well
within the 50 psf required for office occupancy. The live load deflection limitation of 1/360th of the span controlled the design. Of course, we can conclude
that this is a safe structure that meets minimum code requirements. The calculations were based on reasonable assumptions of design values.
In 1985, half a dozen floor joists from the 1903 Montague Building in Raleigh,
North Carolina, were removed from the building and tested to destruction. Of the
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Case Histories
153
five joists tested, (of six joists selected, one was found not suitable for testing) the
average bending stress at rupture was in excess of 5000 psi. The average modulus
of elasticity was 1,295,000 psi. These measures of strength and stiffness were
used to evaluate the capacity of the floor structure. To meet tenant requirements
for possible retail occupancy in this speculative office building, we recommended
that all of the existing floor joists be reinforced.
At Moorfields, a 1792 house in Hillsborough, North Carolina, we evaluated
the excessive deflection of a summer beam by measuring offsets in the floor surface above the beam. Based on field measurements and computer analysis, we
were convinced that the two-span summer beam had failed. Indeed, when exposed
to view by removing the ceiling plaster, during construction in 1980, the summer
beam contained a severe fracture consistent with a typical bending failure. The
only replacement beam available of sufficient stiffness and strength that would fit
in the space between the floor sheathing and the plaster ceiling below was a steel
tube section of a dimension approximately equal to the original timber beam.
St. Michaels Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina was built
between 1752 and 1761. Architect unknown, it resembles English pattern
book designs, which were popular in the colonies. St. Michaels, is similar to
James Gibbs design for St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. St. Michaels survived wars, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and the 1886 earthquake. During the
Revolutionary War, St. Michaels was the center of British resistance, and as
such, the tower was a target for British naval gunners. The 186 foot tall steeple
served as an observation post and navigational landmark in this and subsequent military conflicts. As a result of the 1886 earthquake, the steeple settled
8 inches, while leaning 18 inches towards the west requiring reconstruction of
the portico below. Repaired cracks in the brick masonry can be observed today
from the inside of the tower.
Hurricane Hugo, which struck near Charleston at the Isle of Palms on
September, 22, 1989 caused damage to St. Michaels resulting in an insurance
settlement of $6,000,000. An indication of the strength of the winds was the
damage to the weather vane at the top of the steeple. Consisting of a tapered 2
inch square wrought iron bar, it was bent by the winds of this category 4 storm.
The steeple of St. Michaels consists of five stages above the roof. Its base,
square in plan, forms the center portion of the vestibule. These brick masonry
walls vary from 4 feet-9 inches to 5 feet-3 inches in thickness. The masonry
box, translating from square to octagon in stages; it extends to the underside
of the gallery level.
Since the spire consists of four intersecting frames, we applied a 48 to 55
psf wind load to a pie shaped portion of the plan. At the same time, preliminary
observation indicated that the eight posts at the open lantern level had various
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154
amounts of deterioration in their bases. The analysis indicated that the steeple
frame acted much less stiff with one or both these joints disconnected.
Subsequent to Hurricane Hugo, I was contacted by Craig Bennett, P.E. of
Cummings and McCrady, Inc. architects, in Charleston through a recommendation from materials conservator George T. Fore of Raleigh, North Carolina. George
Fore produced a condition analysis and conservation study of the carpentry,
masonry, plaster and finishes, and various details. He also provided framing details
for the steeple as well as evidence of racking of the upper structure due to Hurricane
Hugo. His report located areas of deteriorated wood within the framework.
To determine the amount of lean in the steeple a surveying instrument was
set in the window of a nearby office building, but measurements were inconclusive. Upon inspection on a day with five to ten mile per hour gusts, Craig
Bennett led the author on a tour up into the tower in similar fashion to the
tours afforded through the years to dignitaries visiting Charleston such as
George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. On those occasions apparently it was common practice to afford such dignitaries a view of the city.
The analysis of a steeple should consider wind pressure in four directions.
Overall, stability depends on anchorage to the buildings foundations. Some steeples consist of a spire connected to a bell tower. In these cases, the analysis must
include the steeple frame and its connection to the bell tower, whether masonry
or stone. Steeples may consist of freestanding timber structures or timber structures where one or two walls are integrated into endwall framing. Many steeples
bear on the endwall of the church with two supports and with two supports on
the first interior roof truss. In many cases the two interior posts may pass through
a balcony structure. Endwalls may be timber frames or masonry walls.
No matter what the configuration, wind and seismic forces should be
applied in the transverse direction across the ridge and in the longitudinal
direction parallel to the ridge. Many steeples lean towards the nave in situations where support is shared between an endwall and a less stiff roof truss.
Even with a rigid support of timber posts and balcony or narthex wall framing,
a steeple will lean if the endwall support is a non-yielding masonry wall. In
these cases, a small amount of shrinkage across the grain in several large timber plates can cause a dramatic lean in a tall steeple towards the nave.
For ease of analysis the timber frame of a steeple may be reduced to its
primary and secondary framing. Rigidity may depend on x-braces, or up or
down braces, or knee braces. A preliminary analysis will reveal whether the
braces are resisting tension or compression forces. If the computed tension is
high, with the ability of the connection to resist tension insufficient, all such
tension members should be deleted and the program run again. The computer
model must account for continuity or discontinuity through joints. For steeples
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Case Histories
155
with securely fastened sheathing or panels, this additional stiffness afforded to

the frame should be accounted for in the computer model.
Some steeples, consisting of square, hexagonal, and octagonal sections, which
were erected in a telescoping fashion, sometimes with transitional sections
between, are difficult to accurately analyze without three dimensional capability.
In our report on May 11, 1992 we presented a simple analysis of the steeple which allowed us to consider a replacement-in-kind option which does not
rely on supplemental steel reinforcing.
We applied a 48 to 54 psf wind load to the vertical projection of one frame.
From the 1988 Standard Building Code, we utilized a Use Factor of 1.00
because it is highly unlikely that failure of the steeple would affect 300 or more
occupants in the sanctuary. The limited use of a church sanctuary to primarily
one day a week is another reason for selecting the lower Use Factor.
To the steeple frame, we applied a support condition which consisted of
the approximate stiffness of the two portal frames. Each portal frame consisted
of two gallery level columns and two 2 inch 8 inch knee braces. We
deleted the contribution of the knee brace which was in tension in determining
the stiffness of the portal frame.
We applied a horizontal 1000 pound unit load to the portal frame in order
to derive the spring constant. To simulate the steeple with the base of the gallery columns not tied down, we placed a roller support with a spring constant
in the Y direction at the bottom of the windward column in the portal frame.
Using the stiffness of the deteriorated portal frame we re-ran the steeple
frame with new spring constant and the lantern column on the windward side
omitted. We used a Modulus of Elasticity of 1600 ksi and limited Fc (compression parallel to grain) to between 1200 psi and 1700 psi and Ft to 1100 psi.
The analysis provided the following computed horizontal deflection of the
top of the steeple frame:
Horizontal deflection due to a 100 mph wind load
As-built
2.13 inches
Deteriorated
5.43 inches
This response seems to be in line with actual conditions. If the steeple was
experiencing much larger movements, then sheathing, cladding and architectural feature would be rupturing. Each of the eight faces of the gallery level
contains decorative millwork consisting of an arch with keystone, engaged
columns and an entablature with exceptional carved ornaments. The molded
architrave of the gallery was planed into the horizontal planks forming the
arch. George Fores investigation did point out that this level of the steeple
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156
racked causing the horizontal planks to slip past one another breaking the
paint bond which covered the joints.
Stresses in the members appeared to be relatively low in the net sections of
various members. This seemed consistent with a timber framed structure
where the connections at joint locations govern the design. The highest stress
appeared to be in the interior vertical post at the top of the lantern level because
a large amount of bending was applied to a small net section.
This analysis appeared to set the stage for a replacement-in-kind solution
where severely deteriorated members are replaced and the deteriorated ends of
other members are repaired.
About two years before, at the Miles Brewton House in Charleston, I had
met Tommy Graham of McClellanville, South Carolina. He had been selected by
Hill Construction Corporation of Charleston to provide the restoration of the
timber portion of St. Michaels steeple. My first inclination was to replace in-kind
the deteriorated timbers and portions of timbers using mechanical splices.
As an alternative, Tommy suggested that we make repairs using Dutchmen
and a gap filling epoxy adhesive to maximize the retention of historic fabric.
Besides, he said that the acquisition of large dense cypress timbers dried to the
moisture content compatible with the timber inside the tower was problematic. To test the epoxy, I directed Tommy to have his crew prepare six 1 inch by
3 inch long half lapped joints, under field conditions, which could be transported to a testing laboratory. With the assistance of Froehling & Robertson,
Inc. we tested the specimens at North Carolina State Universitys Forestry
Department utilizing a Tinius-Olsen testing machine. The results tabulated in
F&Rs October 8, 1992 report of tensile tests were fairly uniform.
Specimen No.
Breaking Load (lbs.)
Stress p.s.i Moisture %
2,510
846
10.4
2,500
842
10.3
2,855
973
10.2
3,040
1,035
10.6
2,390
812
10.4
1,845
634
10.5
(Avg. 857)
The results of the tensile tests indicated that wood failure occurred along
the plane with sidegrain contact and total glue failure occurred at endgrain to
endgrain surfaces. This indicated to us that our Dutchmen and built-up repairs
should include only scarf joints. In one case, we discovered a horizontal strut
which was totally deteriorated. To replace it we vertically laminated five cypress
boards together.
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Case Histories
157
New tenons and boat shaped Dutchmen were fabricated from dense cypress
with a moisture content of 14 percent to 16 percent which was close to the
moisture content of the original frame of 11 percent to 14 percent.
FIGURE 11-1
Deteriorated wood has
been cut away from a
beam in St. Michaels
Episcopal Church in
Charleston, South
Carolina.
FIGURE 11-2
The repair was
completed using
cypress infill pieces
similar to the original
in density and moisture
content.
Where radiating 8 10 timber beams below the floor of the gallery were
severely deteriorated we replaced them with pressure treated Southern Pine having a 2.5 pcf retention of Copper Chromated Arsenate (CCA) water borne preservative. These members, cantileved towards the center across brick corbels
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158
provided vertical support to the central spine of the tower. The ends of these
members were embedded in the masonry wall approximately 3 feet. Wrought iron
straps throughout the steeple which had disintegrated and could not be reworked
were replaced with stainless steel.
LEED AND TIMBER

In the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Green Building
Rating System developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, glued laminated timber should be rated far above other materials. To assemble smaller
pieces of our only truly renewable construction material into massive and efficient structural units, saving large solid timbers for other uses is a powerful
green advantage. The LEED system should immediately propel the abundant
array of forest products of all types to the pinnacle of greenness.
First, how does one put a value on the renewable aspects of wood? Of what
value is the production of oxygen from carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, a
process that we do not understand? Other construction products consume millions
of BTUs during production, while trees simply produce oxygenand moderate the
climate, provide habitat for birds and animals, and enrich and secure the soil.
So what we have in trees, at the least, are massive and numerous carbon
reservoirs, which can easily be harvested and utilized as a construction material. In fact, timber components are easily connected using simple means. The
ability of wood to hold a nail or spike in the tight grip of its fibers is basic and
not easily duplicated with other materials. The act of inserting a screw into a
massive timber (although we have almost perfected powder actuated fasteners
and self drilling and self tapping screws) is basic to life as we know it, when one
considers that the screw is simply an inclined plane wrapped around a shaft.
Forget the old-growth forest where the elderly simply die and return their
carbon to the forest floor. If we want to remove carbon from the atmosphere
and store it where it will do the most good, we need to manage our forest
resources so that we maximize utilization while conserving the timber structures that exist. Many conservationists agree that the greenest building is the
one that already exists. Actually, the greenest building is the one that exists
which contains timber components.
LAMINATED TIMBER
At initial glance, it would seem incongruous for glued laminated timber to be
mentioned in a discussion of preservation and conservation. In fact, glued laminated timber may be the greenest construction product available, used in a
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Laminated Timber
159
multitude of structures that have now attained the age of 50. Introduced into
the United States in the 1930s, from Germany, by Max C. Hanisch, Sr. (1882
1950), glued laminated timber is present in thousands of buildings.
FIGURE 11-3
Glued laminated
timber was introduced
into the United States
by Max Hanisch.
If one considers the stock beam program of many companies, producing

glued laminated timber for lintels, headers, and general-purpose use, the
number of existing structures that contain glued laminated timber in North
America is certainly in the hundreds of thousands.
The first glued laminated timber building built in the United States; the
Peshtigo Wisconsin High School Gymnasium (1934) certainly deserves to be
listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
There are many monumental structures constructed of glued laminated timber, which would seem to qualify as historic properties eligible for preservation
tax credits. Who is surveying our glued laminated timber buildings to determine
which are our first and most significant buildings containing glulam Tudor
arches (Peshtigo High School Gymnasium), curved tapered beams, radial arches,
open knee Tudor arches, bowstring trusses, long span trusses on many varieties,
cross vaults, radial rib or geodesic domes? Which buildings contain the longest
span of these components? With the use of glued laminated timber as a substitute material in World War II, there remain many monumental buildings such as
drill halls, hangers, gymnasiums, armories, and warehouses certainly eligible for
inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1950s glulam technology was applied to long span structures such as bowling alleys, supermarkets, automobile showrooms, gymnasiums, and religious structures.
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160
FIGURE 11-4
The Peshtigo High
School Gymnasium was
built in 1934.
Pertinent to this, were the recent remarks of a very influential structural

engineer during a keynote address at a symposium on the treatment of modern
historic structures. He stated that modern structures were defined by the modern materials from which they are constructed. These, according to him, are
steel, glass, and concrete.
CONSERVATION OF GLUED LAMINATED TIMBER

STRUCTURES
It is important for conservationists to consider the particular aspects inherent
to the design and construction of glued laminated timber structures when, in
the coming years, so many of these buildings will be certified as historic.
Glued laminated timber is an important 20th century building material.
It can be produced in longer lengths and larger sizes than solid timber and has
higher allowable design values and stiffness. Laminated timber can also be
curved. The deterioration of glulam is somewhat different from that of ordinary
wood, because of the glue joint. However, repair of glulam is similar to that of
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Diagnostics and Condition Assessment
161
solid timber, except for that one must take into account different allowable
design values, fabrication and connection techniques, and the larger sizes and
special shapes common in glued laminated timber construction.
DETERIORATION
The repair or rehabilitation of glued laminated timber structures requires the
expertise of a structural engineer familiar with glulam design. In order to
design an appropriate repair which meets the requirements of the Secretary of
the Interiors Guidelines, the engineer of record must determine as much as
possible about the building under investigation. This information is best found
in the shop drawings. Observation and measurement is required to determine
how the building has performed during its service life. Rigorous analysis is
required to determine the capacity of glued laminated timber structures and
how to best reinforce, repair or rehabilitate them if necessary.
Laminated timber deteriorates in the same manner as solid timber except
for a few unique characteristics. Termites and fungi will destroy wood that has
moisture content greater than 20 percent. In glulam, deterioration may follow
certain laminations because of moisture variations. The glue line, although
thin, will act as a boundary with termites found in one or two laminations for
a certain distance while adjacent laminations may be free of infestation. Because
laminated timber members are large, deterioration can be very serious, requiring intervention on a major scale.
As in other structural materials, glued laminated timber can fail due to
deficiencies in design or fabrication or changes in service conditions. Failures
in glued laminated timber members can be in horizontal shear, radial tension,
bending or deflection. Horizontal shear usually occurs at connections, notched
ends or highly loaded beam ends. The failure mode includes horizontal splits
in the end of a member where wood fibers slide past one another. An inadequate glue bond can cause horizontal shear failure to occur at a glue joint.
DIAGNOSTICS AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT

The first step in assessing a glued laminated timber structure is to determine
species of wood, design criteria, type of adhesive, and treatments if any. If the
shop drawings survive, many of these questions can easily be answered.
Shop drawings provide information such as design loads, design values,
and lumber combinations, the amount of camber, building geometry, member
sizes and lengths, and connection details. Concealed or hidden connections are
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162
most easily determined by reviewing the shop drawings. Shop drawings are very
important to the evaluation, because they reflect what was actually built. Certain
dimensions such as the tangent depths of two-hinged Tudor arches are very difficult to measure in the field.
The date of construction will establish the full range of design values associated with a particular lumber combination. Many changes in design with
respect to adjustments to design values or stresses have occurred since the
1930s. It is important to determine which set of design standards were used.
Waterproof adhesives usually are dark, while water-resistant adhesives are
white or gray in color. Treatments, type and the amount of retention, may
require that samples be laboratory tested.
By tapping with a carpenters hammer, a deteriorated glulam can be sounded
out. The extent of deterioration on the surface of a member can be easily recognized because of discoloration. Often, termite tubes or small pinholes caused by
borer insects may be visible on the surface. Ultrasonic devices may also be of value.
A moisture meter can be used to determine areas likely to contain deterioration.
By measuring deflection, members that have lost stiffness due to deterioration or failure can be identified.
Possible causes of damage from excessive moisture include termites and
fungi. Deficiencies in design or fabrication or changes in service conditions can
cause glued laminated timber structures to fail. Horizontal shear, radial tension,
bending, and deflection are areas of investigation for the structural engineer.
CONSERVATION METHODS
Methods of conservation include reinforcement or repair with steel and epoxy
systems, segmental infill, field lamination, and steel or wood cover plates
nailed, screwed, lag screwed, or bolted into place.
Damaged timber members can also be replaced. Of course, the cause of
the original deterioration must be eliminated.
In North America, glued laminated timber usually consists of 1- or 2-inchthick (nominal thickness) Douglas fir or southern pine boards with a waterproof
adhesive applied to the face of each board. After drying, natural growth characteristics are removed and individual boards are end joined, with finger joints, to
form long laminations. Individual laminations are then laid up according to a
pattern and clamped under pressure until cured, forming structural members
that are then dressed in a double-faced planner.
In the fabrication of glued laminated timber, the moisture content can be
controlled while many strength reducing characteristics found in solid timber
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Conservation Techniques
163
members are eliminated. In the cross-section of a glulam timber, higher-grade

laminations are placed in areas of high stress. For example, the bottom of a
simple beam in bending will receive higher grade boards to resist tension at the
extreme fiber. So will the top of the beam cross-section more dense, straightgrained boards where higher stresses in compression are found.
Glued laminated timber allows increased freedom of design and is commonly associated with the fabrication of large engineered wood components,
which can be curved or shaped in unique ways. By gluing, timber can be fabricated into sophisticated structural shapes or into systems such as lamella structures or geodesic domes. Tudor arches and curved tapered beams are structural
components unique to glulam technology. Glued laminated timber has been
used in conjunction with wire cables and fabric to form tensile structures.
Until the late 1960s, waterproof and water-resistant adhesives were both
available. Various preservative pressure treatments have been used, either treating individual laminations prior to gluing or the finished member after fabrication. The most popular pressure treatment for glulam has been pentachlorophenol
(in a liquid petroleum) or methylene chloride. These treatments avoid the
problems of warping or checking associated with the wetting and drying process
used in waterborne treatments such as Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA).
Since its introduction into the United States in the 1930s, laminated timber
has most often been a custom prefabricated construction material completely
engineered by the seller. The shop drawings, submitted for the contractors
approval by the laminator and reviewed by the original design team, often survive.
It is very important for the architect/engineer team evaluating such structures to
obtain a copy of the shop drawings. Designers often place the responsibility for
the design on the laminator. Although contract documents may indicate one set of
sizes and connections, the shop drawings may reflect a minimum design with
different member sizes, and a framing system optimized by the laminator.
Although laminators often destroy project files after a few years, depending on
the legal statute of limitations, shop-drawing tracings may survive. Sometimes the
owner or contractor will have a copy of the shop drawing prints. Often the original
structural engineer or architect of record will have old shop drawings on file.
CONSERVATION TECHNIQUES
Repair and conservation techniques range from replacement in kind to reinforcement with steel and/or epoxy systems. Many structural repairs require the
replacement of the decayed ends of arches or A-frames with moment resisting
steel legs connected with field-applied shear plates.
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164
The usual repair for a horizontal shear problem is to replace the member
if it is badly split. Shear reinforcing of other overstressed members that have
not failed may include lag screws used to stitch the beam together. These are
normally inserted through the roof or floor deck, perpendicular to the axis of
the beam. Stitch lags are inserted into pre-bored lag lead holes, which may
extend almost the full depth of the beam. Three-quarter-inch diameter lag
screws are available up to 30 inches in length. Other shear reinforcing may
include an exposed joist hanger to support the bottom of a notched beam, steel
side plates, or steel or fiber reinforced plastic dowels inserted in vertical holes
and epoxied in place with a gap filling epoxy formulated for wood repairs. The
zone around the bored hole may be strengthened with an epoxy consolidant prior
to inserting a dowel and a split member may be clamped under pressure prior to
adding epoxy.
Radial tension is a failure similar to horizontal shear that occurs in the curved
portion of curved tapered beams and Tudor arches. Again, the typical repair
requires insertion of lag screws or reinforcing rods inserted perpendicular to the
failure lines. In a curved member, insertion would be on a radial pattern.
Bending failures may require the full replacement of a member. If the failure is confined to a few tension laminations, the glulam member can be relieved
of its load by jacking. The damaged wood can then be carefully cut away. New
high-quality boards obtained from a laminator, planed to the actual thickness
of the exiting laminations, can be glued in place using a field-applied, gap-filling
epoxy. This work requires the skill of a craftsman and the cooperation of a
glulam manufacturer who can furnish long, finger-joined replacement stock.
Of course, the cause the failure must be removed. The repair, to be successful,
may require the addition of one or more laminations to increase the depth of
the member. A bending failure may require that the member be reinforced with
steel side plates, bottom plates, or flitch plates.
Any repair with steel requires that the engineer balance the load carried by
steel with that carried by the glulam timber. The engineer must design the
shear transfer between the two materials. Most engineers will ignore the contribution of the glulam and design the steel to carry the full load. In many glued
laminated timber buildings, steel side plates have been painted to match the
wood finish. If appearance is a major problem, a steel flitch plate can be inserted
into a kerf or rout cut into the center of the beam. Often, these cuts are made
with a chain saw attached to a guide. The flitch plate must then be securely
attached to the wood with a suitable epoxy-bonding agent. Determining plate
thickness, height, length and connection method requires a thorough structural analysis. Glued laminated timber beams with inadequate bending capacity can also be reinforced by adding tie rods or bottom plates of steel.
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165
Deflection failures, cause by inadequate stiffness, usually lead to bending

failures. For example, inadequate stiffness can cause excessive ponding of water
on a flat roof leading to failure bending. Of course, the most straightforward
repair would be to put a lightweight tapered insulation on the roof and offset
the deflection. Most laminated timber beams are cambered to offset dead load
deflection. Excessive deflection may indicate that a large overstress is present
in existing beams due to dead load only. Certainly, on more than one occasion,
cambered glued laminated timber beams have been installed up-side down.
Since glued laminated timber is a material that depends upon adhesives,
epoxy repairs would be compatible with requirements of the Secretary of the
Interiors Guidelines. Replacement-in-kind of deteriorated laminations is relatively easily accomplished in the field if the moisture content can be controlled
and if glulam stock is available. Boards can be planed to width of the member
in the field after attachment.
In many glued laminated timber structures, the bases of Tudor or radial
arches become deteriorated if exposed to moisture.
FIGURE 11-5
Severe deterioration is
evident in the leg of a
Tudor arch, which was
not protected.
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166
The connection of the laminated timber arch to its supporting steel shoe is
critical because the shoe transfers vertical forces and horizontal thrust through
anchor bolts to the foundation.
FIGURE 11-6
In this case, axial and
bending forces are
transferred to a
steel leg.
Repairing this type of connection often requires that steel plates be welded
to the existing shoe and connected to the glued laminated timber member to
resist all forces.
FIGURE 11-7
The steel side plates
transfer axial loads and
bending moment to the
support.
The connection of steel side plates to glued laminated timber may require
the field installations of 2 58- or 4-inch-diameter shear plates.
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167
FIGURE 11-8
Nine sets of holes and
grooves have been
installed to accept
4-inch-diameter shear
plates.
Shear plates are inserted flush to the face to the member in a dapcut by a
special cutter.
FIGURE 11-9
Providing a metal
covering and blocking
to allow moisture to
escape will ensure the
serviceability of the
repair.
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168
REPLACEMENT-IN-KIND
Because laminated timber structures are composed of many components,
sometimes the replacement in kind of a damaged or deteriorated beam, purlin,
column or arch half span may be a more cost-efficient solution that an in-place
structural repair or reinforcing.
Often, replacement-in-kind is not economically feasible. More advances
are being made in the field of timber design than in any other area of structural
engineering. Recent products include laminated veneer lumber and numerous
other beam and joist substitutes. The most important benefits of these reconstituted wood products is the availability of long lengths, higher design values,
and greater stiffness. Preservationists and preservation engineers must determine the appropriateness of these materials to each case.
CONCLUSION
Only through specialized knowledge and experience can structural engineers
make the judgments needed to properly evaluate historic timber structures.
The engineer must be convinced that the structural model in the computer is
an accurate representation of actual conditions. Once that is clear, the application of rigorous analysis, testing, and engineering judgment may be necessary
to explain why the historic timber structure in question has performed adequately for many years.
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CHAPTER
12
Tabby: Engineering
Characteristics of a Vernacular
Construction Material*
INTRODUCTION
abby, like historic brick masonry, receives little attention among the general
public, as well as within the construction industry. At the present time,
research funds for construction-related topics involving coastal issues flow
toward wind design, exterior insulation systems, and the geophysical interaction
of wind and ocean on shoreline development. In general, historic materials
research takes a back seat to other structural engineering endeavors. A discussion of tabby as a construction material must always begin with a definition or a
description, because it is unknown to most people in the construction industry.
Tabby is an early cast-in-place construction material consisting of sand, lime
(from shells and wood ash), and water. Tabby can be considered a lime-based
concrete, unreinforced, with shell and shell fragments serving as the coarse
aggregate.
*This chapter was originally written for The Conservation and Preservation of Tabby: A Symposium
on Historic Building Material in the Coastal Southeast, Jekyll Island, GA (February 1998).
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170
Tabby: Engineering Characteristics of a Vernacular Construction Material
FIGURE 12-1
Church wall at
St. Helenas Episcopal
Church in Beaufort,
SC is a tabby wall with
a brick cap.
As an unreinforced concrete product, methods used for the analysis of

unreinforced concrete can be applied. As in the evaluation of any historic
structure, the evaluation of tabby depends on field observation and measurement, testing, analysis, and engineering judgment.
Historically, the quality of tabby construction was dependent on word-ofmouth tradition, as well as the quality of local materials available and the skill and
knowledge of the workmen and their supervisor. The recipe, based on oral tradition, usually varied from the Spanish, Portuguese, or Dutch-speaking Caribbean
region to the English colonies and was influenced by African traditions.
TABBY MATERIALS AND PROPORTIONS

The reprint of the 1867 edition of The Encyclopedia of Architecture gives the
following definition for concrete: Concrete is a compound of ballast, or stone
chippings, and lime mixed together. It is so called from the speedy concretion
that takes place between these particles.1 Since ancient times, chemists and
others have formed various opinions about the effects of sand and lime in the
formation of mortar. Nineteenth-century publications detail various methods
of making mortars and cements of lime. Coal cinders, furnace slag, brick dust,
wood ashes, and other ingredients find their way into various recipes for lime
mortar.
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Compressive Strength
171
In about 1843, Portland cement was developed. Lime and clay are combined by burning. The resulting clinker, ground into a fine powder, made
cement much superior in durability to natural cements. When employed in a
mortar or a concrete, it was far superior in strength and hardness. Within 50
years, most concrete employed Portland cement in lieu of lime cement.
Tabby consists of oyster shell and pit sand aggregate, bonded together with
homemade lime and water. The mixture is placed between form boards, which
are held together with wood ties and wedges. The tabby mixture was rammed
or tamped into place to properly fill the form without voids.
FIGURE 12-2
Tabby is surprisingly
durable.
The construction of a wall proceeded upward in 12-inch lifts in a similar

fashion to a slip-formed cast-in-place concrete wall.
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
Depending on the mix and the time and quality of curing, the compressive
strengths of new tabby probably ranged between 250 psi and 1,000 psi. Additional sampling and testing should be encouraged in order to increase the body
of knowledge regarding tabby strength. Compressive strength is also an indication of hardness, durability, and impermeability.
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172
Samples of historic tabby, when tested, have yielded fairly good compressive strengths. Dr. Lauren B. Sickels-Taves tested tabby samples from
the Cumberland Island National Seashore for the National Park Service. The
results of the tests were as follows:
Analysis of Original Tabby:
Compressive Strength350 psi
Absorption84.58
Specific gravity2.013
Formula1:3:1 lime:sand:shell with wood ash
Stereologyinland beach sand
The analysis of tabby ruins or tabby buildings begins with the determination
of compressive strength. A preliminary evaluation might depend on nothing more
than an assumption, based on engineering judgment, for compressive strength.
TENSILE STRENGTH
Tensile strength of tabby is probably 10 to 15 percent of the compression
strength. In an unreinforced tabby structure, low tensile strength would significantly affect serviceability. Considerable cracking would occur during both
initial shrinkage and subsequent seasonal cycles in temperature.
All walls supporting lightly loaded roofs are subjected to tensile forces due
to lateral loads or uplift due to wind. For this reason, the tensile strength of
tabby must be determined.
Most tabby ruins are the remains of buildings that were destroyed by high
winds. Presumably, the roofs of these structures were pulled off by high winds
causing the collapse of some walls.
The low tensile strength of tabby and the lack of anchorage of the roof
structure to resist uplift and the absence of continuous vertical ties contributed
to these failures.
SHEAR STRENGTH
The shear strength of tabby is probably about 50 percent of the compressive
strength, ranging from 35 to 80 percent. Shear strength must be determined
when evaluating a tabby structure for lateral loads such as wind and earthquake.
The model codes are beginning to mandate that sufficient testing be undertaken
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StressStrain Curve
173
FIGURE 12-3
Typical tabby ruins,
Coastal Georgia.
in historic buildings to determine the shear strength of unreinforced masonry

buildings for seismic evaluation.
Although tabby is not a ductile material, seismic enhancement of tabby
structures can be accomplished by increasing the ductility of the total system
of walls, floors, and roofs acting together. By tying floor and roof framing to
tabby walls while allowing subtle yielding of the joints between the components, the ductility of the total system can be enhanced.
STRESSSTRAIN CURVE
Concrete is usually tested by filling 6-inch-diameter by 12-inch-high cylindrical
molds with concrete during job placement. These cylinders are allowed to set
at the jobsite and are then transported to a testing laboratory to cure for 7 or
28 days. Out of a quantity of five cylinders, two usually are tested at 7 days,
two tested at 28 days, and one held in reserve. The samples are molded in
accordance with ASTM C-31 and tested in accordance with ASTM C-39 by
breaking them in a hydraulically powered compression machine that records
load applied versus deformation. The strength at 28 days is the compressive
strength, which is specified for concrete. For example: 3000 psi concrete is
actually 3000 psi @ 28 days concrete. Obviously, historic tabby cannot be
sampled fresh and must be removed by being cut or cored from the structure.
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174
The testing of a cylinder of tabby or a test prism cut from a tabby wall
should yield a stressstrain curve when stress is plotted against strain. The
modulus of elasticity of a tabby sample can then be obtained. The results of
this test are a measure of the stiffness of the material, and are useful in determining the stability of unbraced walls.
TESTING TABBY
Many of the methods of testing concrete and masonry can be applied to tabby.
Because of its continuity, which is superior to unit masonry, testing can be
applied easily to samples, assuming that the samples can be removed, transported, trimmed, and capped without crumbling.
Olivia Alison, curator of the Telfair Museum of Art, saved several cores
obtained from HVAC work completed at the Owens-Thomas House at the
Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah. These cores, 45/8 inches in diameter, were
taken from the thick interior walls of the mansion.
FIGURE 12-4
The cores were
obtained from holes
made through the walls
for piping.
Two cores were transported to the Froehling & Robertson, Inc., office in
Raleigh, trimmed, capped, and tested in a Forney 500,000-pound-capacity testing machine.
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Testing Tabby
175
FIGURE 12-5
The two samples were
capped in similar
fashion to concrete
cylinders.
The core samples A and B failed at an ultimate load of 14,945 pounds, or

890 psi, and 15,499 or 923 psi, respectively.
FIGURE 12-6
The tabby cores were
tested in a 500,000pound-capacity
machine.
In situ tests that have been developed for masonry can be applied to tabby.
As with masonry and concrete, obtaining accurate values for compression and
shear is important. Unit weight is a physical property often overlooked, but
important for analysis.
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176
WALL CONSTRUCTION
Tabby walls are proportioned so that buckling due to slenderness is not a problem. Use of the basic equation for unreinforced masonry or concrete walls
shows that a height to thickness ratio of 10 to 1 does not cause a reduction in
strength due to slenderness. The eccentric loading due to timber trusses or large
floor beams probably can be ignored if distributed on a thick wood plate.
Because of its relatively low strengths, tabby performs well when uniformly
loaded. The support of a post or beam on a tabby wall is problematic when concentrated loads are not distributed, such as on a wood plate or brick masonry block.
At St. Helenas Episcopal Church in Beaufort, South Carolina, the brick
masonry sidewalls are supported on a tabby foundation wall that is 26 inches
thick. The computed design pressure for the combined dead load and live load
of 6.8 psi is low when compared to the 350 psi compressive strength obtained
by Sickels-Taves. In St. Helenas we have a fairly uniform load. There are no
cracks in the sidewalls related to settlement caused by failure in the tabby.
Stucco and plaster applied to tabby walls not only protect them but give
them greater strength. A thorough analysis would include these materials in a
composite section. The reapplication of these surface treatments provides an
opportunity for reinforcing a tabby wall with metal lath, although corrosive
environments may dictate that a stainless steel lath be used. The stucco layer
can conceal earthquake or wind anchors, which may be required to tie floor
and roof structures to tabby walls.
TABBY REINFORCING
Inset wood grounds, nailers, or plates can provide the horizontal continuity in
a tabby wall capable of resisting tensile forces due to lateral loads. Often, these
elements in historic structures are badly deteriorated and are in need of replacement. The tensile capacity of such elements is dependent on the net cross-sectional area of sound material, bond capacity, and continuity through joints.
SERVICEABILITY
Tabby is a surprisingly durable construction material when kept dry and free
from freezethaw degradation.
During construction, the formula of lime, sand, shell, and wood ash mixed
and placed under field conditions was subject to variation. In tabby, because it is
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Serviceability
177
FIGURE 12-7
The Horton-DuBignon
House on Jekyll Island
(ca. 1738) is one of the
oldest tabby structures
in Georgia. (See color
insert.)
an unreinforced lime-based cementacious product, only low strengths can be

achieved compared to modern-day Portland cement concrete. It is a durable material when protected by stucco, actually hardening with time due to carbonation.
FIGURE 12-8
The intersecting
interior wall provides
stability to the
two-story Horton
House ruins.
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178
STABILIZATION
The most appropriate stabilization for a tabby wall should be the same as that
employed for any historic brick masonry wall suffering damage. Traditional
repairs are the most direct, using similar technology to that available to the
original builder. Walls function best when they are braced by floors and roofs.
All masonry walls provide better service when they are part of an occupied
building with an intact roof system.
Methods for preserving tabby should be similar to those of any other
masonry system, with repairs determined on a case-by-case basis. Protecting a
tabby structure from moisture should be the primary goal.
FIGURE 12-9
In 1899, steel rods
were added and the
tops of Horton House
walls were capped.
RUINS CONSERVATION
Structural stabilization of tabby ruins is required if close inspection by the
public is to be allowed. Over a long period of time, tall, unbraced walls and
chimney structures tend to collapse due to high wind events. If subjected to a
sufficient number of storms of sufficient magnitude, what remains are walls
that are stable until deterioration reduces their capacity further. Bracing may
be required if analysis indicates that a wall exceeds a certain maximum unbraced
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Reference
179
length, which has been calculated, or if calculations indicate that sufficient

wind can be applied to overstress the free-standing wall. Because of the open
nature of ruins, a free-standing wall is subject to wind forces from two directions normal to its face. Analysis is similar to a sign or solid fence, using building-code wind-load factors for such structures.
DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

Soil cement or terracrete requires pressure to help bind the ingredients because
moisture and cement are both limited. Soil cement has been used in the manufacture of unit masonry by ramming the mixed ingredients by hand into a
mold. The design and analysis of tabby, soil cement, and adobe are similar.
CONCLUSION
Tabby is a traditional construction material important to the coastal areas of the
southeastern United States and the Caribbean. Conserving historic tabby buildings and ruins that remain will require that we undertake sufficient research to
better understand this construction material. Tabby can be analyzed in much
the same way as unreinforced Portland cement concrete is analyzed. Through
observation, measurement, testing, and analysis, tabby structures can be evaluated to determine their structural serviceability.
REFERENCE
1. Gwilt, Joseph. The Encyclopedia of Architecture, the Classic 1867 Edition,
The Complete Guide to Architecture from Antiquity to Nineteenth Century.
New York: Crown Publishers, 1982.
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CHAPTER
13
Relocating the Cape Hatteras

Lighthouse
INTRODUCTION
he relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and dependencies involved
structural issues related to lifting, transporting, and supporting the various
buildings at the new location. The International Chimney Corporation (ICC) of
Buffalo, New York, won the design-build contract from the National Park
Service. The relocation team included five subcontracting consulting firms, a
structural mover, and a unified hydraulics system expert.
Any relocation transportation system must deal with the act of lifting the
structure off the ground, transferring the load to a transport system, moving
the structure along the move route, and transferring the load of the structure
from the transport/support system to the new foundation.
The 208-foot-tall brick and granite masonry tower completed in 1872 was
originally constructed 1,600 feet from the shoreline.
It rested on a double layer mat of 6 12 southern pine timbers, laying flat.
The timber mat was located approximately 4 feet below the water table, keeping
it safe from deterioration. On the timber mat rested the base of the lighthouse
consisting of hard, dressed stones of pink Vermont granite grouted into place.
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Relocating the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
FIGURE 13-1
The Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse is 208 feet
tall. It weights
4,800 tons.
BACKGROUND
The case for moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was made in a paper, by this
author, titled Straight Line Move Necessitated by the Migration of the Barrier
Islands, presented at the Annual APT Conference, October 1986, in Austin,
Texas. That paper discussed the inevitable migration of the barrier islands, the
original construction of the lighthouse, examples of other similar large buildings moved successfully in the United States and elsewhere, and the technology
available to accomplish the task.
A lighthouse is by nature obstinate and stubborn, standing as it does on
the edge of the earth, subject to the ravages of the sea. When a lighthouse is
threatened by time and the environment, it is popular to rally to its defense,
often with the same obstinacy that the lighthouse exhibits daily. So it is with
the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina.
This wonderful structure was designed in the 1860s painstakingly by hand,
without benefit of computers. The bricks were made and laid by hand. Beautifully
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Background
183
proportioned and crafted, this lighthouse has symbolized North Carolinas

Outer Banks for years. Now it was threatened by the relentless surf and the
westward migration of the barrier island on which it stood.
By 1988, the black and white diagonally striped Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
had warned mariners for 116 years of the treacherous waters that have given
North Carolinas Outer Banks the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic. The
Light Station at Buxton is a symbol of the Outer Banks and of maritime culture
and may be the best known of American lighthouses. Because of its historical
importance in the region and, indeed, the nation, the distinctive tower is
included on the National Register of Historic Places. In much the same way
that the structure dominates the landscape, so too is the lighthouse prominent
in the local culture.
It was obvious that migration of the North Carolina barrier islands would,
in time, undermine this historic structure. Dr. Orrin H. Pilkey, a Duke University
geologist and noted authority on the Outer Banks, stated many times that the
attempts to save the lighthouse in place are doomed.
On May 19, 1985, a Cape Hatteras Shoreline Erosion Workshop was held
at Buxton, North Carolina. Participants included representatives from the
National Park Service, North Carolina State University, the University of Virginia, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the North Carolina Department of
Natural Resources and Community Development. The purpose of the workshop was to review the patterns and frequency of ocean shoreline changes in
the vicinity of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Regardless of the database or study used, it was clear to the participants
that the long-term change in this shoreline is characterized by erosion. This
erosion trend appears to be consistent with changes reported for most of the
mid-Atlantic coast. They concluded that causes were a combination of longterm sea level rise, storms, and both manmade and natural reduction in sediment supply. The erosion of the beach was documented by reviewing 18
publications dealing with the quantification of erosion and accretion. The
information reviewed was based on aerial photographs and bathymetric charts
for a period of 100 years. Shoreline erosion is a manifestation of the whole
island changing shape and position.
Migration of the Barrier Islands is a well-documented natural condition
caused by the forces of waves, tides, and wind. As the Barrier Islands roll over
themselves in tank-tread fashion, nature maintains the dynamic equilibrium of
the beaches through unceasing trade-offs of material, energy, topology, and the
rising sea level.
For thousands of years, the traditional methods of protecting shorelines
have centered around stabilizing the natural system. The construction of marine
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structures such as groins and jetties perpendicular to the shoreline attempt to

stabilize shorelines by trapping sand carried by littoral currents running parallel to the shoreline. Structures constructed parallel to the shoreline, such as
seawalls, bulkheads, and revetments, are built to protect a shoreline by absorbing the impact of the breaking waves, while breakwaters are designed to dampen
wave energy before it reaches shore. Many millions of dollars have been spent
replenishing or nourishing beaches by pumping new sand onto the beach or
into longshore currents.
Since anything built on the beach usually increases the rate of erosion,
relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse would be the preferred alternative
to construction of an encircling revetment wall. Relocation of such a structure
would demonstrate the feasibility of a coastal management policy that would
respect the natural migration of the Barrier Islands in an area where the rapid
development of permanent structures is sure to lead to disaster. The long-term
history at Cape Hatteras has been shoreline erosion at an average of approximately 11 feet per year.
More than 1,200 shipwrecks have occurred in the waters off Cape Hatteras since the first recorded wreck in 1526. Hatteras is the point where two
major ocean currents off the east coast, the northbound Gulf Stream and the
southbound remnant of the Labrador Current, collide head on. This collision
causes constant turbulence of Cape Hatteras, which has resulted in the formation of a shifting mass of underwater sand bars that stretch eastward into the
Atlantic from the cape for some 14 miles, creating Diamond Shoals, dreaded
by mariners the world over.
Congress heeded the call of coastal captains for navigational aids specifically designed to assist offshore vessels by passing an act in 1794 that provided
for the drafting of construction plans for a first-rate lighthouse to be built at
Cape Hatteras. The first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was a 90-foot high, octagonal shaped, sandstone structure completed in 1802.
In 1850, complaints to a newly formed Light House Board regarding the
inadequacy of the Cape Hatteras light were heard. The light was inadequate to
be seen a great distances, and the tower was not tall enough to penetrate a
blanket of haze that formed over nearby Diamond Shoals and the cape itself.
In March 1867, Congress appropriated $75,000 for the construction of a
new lighthouse at Hatteras. The Light House Board insisted that (in) a tower
so exposed as the new one proposed for Cape Hatteras, it is desirable to take
every measure to secure the very best materials.1 The materials included one
million prime dark red brick at a cost of $12.35 per thousand supplied by
Nicholas M. Smith of Baltimore. The brick and stone for the foundation were
transported by schooners or shallow-draft steamers to a point in the open
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Background
185
sound where materials were transferred to lighters. These scows could not get
all the way to shore, so a long wharf had to be built into the sound. A tram
railway was constructed from the wharf to the construction site to transport
building materials over mucky marsh and soft sand.
David Stick, in his book North Carolina Lighthouses, describes the laying
of the foundation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.1
Instead of contracting with a private firm for the project, the Light House
Board took on the job with its own crew, hired a foreman, and employed day
labor, all under the general direction of a district engineer. The foreman selected
for the Cape Hatteras project was Dexter Stetson, a man ingenious enough to
figure out new ways of getting things done and capable of doing them.
Dexter Stetsons working party was on the job in early November 1868.
Construction began on quarters and a messroom for the crew, a blacksmith
shop, two derricks, and storage buildings for cement and other perishable
materials, as well as the wharf, tram railway, and scows.
Because the lighthouse was to be constructed on a relatively low beach
covered with soft sand, there was special concern about the foundation. Original plans had called for driving heavy pilings into the sand as support for the
huge blocks of granite that were to serve as a base for the tower, but Stetson
found that he could a drive a sounding rod only 9 feet into the sand. He then
discovered one of those contradictions of nature that coastal residents tend to
take for granted. The very same sand that is so dry and soft near the surface
that a mans foot will sink to a depth of an inch or two with every step is almost
invariably damp and compact only a couple of feet down. It thus forms an
exceptionally sturdy foundation capable of supporting tremendous weight.1
Accordingly, Stetson proceeded to excavate a wide hole 6 feet deep. Finding that he could drive the pilings only 6 more feet below that level as a result
of the sand being very hard and compact, he devised an entirely different
method of supporting the structure. Because his 6-foot hole had rapidly filled
with water, he took advantage of another phenomenon of nature: the resistance of certain types of wood to decay so long as they are totally submerged in
water and thus not exposed to the air. By building a cofferdam around his huge
hole in the sand, he was able to keep the hole free of water with the use of
powerful steam engines. He then laid a course of 6-by-12-inch southern pine
timbers in the bottom of the hole and placed a second course of 6 12s crossway on top of the first layer. Using the timbers as a base, he then laid a massive octagonal foundation, composed of large blocks of granite laid in cement
mortar, a rubble masonry, the interstices being filled with smaller stone of the
same kind.1 When this was done, he turned off the steam engines and let
the water seep back into the hole, covering the pine timbers.1
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From the ground level, four more octagonal courses of cut granite were
added, each narrower than the preceding one, thus giving the outward appearance of huge stone steps surrounding the exposed foundation. Above this foundation for a height of approximately 10 feet cut granite was laid at each corner
with solid brick between, thus providing a base sufficient to support the weight
of the massive circular brick tower that was to rise above it.
As the crew of masons continued to lay course after course of brick, gradually reducing the diameter of the tower as they worked skyward, metal stairways were installed. When at last the structure was completed, the Light House
Board shipped down a first-order flashing lens of the most modern design with
a lampist named George J. Crossman to install it properly.
The current tower, round and 208 feet tall, was completed 600 feet north
of the original 1802 sandstone structure and 1,600 feet from the shoreline; the
older light was demolished. Yet by 1919, the shoreline had eroded to within
300 feet of the second tower. In an effort to arrest the trend, the Lighthouse
Service installed 900 linear feet of interlocking groins in 1930. Within two
years, though, the shoreline was 100 feet from the light station, prompting the
construction of more groins, which also proved ineffective.
In 1935, land was acquired for a new light station, and a metal frame
tower 150 feet in height was completed the following years. Upon exhibiting
the new light, the 44 acres comprising the old site were turned over to the
Department of the Interior for use by the National Park Service.
In the following decade, the erosion was reversed by accretion along the
shoreline. As a result, in 1950 the National Park Service and the Coast Guard
entered into an agreement that allowed the light to be moved back to the
striped tower. Basically, the agreement specified that the National Park service
controls the light station, while the Coast Guard was obligated to take appropriate action to maintain a light, whether in the tower or elsewhere.
Since 1950, though, erosion rather than accretion had affected the coast in
the vicinity of the station, and again the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was threatened with destruction by the sea.
In 1979, the National Park Service commissioned a study for the feasibility
and cost estimate for relocating the lighthouse.2 The proposed method called
for the relocation of the complete light station to an area 2,800 feet southwest
from its present site. Two keepers quarters and an oilhouse would be relocated
along with the 2,600-ton lighthouse. For that study, MTMA Design Group of
Raleigh, an architectural firm, hired the author to provide consulting structural
engineering services to assist in determining the means and methods of such a
relocation and assist in the cost estimating. Previously in 1978 we had provided
consultation to MTMA Design Group for a similar study for the Cape Lookout
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Background
187
Lighthouse which was also threatened by erosion.3 For the Cape Lookout study
we naively concluded that the lighthouse could be cut into four to five pieces to
be moved separately. It was obvious that for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
there would have to be another approach because the base alone weighed more
than 700 tons.
The 208-foot-tall lighthouse is a brick masonry cylinder enclosed by a truncated cone. The inner and outer walls are connected by numerous shear walls.
The center of gravity of the lighthouse is only 56 feet above the base. Proportioning the lighthouse with a low center of gravity enables it to withstand high
wind forces tending to overturn such a tall structure. Its inherent stability
against overturning is critical to the feasibility of relocating this massive structure in one piece.
Because of economics, the relocation of very large masonry structures is
usually made in a straight line or along a smooth horizontal curve on fixed rails.
Even though the lighthouse was at that time estimated to weigh 2,600 tons
above grade, it was more feasible to move the structure in one piece rather than
several. The cylindrical tower could have been cut into manageable sections,
but the octagonal base, weighing 768 tons, would remain a very heavy piece to
relocate intact. Thus, the proposed method to move the lighthouse in its entirety,
in a straight line, along steel and concrete rails to a new foundation was judged
to be a more simple and practical solution once the structure is lifted from its
foundation.
The new site, as selected by the National Park Service for the relocation
study, would be 2,800 feet southwest of the current site and 2,400 feet from
the shoreline. Factors influencing site selection include soil-bearing capacity
and water table depth, elevation and stability of the landscape, number of years
before coastal erosion again would affect the structure, and ease of moving
across the intervening landscape.
To lift the lighthouse from its foundation, we proposed that heavy-steel
needle beams would be horizontally inserted in two directions through the
octagonal base. The beams would be connected to steel girders, forming a
square in plan; numerous struts would brace the girders to each other. The
structural steel would weigh an estimated 150 tons, with the largest piece
weighing 33 tons.2
The lighthouse, along with the steel framework, would then be raised by
twenty-two 150-ton hydraulic jacks. Sufficient cutting of brick and stone would
be required to ensure a relatively clean separation from the foundation, which
would then be relocated to the new site.
The proposed procedure would require that two parallel rails be constructed to the new site. The rails would consist of 1 -inch continuous steel
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plates bearing, on concrete grade beams, on a wide band of sand stabilized

with Portland cement.
Upon visiting the structure on September 13, 1986, Mr. Kenneth Adair, a
building mover contractor from Boynton Beach, Florida, stated to this author that
there is no question that the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse can safely be moved.
FIGURE 13-2
Kenneth Adair (right)
consulted with the
author in September
1986.
The solution proposed by Mr. Adair would require that five to six parallel
rails be construction to spread the weight of the moving load more evenly on
the supporting sand layers below. This discussion validated the assumptions
we made regarding the feasibility of location made seven years before.
Machinery available to move a large masonry structures include hydraulic
cylinder jacks, industrial rollers, and cable pulling machines to provide the force
needed to overcome static friction at the initiation of movement and to sustain
a constant rate of movement.
The Simplex Division of Templeton, Kenly & Company of Broadview,
Illinois, had been manufacturing high tonnage hydraulic cylinders for 40 years.
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Background
189
Simplex/Pine hydraulic cylinders are available from stock in capacities, ranging

from 150 to 500 tons with piston travels from 3 to 12 inches. Higher capacities
and longer travels can be engineered into the hydraulic cylinder jacks. Hightonnage hydraulic cylinder jacks, manufactured by many companies, have been
used in countless applications throughout the world for many years.4
Hillman Incorporated, of Wall, New Jersey, manufactures large industrial
rollers with load capacities of 300 to 500 tons per unit. Constructed of hardened steel, these rollers can move very heavy loads with a 5 percent coefficient
of friction between bearing surfaces.5
The Lucker Manufacturing Company is a division of the American Hoist
and & Derrick Company Manufactures Pulling Machines, which pull wire rope
with a continuous, steady, smooth motion. The hydraulic power unit, powered
by electric motor, gasoline, or diesel engine, can exert pulling up to one million
pounds at a normal speed of 3 feet per minute. Pull machine controls provide
for precise and full control of the pulling operation. A direct reading calibrated
gauge tells the operator the actual pounds or kilograms pulling on the wire
rope at all times. Force of pull and speed are fully adjustable from zero to
maximum. It was obvious that the equipment required to accomplish the task
was available in several forms by many vendors.
The physics involved in the horizontal moving of any object is rather simple. In the horizontal direction, the force required to produce movement is a
function of the mass of the structure and the acceleration required to overcome
the friction forces between the surface of the rollers and the rails. In other
words, in the case of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, a 130-ton force would be
required to move the 2,600-ton structure from a stationary position to a very
slow velocity in the horizontal direction.
The stability of the lighthouse is a question of simple statics. In the vertical
direction, the underlying sands will push up with an opposite force equivalent
to the weight of the lighthouse, thus providing stability in the vertical direction.
This is no problem as the underlying geology is composed of very dense sands.
The overturning forces imposed on the lighthouse due to small horizontal
accelerations during the moving operation would be insignificant compared to
the overturning forces produced by a 120 mph wind. The overturning stability
of the lighthouse is excellent because its proportions were determined to specifically resist horizontal wind load forces.
The successes, for many years, of building movers in the United States is
well documented in such periodicals as Scientific American, Engineering News
Record, and House and Building Mover magazine.
In 1923 the firm of John Eichleay, Jr., Company, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
moved the 3,200-ton St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church on East Ohio Street in
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Pittsburgh, a distance of 20 feet. The church consisted of heavy brick walls with
timber-framed floors and roof structure. The building measured 110 feet by 65 feet
with two towers flanking the narthex. The contractor utilized 85-pound steel rails,
3-inch rollers, and numerous screw jacks, as well as a considerable amount of timber cribbing and running timbers. There was no interruption in the use of the
building and no damage to the delicate plaster or stained glass windows.6
This same contractor, in 1903, moved the 600-ton Col. Brown mansion
160 feet vertically from the banks of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh to
the top of the bluff overlooking the river.
FIGURE 13-3
The Col. Brown
Mansion was moved
in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, in 1903.
The brick house measuring 85 feet by 40 feet was lifted in stages to four
benches cut into the face of the cliff. Again, the technology was similar, utilizing
steel needle beams, screw jacks, and timber cribbing.7
More recently, in 1975, the sixteenth-century Church of the Virgin Mary at
Most, Czechoslovakia, weighing 12,000 tons, was moved because it prevented
access to large underground coal deposits. It was moved 800 yards on rails at
0.0013 mph over a period of 4 weeks at a cost of $15,300,000.
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Background
191
FIGURE 13-4
The Church of the
Annunciation of the
Virgin Mary, Most,
Czech Republic.
Source:
Courtesy of the City of
Most, Michal Hornof.
FIGURE 13-5
The Church of the
Virgin Mary moved
along a curved route.
Source:
Courtesy of the City of
Most, Michal Hornof.
In 1966, the 3,200-year old Temples of Ramesses II, at Abu Simbel in Egypt,
were moved to site 212 feet above and 690 feet back from the approaching shoreline of Lake Nasser. Italian engineers, in 1965, proposed to move each of the
temples in a single piece. One weighing 291,500 tons and the other 60,500 tons.
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The estimated cost for this proposal was $90 million. Alternatively, the temples
were cut into 950 pieces weighing 30 tons or less. The relocation effort that rescued these ancient structures was chronicled in the May 1966 issue of National
Geographic in an article titled Saving the Ancient Temples at Abu Simbel.8
FIGURE 13-6
The Temples of
Ramses were moved
in 1966.
Source:
Courtesy of Denise
Chans Flickr stream,
Creative Commons
License AttributionShare Alike 2.0
Generic.
The relatively simple structure of the lighthouse and its location are two
aspects that contribute to the technical feasibility of relocation. It is not an ancient
structure. Detailed plans showing the construction of the lighthouse are filed
with the Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut.9
We argued that the relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse would be
beneficial to the State of North Carolina in terms of tourism not only during the
moving operation, but also thereafter; the value of the lighthouse as a historic
site would be enhanced because this would be the lighthouse that was moved.
It would have an impact on our policy regarding coastal management and zoning that would recognize the migrating nature of the barrier islands and the
feasibility of relocating large structures.
The philosophy/argument that if a structure is moved its historic significance is compromised was invalid here. To the contrary, the revetment is a
traditional hold back the sea approach, which denies the migrating nature of
the barrier islands. It would have permanently changed the site, creating within
50 to 70 years a new island, restricting access, and obscuring the view of the
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Design Issues
193
lighthouse. Building a wall is a primitive, expensive, and ultimately futile

attempt to save the lighthouse because when the island itself is undercut by
the sea, there will be no more alternatives. In this case, moving the lighthouse
1,000 yards preserved its historic setting among the dunes, with its outbuildings surrounding it, for at least 200 years. It was a valid approach, since the
technology to move it was readily available. This was a project worthy of
national attention and of size sufficient to demonstrate new approaches to
preservation. We were concerned about having our preservationist ideals
entrenched within the bureaucracy to such an extent that valid, economical
solutions are ignored to the detriment of the structure. In an amazing reversal,
the National Park Service embraced the idea of relocation as the best solution
for saving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
It was important that the citizens of the United States to have an opportunity
to save the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in a manner that would result in the least
amount of disruption, the most permanent solution, and the lowest possible cost.
The Move the Lighthouse Committee, a small, nonprofit, group dedicated
to the relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, was created shortly after the
National Park Service announced that it intended, with the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers as consultant, to build a seawall revetment to protect the lighthouse in place. During a jobsite visit in Raleigh I mentioned to Barrett Wilson
that the proposed revetment wall would not work, and that furthermore,
I knew that relocation was feasible because, as consultant to MTMA, we had
determined that the cost for relocation was estimated to be 2.74 million dollars. Barrett thought that we should organize an effort to pressure the National
Park Service to reverse their decision. We wrote many letters to the National Park
Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and our elected officials and informally published the document Move It or Lose It! This organization, consisting of Barrett Wilson of Raleigh, North Carolina, David M. Bush, formerly of
Duke University, Dr. Orrin Pilkey of Duke University, and this author began to
lobby against the seawall revetment, and for relocation. In 1988, the Park
Service revisited its decision with the assistance of the National Research
Councils Committee on Options for Preserving Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
The National Research Councils agreed with the Move the Lighthouse Committee and selected relocation as the preferred option.
DESIGN ISSUES
The Park Service first solicitated design proposals for the relocation of the
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We participated in the brainstorming part of that
effort and our team was selected for the project. During the design proposal
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our team considered, and then quickly rejected, two possible alternatives for
primary elements of the project. First, we considered the idea that the lighthouse required a gantry or bracing structure to provide stability during transport. We reasoned that by its inherent service as a navigational aide, subjected
to high wind forces, the lighthouse is proportioned to be highly stable and thus
did not require a supplemental bracing structure. Our analysis showed that the
factor of safety against overturning, in a 120 mph wind, was at least 17 to 1.
At no point in a 120 mph wind does the lower portion of the windward side of
the masonry structure develop tensile forces due to overturning. We estimated
that a stiff gantry structure of steel would weigh at least 200 tons. Construction
of such a tower would negatively affect the schedule and the budget with little
or no benefit in return. Unfortunately this project did not move forward because
the funding was not in place.
The selected alternative in the International Chimney Corporation designbuild proposal consisted of steel cross beams, main carrying beams, and a steel
cradle at the base of the lighthouse. This is the critical area that must be contained while a controlled application of force is applied to the bearing surfaces
at the lift points. Our team considered and rejected the idea that a continuous
hard rail system had to be built along the total length of travel. We instead
agreed that a set of steel rails and a steel mat which would be advanced in leapfrog fashion along the route would have many advantages. For strength, ease
of handling, availability, and salvage value, a mat consisting of W10 54 steel
beams was selected.
LIFTING THE LIGHTHOUSE

The ICC team considered separating the lighthouse at the floor level, at midheight of the base above grade, and below the base of the lighthouse. International Chimney Corporation rejected all alternatives in favor of lifting the
lighthouse from several feet below grade. Separating the lighthouse at floor
level was rejected because it would require considerable rehabilitation of brick
and stone and separate the work into essentially two large moves. The second
alternate was rejected for the same reason. Although work would be more
efficient above grade, the cost for rehabilitation of the stonework and brick
masonry above grade would negatively impact the project. A lift of the total
structure from below the base was also rejected because of the much greater
weight involved, the large vertical distance for the lift, and the expense of
working below the water table. Although the total lift alternative is an attractive possibility because of the retention of historic fabric, the overall cost
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Lifting the Lighthouse
195
would be 30 to 50 percent greater than the selected scheme. The selected

alternative allowed us to perform the majority of work between grade and the
water table. Cutting through the base with a cable saw provided an opportunity to observe conditions within the stone base and mitigate adverse conditions prior to the lift.
The builder, Dexter Stetson, did an exceptional job of placing and grouting
the Vermont granite stones. Cable saw cuts by International Chimney revealed
a solid, well-grouted base consisting of large semidressed granite blocks. Compressive strength tests made of cores obtained from the granite were in the
16,000 psi range. So hard was the granite that cutting through the base required
much more time than originally scheduled.
The ICC team considered and rejected a deep foundation for the rail system as unnecessary. Preliminary soil borings indicated that hard stiff sands are
fairly close to the ground surface. We agreed that the most cost-effective
approach was to mitigate the loose soils utilizing vibratory compaction methods. This technique provides a wide path of uniformly dense sands. We rejected
the deep pile solution because of the variable support provided in the system.
Hard supports at pile locations would have contrasted with intermediate support points, depending on the stiffness of the grade beams that would have to
span between. The cost of grade beams to span even short distances would be
prohibitively high. The cost for the removal of piles after construction would
also negatively affect the schedule and budget.
We also considered, and then rejected, a new foundation supported by piles.
Again, the presence of near surface dense sands made a deep foundation unnecessary. Our team agreed that the original builder Dexter Stetsons method of
building a raft or mat as support for the lighthouse was the most cost-effective
alternative. He utilized a double mat of 6 12 southern pine timbers as support
for a granite base of large, semi-dressed stones grouted in place.
Jobsite inspection, monitoring, and testing services for the lighthouse
relocation included geotechnical engineering associated with the rail support
system along the relocation alignment and at the new relocated lighthouse
site, as well as testing and inspection services during the preparation and
construction of the rail system and the new lighthouse foundation site, and also
continuous monitoring of the stress and strain within the structure during the
actual move.
Field and laboratory testing by Law Engineering and Environmental Services
Inc. (MACTEC) was presented in a geotechnical report describing the findings of
the investigation. Included were recommendations for subgrade preparation and
foundation support along the route and at the new lighthouse location. The procedures for subgrade preparation, along with subgrade performance during the
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196
relocation, were addressed. The geotechnical investigation for the new lighthouse
location included recommendations for site preparation and requirements for
foundation support.
Full-time testing and inspection was required in order to verify the continuity of subsurface conditions indicated in the geotechnical report and to monitor construction activities to verify that adequate foundation subgrade
conditions were achieved. In addition to monitoring of the subsurface conditions, on-site geotechnical personnel provided in-place density tests of subgrade soils.
The on-site monitoring provided information, on a continuous basis, to
on-site personnel as to the motion and strains to which the lighthouse was
being subjected and issue warnings if the established parameters had been
approached or exceeded. Data was also compiled at three locations for various
team members in Buffalo, Chicago, and Atlanta.
ROUTE PREPARATION
After excavation and dewatering, the base of the lighthouse was mined by
cutting through with a stone cutting cable saw.
FIGURE 13-7
After the excavation, of
the original foundation
had to be dewatered.
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Route Preparation
197
FIGURE 13-8
The original granite
foundation was cut
away using cable
saws.
This horizontal cut proceeded in 4- to 5-foot stages as stone was removed.

FIGURE 13-9
Stone was mined
from the base of the
lighthouse as shoring
posts were installed.
This provided a 6-foot tall space under the lighthouse, where steel shoring
beams and posts could be placed. As the mining operation proceeded, stone
was replaced by the shoring system consisting of transverse W8 35 shoring
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198
beams and 5-inch-diameter, double extra strong, shoring posts on heavy bearing plates supported by one layer of 6 8 oak cribbing.
FIGURE 13-10
A steel mat was
installed to support the
pipe column shoring
posts.
Supporting the oak cribbing was a continuous steel mat of W10 54s that
rested on the original timber mat. The 70-foot-long steel mats were inserted
first. After the cribbing and plates were placed, the shoring posts were installed,
spaced 4 foot on center in one direction and 4 foot, 6 inches on center in the
other direction. After installing cross-bracing angles, the W8 35 shoring
beams were installed on top of the posts. Built into each post was a Simplex
50-ton hydraulic jack with a 10-inch stroke. As each section was completed,
the hydraulic jacks were pressurized to support their share of the total weight
transferred to the shoring steel, the next section was sawed through, and the
stone removed. Steel mats, cribbing, bearing plates, posts, and shoring beams
followed the mining of each section until the lighthouse was supported on steel
in its entirety.
Heavy cross steel consisting of 60-foot-long W14 145 beams were
inserted parallel to and between the shoring beams. Gaps above the shoring
beams were grouted and shimmed. Below the 13 cross beams, seven main beams
consisting of seventy, 72-foot-long double W24 162 beams were inserted
transverse to the shoring steel and parallel to the move direction. The main
beams contained inverted hydraulic cylinders that rested on Hillman industrial rollers. This assembly was the heart of the system. Repeated 100 times,
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Route Preparation
199
the 100-ton hydraulic jacks had more than sufficient capacity to support the
lighthouse during the move.
The lighthouse was lifted in stages using the synchronized hydraulic system.
After the cylinders were sufficiently extended, 6 8 oak cribbing was installed
as a temporary support. The load was transferred from the jacks to the cribbing,
and then the posts, jacks, and plates were reset at higher elevation on additional
cribbing. In this manner the lighthouse was lifted out of its original excavation
to a height that would allow it to move horizontally on the track of densified
soils, stone subbase, steel mats, and track beams. Five hydraulic push jacks connected to the track beams and the double main beams were used to propel the
lighthouse and its supporting steel. Each push jack was connected to a track
beam with a hydraulic clamp. The 4,800 tons quietly moved along the tracks,
pushed in 4- to 5-foot increments. After the push jacks were extended, the
hydraulic clamps would release to allow the push jacks to retract for the next
push. As the mat and track steel were passed over and cleared, these items were
picked up and relocated in front of the lighthouse. This leapfrogging of stone
and steel was the limiting factor to the rate of travel for the lighthouse.
FIGURE 13-11
The main steel
leapfrogged along the
route to the new site.
Moving the lighthouse from the prepared travel route onto the new foundation essentially reversed of the process used to move it off the old foundation. A transition zone of stepped cribbing was used to carry the track steel
across the new foundation.
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200
FIGURE 13-12
The Lighthouse was
lifted out of its original
position to the proper
grade.
Once the correct position was reached, a sequential operation of placing

steel support columns between the cross steel to the foundation allowed for the
removal of the track beams and main beams. Support columns were installed
while the lighthouse was still elevated; setting the lighthouse to its proper elevation, and allowing the columns to support the load of the lighthouse, while
the support frame was sequentially dismantled from the mains down.
FOUNDATION DESIGN
Eighty percent of the weight of the lighthouse was estimated to lie within a
donut-shaped footprint. This load pattern was used to distribute the weight to
the shoring beams and towers, cross beams and main steel, and the new foundation. The new foundation was proportioned by applying the load from the
lighthouse in three stages across the footing. The Portland Cement Association
concrete design software PCA-Mats was used to check footing thickness and
reinforcing quantities. Although the original footing mat had been a double
criss-cross layer of 6 12 dense southern pine timbers, laying flat, the new
foundation was 60 feet wide to accommodate the moving system. It was
designed to subgrade parameters provided by the geotechnical consultant.
Footing thicknesses reviewed included 36, 48, and 60 inches. Final parameters
used for design consisted of a subgrade modulus (Ks) of 50 kcf and an allowable
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New Foundation
201
soil bearing pressure (Qa) of 6,000 psf. Analysis indicated that a 48-inch
thickness provided a balanced design between concrete and reinforcing steel
with a comfortable factor of safety in bending and shear for the various loading
conditions during and after the move.
FIGURE 13-13
The new foundation consisted of a
4-foot-thick reinforced
concrete mat 60 feet
square in plan.
NEW FOUNDATION
The original timber mat provided satisfactory support for over 125 years.
Available soils data, experience, and testing in the Buxton area indicated that
soil conditions at the new location were very similar to those at the original
location. A concrete mat foundation 4'-0" thick by 60'-0" square was designed
to distribute the weight of the lighthouse uniformly across a wide area with the
least amount of internal stress in the foundation structure. The foundation mat
was proportioned to impart relatively low stresses to the underlying soils.
Because the load of the lighthouse was applied nonuniformly to the new concrete mat as the lighthouse was moved onto it, the new mat contained additional reinforcing to accommodate the changing stress pattern.
Reinforcing consisted of epoxy coated #10 (1-inch diameter) bottom bars
spaced at 8 inches on center each way and #10 reinforcing bars spaced at
14 inches on center each way in the top of the mat. Strips through the middle of
the footing had additional reinforcing to accommodate bending stresses imparted
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202
by the moving load. The reinforcing was placed in a layout that recognized the
directional manner of the movement and accommodated stresses resulting from
the moving load. Concrete for the mat, consisting of 522 cubic yards, was placed
during an 8-hour period with two concrete pumps.
In order to accomplish the transfer of the support frame onto a new foundation, a space of at least 8 feet was needed. The base of the concrete mat
foundation bears at about 12 feet below grade. At this depth, medium dense to
dense sands are present that will easily support the estimated pressure of 5,000
pounds per square foot that will be imposed by the lighthouse. Dewatering was
accomplished by installing a system of single-stage multiple wellpoints. These
wellpoints drew down the groundwater to allow construction of a crushed
stone base layer and the 4-foot-thick reinforced concrete mat foundation.
When the mat was completed, the wellpoints were removed to allow the
groundwater to return to its former level. When the lighthouse reached the new
foundation, the groundwater was again lowered, but only partially, to expose
the top of the mat.
The concrete mat was placed sufficiently in advance of the arrival of the
lighthouse to allow time to achieve full concrete design strength. After the concrete
had cured for more than 28 days, the lighthouse was moved across the new
foundation and into place on July 9, 1999.
Based on the geotechnical analyses, the new foundation was expected to
have an immediate settlement on the order of 1 to 2 inches. Because the transfer of load to the new foundation occurred while the three-zone unified hydraulic support system was active, it was determined that settlement of this
magnitude would not affect the lighthouse. The actual amount of settlement
was much less than anticipated, on the order of 3/8 inch.
OTHER ADVANTAGES
The ICC relocation equipment was totally reusable and recyclable. The steel
included recycled beams used by Expert House Movers of Maryland on previous projects. The majority of concrete placed on-site was for the foundation of
the relocated lighthouse structure. Solutions utilizing piles, piers, or a deep
foundation for a rail system requiring abandonment, reclamation, retrieval or
disposal were rejected. The mats, cribbing, rails, beams, and hydraulic jacks all
can be used on future projects. The aggregate base course of crushed stone was
leap-frogged ahead of travel, and at the end of the move, stockpiled for the
National Park Service to use in later phases of construction.
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Summary
203
The transportation scheme designed by the ICC team provided system redundancy. No other system offers a comparable safety margin and system redundancy
as the selected design. With regard to weight variables, inconsistencies in the
move route, protection against storms, and variations in subgrade support, a
hydraulic system on steel rails was judged the best solution for moving the
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
FIGURE 13-14
The Lighthouse was
moved on steel rails.
SUMMARY
The relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse utilized technology known to
few people, mostly in the structural moving industry, to lift, transport, and set
the 4,800-ton lighthouse. The unified hydraulic system allowed the structure to
be uniformly supported while traversing a support system consisting of beams,
mats, and compacted soils. Structural issues involved vertical support of the
lighthouse as its base was incrementally removed by mining, support during
transport by a system of cross beams and main beams, and temporary and
permanent support at the new location. The inherent stability of the lighthouse
dictated that once supported on steel the lighthouse would remain stable. The
5-inch double extra strong steel pipe shoring towers had to be laterally braced
to resist wind and seismic forces.
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204
FIGURE 13-15
Temporary support
shoring posts
consisting of
5 x-strong pipes had to
be laterally braced.
This, we determined, was the most critical condition of the move.

Mindful of liability and budget constraints while working within a designbuild framework, the National Park Service was most cooperative in its administration of the project. Overall, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Relocation was
a well-considered and executed project. It is a direct reflection of the International Chimney Corporations overall team expertise in the relocation of historic structures.
CONCLUSION
The successful relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse should resolve once
and for all the technical feasibility of moving large structures. In this case,
engineering and construction expertise combined to solve the National Park
Services dilemma regarding the management of an important cultural icon.
CREDITS
DCF Engineering, Inc. of Cary, North Carolina, produced the structural drawings for the lifting and transporting of the lighthouse, and the new foundation.
Law Engineering (now MACTEC) of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Atlanta,
Georgia, provided geotechnical services and material testing. Randy Knott,
P.E., and Al Tice, P.E., were the primary managers for Law Engineering and
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Bibliography
205
Environmental Services, Inc. (now MACTEC). Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates

(WJE) of Northbrook, Illinois, provided the monitoring system and the historical architect. Harry Hunderman, FAIA, and Jerry Stockbridge, P.E., oversaw the architectural and materials testing effort for WJE. Joseph Jakubik,
project manager, and George Gardner, P.E., of International Chimney Corporation (ICC), and Peter Friesen (hydraulics expert) of Washington state worked
out the logistics for the move and devised details for temporary shoring and
jacking with Jerry and Jim Matyiko of Expert House Movers. Rick Lohr, led the
ICC team, and Skellie Hunt was the ICC jobsite superintendent.
REFERENCES
1. Stick, David. North Carolina Lighthouses, North Carolina Department of
Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, Raleigh, North
Carolina, 1983, 3rd printing.
2. Study and Report, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, for National Park Service,
MTMA Design Group, P.A. Raleigh, NC, December 1980.
3. Cost Estimate: Relocate the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, Cape Lookout
National Seashore, North Carolina, MTMA Design Group, P.A., Raleigh,
NC, November 15, 1978.
4. Simplex/Pine Design Features and Applications, Kenly, Templeton &
Company, Broadview, Illinois 60143.
5. Wire Rope and Jack Pulling Systems, Lucker Manufacturing, An Amhoist
Company, King of Prussia, PA 19406.
6. Moving a Church of 3200 Tons, Scientific American, March 1923, p. 186.
7. A Great Engineering Feat, Scientific American, July 1, 1916. p. 17.
8. Gerster, Georg, Robert W. Nicholson. Saving the Ancient Temples at Abu
Simbel, National Geographic, Vol. 129, No. 5, May 1966.
9. Office of the Lighthouse Superintendent Fifth District Baltimore, MD,
Cape Henry Lighthouse Station. Architectural and Engineering Drawings
for First Order Lighthouse for Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United
States Coast Guard Academy Library, New London, CT 06320.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pilkey, Orrin H. Jr., William J. Neal, Orrin H. Pilkey, Sr., Stanley R. Riggs. From
Currituck to Calabash, Living with North Carolinas Barrier Islands, North
Carolina Science and Technology Research Center, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27701, 1978.
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CHAPTER
14
Crisis in American Covered Bridges
uring the past few years, historic preservationists have been successful in
convincing highway department administrators and other state officials of
the importance of saving historic bridge structures. State bridge engineers have
been given the task of rehabilitating and upgrading bridge structures that, several years ago, would have been replaced without question. State highway
departments now have in-house preservation planners who work closely with
the State Preservation Department and local preservation groups.
With this emphasis on historic preservation, the rehabilitation of our timber-covered bridges should be much easier. Unfortunately, this does not appear
to be the case.
Between 1805 and 1885, an estimated 10,000 covered bridges were built
in the United States. Today, approximately 800 remain. In order to save our
remaining historic timber-covered bridges, we must embark on a program that
involves evaluation, rehabilitation, upgrading, and maintenance.
Too often, covered bridges are taken out of service without the benefit of
a complete structural analysis and testing program. Too many bridges have
been victims of well-intentioned repairs, designed to upgrade the bridges
structural capacity, but have instead, actually destroyed the essence of the
bridge. The use of precast concrete, steel, or glued laminated timber girders to
supplement the existing trusses, or schemes that remove the bridge trusses
from service altogether, are a poor reflection on a structural engineering profession capable of solving many difficult problems.
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208
There are many structural engineers in the United States with extensive
timber design experience. Unfortunately, many of these engineers do not have
experience designing or analyzing highway structures. Fewer still are proficient
in the area of historic preservation.
Timber is an excellent material for highway bridge construction. If maintained,
a timber bridge structure can give good service for many years. In Pennsylvania,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Indiana, there are many examples of covered bridges that have provided good service for 100 years or more. These bridges
are often neglected or inadvertently abused by well-intentioned highway maintenance personnel, and yet they continue to serve an ever-increasing traffic demand
until they are ultimately removed from service.
The structural engineer engaged in the evaluation of historic timber covered bridges should focus on the evaluation of the primary structural elements.
A complete and thorough analysis of the bridge truss must be performed.
Included should be a realistic computer analysis that accurately models, as best
as possible, continuous and discontinuous joints, as well as the various components members. First, the structural materials should be identified. It may
require that small samples of the wood be provided to the forestry department
of a local university or to a full service-testing laboratory. Some species of
wood cannot be identified without a thin section being examined under a
microscope. The density and grade of the component materials must be determined by observation and testing.
Laboratory testing of components of the bridge may indicated that allowable
design values vary from those currently published in the National Design Specification for Wood Construction of the National Forest Products Association.1
Some components of the original truss may have to be sacrificed to a
destructive testing program to obtain information used to justify realistic design
values. Nondestructive bending tests of components can be utilized to establish
an accurate modulus of elasticity, or stiffness, of component materials.
Load testing the bridge can easily be accomplished by driving a vehicle of
known weight onto the bridge.
Accurate deflection measurements must be obtained directly off the truss
with a surveyors instrument or deflection gauge.
A reasonable and fair design philosophy must be established that provides
for bridge safety, while justifying the continued service of historic bridge structures. A timber design philosophy that recognizes, for example, the critical
nature of buckling and tension failures versus less critical conditions, associated with a perpendicular-to-grain overstress at a bearing connection, must be
developed by the engineer.
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209
FIGURE 14-1
A Delaware County
(New York) truck of
known weight was used
to test the Downsville
Covered Bridge.
FIGURE 14-2
Readings were
obtained before,
during, and after the
loading of the bridge.
Structural upgrading of a bridge, if needed may involve the substitution of

larger pieces in certain areas of a truss or floor structure. The lateral bracing
of the bridge truss or a radial stiffening arch may have to be increased or
modified. Wherever possible, the upgrading of an historic timber bridge should
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210
utilize members and connections similar to the original bridge fabric. Steel
cover plates, stiffeners, ties and modern connectors should be avoided wherever possible.
The timber bridge trusses of Reuban L. Partridge (c.18231900) in Ohio
appear to be designed to allow for the easy replacement of web compression
members and the outboard chord material. Only the tension diagonals that are
notched through the multiple chord members are impossible to replace without extensive shoring or the bridge.
Mr. Partridges bridges, less than 100 feet in span, can be structurally
upgraded by substituting full-length glued laminated timber members for existing bottom-chord material. This substitution will increase the tensile capacity
of the bottom chord in three ways. The use of full-length glued laminated timber removes the reduction to the multichord net section due to shear block
notches and butt splices. Also, higher allowable design values in tension are
available with glued laminated timber materials.
These kinds of solutions would bring to these projects timber design expertise capable of evaluating and analyzing historic bridges as timber structures.
Historic timber structures provide an excellent laboratory for the timber
industry. Information regarding the long-term performance of wood would be
of great assistance to structural engineers faced with the problem of evaluating
historic structures. Research opportunities such as these would add to our
knowledge of modern timber engineering, as we utilize this renewable construction material, so important to our forest products and construction industries.
Structural engineers with timber design experience must become actively
involved in historic preservation in order to save our remaining historic covered bridges. Highway department bridge engineers must seek out consultants
with timber design expertise. By working together, we can save an important
part of our civil engineering heritage.
REFERENCE
National Forest Products Association, National Design Specifications for Wood
Construction, Washington, D.C.: National Forest Products Association, 1977.
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CHAPTER
15
The Timber Trusses of Burr,

Town, and Haupt
ne cannot offer a good summary of the engineering aspects of covered

bridge design without discussing the work of Theodore Burr (1771
1822), Ithiel Town (17841844), and Herman Haupt (18171905).
This discussion is illustrated by several case histories in this chapter and in
other places in this book.
In recent years, the attention of state DOT bridge-engineering departments
has been focused on historic timber-framed covered bridges. Transportation
enhancement funds made available in the past 10 years, and the Historic
Covered Bridge Preservation Program, have suddenly provided opportunities
to rehabilitate these historic timber structures.
Many people during most of the twentieth century considered covered
bridges to be primitive, unengineered systems. After all, the designer/builders
did not have access to sophisticated methods of structural analysis. These were
mere timber structures, often built in remote areas of the country, far from
industrialized cities, usually constructed with locally grown timber. They were
built in an era when wrought and cast iron, and steel and concrete, eclipsed
timber as the construction materials of choice. Even today, few recognize the
environmental advantages of constructing such monumental structures from
our most important renewable resource. Indeed, many sustainable construction
advocates and some members of the forest products industry do not fully
realize the benefits of heavy timber construction.
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212
The Timber Trusses of Burr, Town, and Haupt
FIGURE 15-1
General Herman
Haupt.
The timber trusses that form the primary structural systems of covered
bridges take many forms. Some of the most common, such as the Burr archtruss and the Town lattice, are based on patents that can be attributed to
particular inventor/builders of the first half of the nineteenth century. Long
service history has shown that these two, the most popular covered bridge
truss configurations of the nineteenth century, were the best structural solutions
for building these monumental timber structures. In this chapter we will
discuss the bridge designs of Burr, Town, and Haupt.
THEODORE BURR
Theodore Burrs addition of the two-hinged arch to the multiple kingpost truss
was a technical breakthrough in bridge construction.
His 1817 patent prompted much discussion in engineering circles about
the interaction of the arch with the truss. His patent, which was simply a
combination of a two-hinged arch with a multiple king post truss, demonstrated
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Theodore Burr
213
FIGURE 15-2
The Utica Road
Covered Bridge
contains modified Burr
trusses.
the stiffening ability of the arch. The Burr arch-truss was often criticized for
being statically indeterminate. Critics attempted to analyze the system of arch
and truss together, while the attitude of the builders was to proportion each
separately to carry the total load and merely yoke the two together.
FIGURE 15-3
The deteriorated
members in the Utica
Road Covered Bridge
were replaced in kind.
(See color insert.)
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214
With modern computers, the analysis of the Burr arch-truss can be

accomplished in elegant ways to mimic its actual action.
FIGURE 15-4
The Old Salem
Covered Bridge is a
modified Burr. A partial
arch is shown here
(See color insert.)
The success of the Burr arch-truss is proven by its popularity. Within the
few years, between the granting of his patent and his tragic financial failure and
death in 1822, Burr accomplished some incredible feats of construction such as
the 400-foot-span bridge across the Hudson River at Waterford, New York.
ITHIEL TOWN
The Town lattice has also been criticized for being structurally indeterminate
and wasteful of material. Actually, it is the best possible truss configuration for
a covered bridge because of its redundancy and the repetitive nature of its
construction. The system provides for relatively close spacing between lattice
and chord intersections, usually 4 feet on center. This provides the opportunity
for close spacing of the transverse floor beams without overstressing the bottom
chord in bending. The nature of highway loadings requires that the floor of a
bridge be tested for concentrated wheel and axle loads. In other configurations
of timber trusses, widely spaced truss panel points greatly limit the capacity of
the bridge requiring extra heavy floor stringers, beams, and flooring, or panels.
The combined tensile and bending forces in the bottom chord of a covered
bridge are critical to its capacity.
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Ithiel Town
215
In Town lattice bridges, the load path into the truss is more direct, from
the floor decking into the transverse floor beams usually spaced at 2 feet on
center. The floor beams are usually placed on top of the bottom chord with
every other beam extending through the lattice. Every other floor beam runs
across the width of the bridge from face to face of lattice, creating an eccentric
loading condition on the bottom chord that can be mitigated by shimming so
that the through beams bear on the outboard portion of the chord.
The myth that Town lattice truss bridges are easier to build, because the
joinery is less complicated than a Burr, should be dispelled. The vast number
of individual pieces to be assembled, and the large number of trunnels to be
driven requires an intensive application of labor. The system is complicated.
Ithiel Town controlled the construction of these bridges, in part, because there
were many details critical to the successful construction of a Town lattice
bridge that are not readily apparent.
In 1839, Ithiel Town published a pamphlet containing a description of his
improvement in the Principle, Construction, and Practical Execution of
Bridges that represented his best thinking related to his patents for the Town
lattice truss.1 The contents of this publication are notable because they show
tie beams combined with principal rafters and knee braces. Some existing
Town lattice truss bridges were either not built according to Towns latest
thinking or they have lost their original roof structures. For example, the
Goddard Bridge in Kentucky contains only common rafters and no interior
knee braces.
Figure No. 1 in Towns pamphlet shows a floor consisting of transverse
flooring and square longitudinal stringers.1 The Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge
in New Hampshire contains stringers and possibly original floor beams rather
than the closely spaced floor beams and longitudinal flooring now found in so
many Town truss bridges. The stringer solution is much better because these
secondary members are lighter in weight and allows air to circulate around the
floor beams, keeping them relatively dry.
Although large bolster beams are shown in two figures of bridge sections
in Towns pamphlet, no mention of these critical elements is included.
Apparently, the need for sufficiently large bolster beams, so as to not overstress
the chords and lattice sticks, was obvious from the very beginning.
To properly construct a new Town lattice truss bridge requires scrupulous
attention to detail. First, the timber needs to be of a very good quality of
uniform dimension. Douglas fir No. 1 Dense, free of heart center, is one of the
best materials to use for a Town lattice truss bridge. Southern pine is less
desirable, because of its additional weight, the presence of more knots, its
dimensional instability, and the difficulty of commercially obtaining large
quantities of good-quality material in lengths greater than 16 feet. Often the
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216
design of a Town lattice requires lengths of bottom chord material in the 32 to

36 foot range.
Arnold Graton of Ashland, New Hampshire, has built more Town lattice
timber truss bridges than anyone else now living. Working with his father,
Milton Graton, for 37 years, he learned the particulars of the Town lattice truss
as if he had sat at the knee of Ithiel Town himself.
FIGURE 15-5
Arnold Graton (left)
with his son JR
Graton in Thomaston,
Georgia.
The Town lattice requires a wide bearing surface for the truss so that
bottom chord, lattice, and connections are not overstressed. The general rule
of thumb is that the truss should extend beyond the center of the bearing equal
to the depth (height) of the truss. Town lattice trusses usually terminate at a
built-up end post. If the end of the truss is close to the bearing point, the
endpost may greatly affect the forces in the lattice braces and counter braces.
Bearing blocks, bed timbers and bolster beams can be configured to enhance
the capacity of a Town lattice truss. The Auchumpkee Covered Bridge in
Thomaston, Georgia, was originally built with very heavy double-cantilevered
bolster beams that tapered down in depth from their supports. These were
reused in Arnold Gratons 1996 reconstruction of the bridge that had been
destroyed in a flood. The tapered configuration is not only visually pleasing, it
provides a gentle transition between the main span and the supports.
A Town lattice truss will be substantially stronger if the chord sticks are as
long as possible. By scattering the end joints in the bottom chord in a rational
manner, there is less chance that a joint will fall precisely at midspan or at the
most critical point in the bottom chord. A more subtle consideration is load
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Ithiel Town
217
FIGURE 15-6
The original doublecantilevered bolster
beams were reused at
the Auchumpkee Creek
Covered Bridge.
sharing between individual leaves. The trunnels not only connect chords and
lattice together, they also allow for load sharing within the individual chord
sticks to provide continuity through joint locations. Drawings for new or
existing Town lattice trusses should show the distribution of joints in all chords
with the length of the chord sticks noted. Replacement chord sticks installed in
a bridge should respect the original joint locations.
During the first Covered Bridge Conference held in Burlington, Vermont,
in February 2003, we observed and briefly reviewed the analysis of several
covered bridges as performed by universities for government agencies, and by
traditional highway bridge engineers as consultants. In the first case, the effort
is academic, resulting in an educational tool used to transfer knowledge to the
design community. In the second case, there are serious gaps in the understanding
of how these timber structures perform by some members of the highway
bridge design community. Some engineers demonstrate their lack of knowledge
of timber design when they talk of shear planes in the design of trunnels. The
capacity of trunnels used as the primary connector in Town lattice trusses is
governed by the bearing in the trunnel perpendicular to grain. Timber elements
do not fail in shear across the grain. When a load is applied perpendicular
to the longitudinal axis of a timber pin, it may fail in bearing perpendicular to
grain, in horizontal shear, or bending; but not in shear through its cross-section.
Since bearing in the pin controls the design, increased capacity in Town lattice
connections can be achieved by increasing the diameter of the pins or by
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218
selecting trunnel material with a high allowable design value in bearing

perpendicular to grain such as live oak, locust, or mesquite.
Many highway, county, and consulting engineers, considering ways to
increase the capacity of Town lattice trusses, have added steel splice plates at
bottom chord joints. Connections such as these may be effective if the drilling
is very accurate, the holes not more than 1/16th of an inch larger than the bolt
diameter, the connection consists of two plates with the connection in double
shear, and the connections are prestressed by jacking some camber into the
bridge prior to drilling the holes. In actual practice, none of these conditions
are met.
The iron and steel dogs, found in Town lattice railroad bridges, to fasten
chord sticks together, work much better because they were installed with great
precision during original construction. In some cases they are adjustable and
can be tightened.
RETROFITTED ARCHES
In this chapter we must discuss the use of the retrofitted nail laminated timber
arch as stiffening and strengthening devise installed in many covered bridges
of the multiple kingpost design. Obviously, these bridges should not be
categorized as Burr arch-trusses for they do not follow the Burr patent.
The considerable structural advantages of retrofitted two-hinged nail or
bolted laminated arches offer a strong case for not restoring a bridge to the
earlier time period that does not include the arches. It can easily be demonstrated
that retrofitted nail laminated two-hinge arches do not share load-carrying
capacity equally with the truss system. If properly built and maintained, the
nail or bolt laminated two-hinged arch adds considerable stiffness to the bridge
structure.
The capacity of the arches depends on the supports being nonyielding and
the arches being held in line to avoid buckling out of plane. For the arches to
work, the arch ends must bear against a thrust block capable of resisting all
horizontal and vertical forces without movement. This is one Achilles heel
of retrofitted nail laminated stiffening arches. The second possible defect in
nailed or stitch bolted arches is the lack of sufficient fastening to resist shear
forces between individual laminations caused by bending moments induced by
unbalanced loads.
If a bridge retrofitted with two hinged laminated arches is raised to avoid
floods or ice in the river, then the stone abutments and piers will have to be
modified or rebuilt to accommodate the horizontal thrust of the arches.
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The Bunker Hill Covered Bridge
219
The boundary (support) conditions for both the arches and the trusses are very
important to the evaluation and condition assessment of the bridge. The ability
of the pier and abutments to resist the horizontal thrust of the arches without
movement is critical.
The reconfiguration of bed timbers, bearing blocks and bolster beams at
supports is a powerful tool in strengthening an historic covered bridge because
the truss superstructure is not affected. These elements are among the first to
deteriorate because of their proximity to stone, earth, and water. Because of
this, these pieces are rarely original to the period of construction. Often, the
current timbers are creosote treated replacements. Enlarging bed timbers can
reduce the span of a bridge, greatly reducing member forces.
HERMAN HAUPT
From an engineering standpoint, it could be argued that the best form for a
new covered timber bridge would be a double Town lattice with a stiffening
arch. For any refinement of the Town lattice truss, the designer should simply
look to General Herman Haupts Improved Lattice Truss. General Haupt
(18171905), a noted bridge designer from Pennsylvania, graduated from
West Point and became chief of military railroads during the Civil War.
Rigorous mathematical methods of analyzing the forces and stresses in
framed structures, such as bridges, were unknown until the 1840s. Civil
engineers Squire Whipple and Herman Haupt independently developed
mathematical methods of truss design. In 1842, Herman Haupt produced a
small pamphlet, Hints on Bridge Construction by an Engineer.2
Squire Whipple is credited with developing the scientific basis of bridge
design in America with his 1847 publication, A Work on Bridge Building. In
1851, Herman Haupt produced his major work, General Theory of Bridge
Construction.2
THE BUNKER HILL COVERED BRIDGE

In North Carolina, the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, owned by the Catawba
County Historical Society, was built in 1895 in general accordance with General
Haupts 1839 design patent.
The Bunker Hill Bridge is 80 feet, 2 inches long (out-to-out) and 10 feet
wide. The floor consists of two layers of 2 8 and 2 10 deck boards supported
by 3 10 floor beams spaced approximately 34 inches on center. The Bunker
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Hill Covered Bridge is the only remaining example of Herman Haupts 1839
patent for the Improved Lattice Truss. It is the older of only two remaining
historic covered bridges in North Carolina and is on the National Register of
Historic Places. It is located approximately one mile east of a former stagecoach
stop in Catawba County.
The trusses consist of 3 12 posts (vertical web members) and double
2 12 braces (diagonal compression web members) in a lattice design where
the braces cross two panels. The top chord consists of two 2 12s on each side
of the braces that contain the posts at the centerline of the truss. The bottom
chord consists of four 3 12 members. The end post is a 6 12. The first
brace is a notched 12 6 with the second post passing through a rectangular
hole in the brace. Connections between members are wood trunnels (pegs),
usually three per joint. Two of the four members that form the chords are cut
at the same splice locations, resulting in a net cross-sectional area in tension
members equal to one-half of the gross cross-sectional area.
In 1987, we provided an accurate analysis of the Haupt truss configuration
of the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge. The axial forces in individual webs and chords
were obtained, as well as local bending moments in continuous members.
We performed an analysis on an AT&T PC 6300 computer using a plane
frame analysis program to model the truss. The computer model contained of
55 joints and 94 members.
The computer model included link connections at interior web intersections
to simulate the continuity of lapped member connections where there is shear
transfer between members, but each of the intersecting members maintains its
continuity through the joint. The links are one-thousandth of a foot in length. We
used for the link connections, the section properties equivalent to one, two-inch
diameter trunnel.
The chords were modeled as continuous members, as were individual web
sticks. This is more accurate than the usual truss design assumption that all
members are pinned at their intersections, including chord members. The
supports were modeled as idealized hinge or roller supports.
It is important to note that the truss model analyzed assumed a theoretical
truss containing no deterioration or damage. Defects in individual timber members,
as well as slippage in connections and shrinkage in connections or members, were
not accounted for in the computer model.
Design Loads
Although the bridge is located in Conner Park in Claremont, North Carolina,
and is used for pedestrian traffic only, we analyzed the trusses for both
pedestrian traffic and uniform lane loading equivalent to AASHTO H15-44.
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The pedestrian traffic load combination consists of 100 psf floor live load in
accordance with the 1978 edition of the North Carolina State Building Code
for Catawba County.
Timber Member Evaluation

The capacities of the members, and of the spliced connections were evaluated
using the forces obtained from the computer program. We did not visually
identify the species of wood used in the constructions of this bridge, other than
to tentatively identify it as dense red oak for lattice sticks and southern pine for
chords. We assumed conservative design values of E 1500 ksi, Fb 1400
psi, Ft 1100 psi, and Fc 1700 psi (parallel) for this evaluation.
The computer analysis indicated that the critical areas of the truss were at
the splices in the bottom chord and at the second brace. We computed tension
forces for net cross-sectional areas not containing a splice as well as sections
assumed to contain two splice joints in the critical bottom chord.
Analysis
The preliminary structural analysis did not include a detailed analysis of the
connections. The truss and floor beams were adequately sized to support
uniform loads imposed by pedestrian traffic as well as an H15 vehicular loading
for a one-lane bridge. Deflection under these loads was computed to be less
than one-half of an inch across the full span.
The support of the bridge by the abutments was close to the second post
location. This support condition reduced the overall stresses in the truss by
reducing the span but overstressed the second diagonal somewhat under the
design loads.
Condition Survey
In 1987, we pronounced the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge to be in good
condition. The tin roof did not leak. Roof rafters, truss members, floor beams,
floor decking, and lateral cross-bracing were generally in good to excellent
condition. Some posts and braces contained unusual holes and notches, which
may have been misdrilled holes or notches made by vandals. Although the
concrete and stone abutments that were repaired or rebuilt by the Department
of Transportation were not an authentic restoration, the structural condition of
the abutments appeared good.
Although the abutments are well constructed, backfill on the sides of the
abutments and at the ends of the bridge constituted a decay problem to the wood
in close contact with soil or concrete. A concrete swale use to divert runoff
around the sides of the abutments was located too close to the siding. The ends
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222
of the siding boards were decayed in several areas. The powder post beetle or
some similar boring insect had attacked the truss members.
At the time, we made five recommendations:
1. We recommend maintaining the existing tin roof rather than reroofing
with wood shingles. Tin is economical, noncombustible, light in weight,
and sheds snow. For these reasons, it remains the roofing material of
choice for many New England covered bridges.
2. The wood of the bridge at the abutments should be insulated from
direct contact with earth or concrete. The concrete swale should be
rebuilt so that it is not in contact with the superstructure or siding. The
ends of the bridge floor and chord members should be protected from
direct contact with earth.
3. Consideration should be given to installing an automatic fire-protection
system.
4. The bridge should be swept or blown clean with compressed air on a
periodic basis to remove debris that has accumulated on and around the
bottom chord.
5. Consideration should be given to nominating the Bunker Hill Covered
Bridge for inclusion in the American Society of Civil Engineers National
Historic Landmark Program.
We concluded that the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, is a very significant
example of nineteenth-century bridge technology, is in excellent condition, and
is well maintained.
Herman Haupt was involved in so many emerging technologies for so
many years, his early timber bridge design work is almost forgotten. His
autobiographical Reminiscences of General Herman Haupt overshadows much
of his previous work and many of his later accomplishments.
Haupts improved lattice truss bridge was a response to Ithiel Towns 1820
and 1835 patents for the plank lattice timber truss. Haupt used the analytical
methods he developed in the 1840s to design a more efficient lattice truss,
which consisted of web members positioned only at locations that required
support. Redundant members were removed, resulting in the improved lattice
truss as described in his book General Theory of Bridge Construction published
in 1851.2
The Bunker Hill Covered Bridge is the only remaining example of the
bridge truss design by Herman Haupt in 1840 and illustrated in his 1851 book
General Theory of Bridge Construction, Fig 90, Page 153.2
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FIGURE 15-7
An illustration of
the Haupt Truss is
on the first page of
the chapter titled
Improved Lattice
from General Theory
of Bridge Construction
(Ref. 2).
General Haupt was keenly aware that his knowledge and ability as a civil
engineer was vital in ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of the general public:
With even greater simplicity and economy than the ordinary lattice, it appears
to be entirely free from its defects; and possessing many of the essential requisites of a good bridge, with a capability of extension to spans of considerable
length, it seems to be unusually well adapted to the wants of a community
with whom economy is an object.2
In the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, with the skin removed, we see the handiwork
of Herman Haupt.
FIGURE 15-8
The Bunker Hill
Covered Bridge
with repairs almost
completed. (See color
insert.)
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224
This opportunity came when a windstorm uprooted a tree next to the bridge,
smashing the south portal. The damage revealed considerable damage where the
ends of the bridge had been encapsulated by concrete when the bridge was
previously repaired. Having completed a recent evaluation, Sidney Halma gave
us the call to assist with the repairs. With Mr. Halma pleading poverty on
behalf of the Catawba County Historical Society, we were limited in what we
could provide within our negotiated fee. As a result, we decided that we would
produce a minimal set of drawings and invite two or more bridgewrights or
qualified timber framers to the site to observe the damage for the purpose of
determining the scope of work. To limit my time traveling, and to have the
bidders agree on scope, I decided to invite Arnold M. Graton and Jan Lewandoski
to visit the site at the same time. Fortunately, they both flew from Manchester,
New Hampshire to Douglas Airport at Charlotte, North Carolina, aboard the
same plane, where I met them, transporting them by automobile to the bridge
site. After the three of us spent three to four hours observing conditions,
we agreed on a scope of work. Arnold Graton was the successful bidder, and
soon he went to work.
During the 1987 rehabilitation, Arnold Graton, removed the side boarding
and roofing from the bridge in order to gain access to chord members that
required repair.
FIGURE 15-9
Deterioration was
apparent at all four
corners of the bridge.
Deteriorated chord members that were replaced in kind consisted of bottom

chord members at the four bearing corners of the bridge. Arnold Graton
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225
replaced badly decayed or missing members with solid timbers of equal size
that were ripped from a 12 14, 38 feet in length.
FIGURE 15-10
Arnold Graton
repaired in kind
deteriorated chord and
web members using
southern pine similar
to the original.
This old dense southern pine bridge timber had been in storage in the
Gratons yard in New Hampshire since the 1950s. By removing the sideboarding
and roofing of the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, the incredibly beautiful framing
was revealed.
The temporary removal of the sideboarding of the bridge by Graton was
reminiscent of Haupts order, as chief of military railroads during the Civil War,
to remove the roofing and sideboarding of the covered bridges in the vicinity
of Washington, D.C., to prevent the Confederates from easily burning those
vital links.
Though the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge played but a small role in the
development of the nation, covered bridges that no longer exist played a pivotal
role in the growth of the United States. The development of rational analytical
methods for truss design in the 1830s and 1840s paralleled the growth and
expansion of the railroads. Covered bridge structures were the first to benefit
from methods developed by early civil engineers.
In covered bridges we see an emerging engineering analysis and construction
technology, pioneered by men such as Burr, Town, and Haupt, which was soon
applied to both timber and iron bridges as American civil engineers rose to the
challenges presented by a developing railroad industry.
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226
REFERENCES
1. Town, Ithiel. A Description of Ithiel Towns Improvement in the Construction of Wood and Iron Bridges: Intended as a General System of BridgeBuilding for Rivers, Creeks, and Harbours of Whatever Kind of Bottoms;
and for any Practicable Width of Span or Opening, in Every Part of the
County. New Haven: S. Converse, 1821.
2. Haupt, H. General Theory of Bridge Construction, New York: Appleton
and Co., 1851.
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CHAPTER
16
The Cornish-Windsor Covered

Bridge
he conservation of the Cornish-Windsor Bridge was a compromise among

rehabilitation-in-kind proponents, authentic restoration advocates, and
Vermont and New Hampshire governmental officials. This compromise replaced
overstressed wood with glued laminated timber, a modern-day forest product.
The fine-grained virgin eastern white spruce timber that was used originally is
no longer grown. The use of glued laminated timber preserved the appearance
of the bridge, preserved the Town lattice structural system, minimized the use of
steel, and met modern highway standards.
It has been estimated that at one time, the United States contained at least
10,000 covered timber bridges1. In 1980, six states contained 78 percent of
our remaining 893 covered bridges2. Certainly, the remaining covered bridges
enhance the quality of life for artists, tourists, and preservationists who seek
out these romantic reminders of past technology.
What kind of preservation philosophy is needed in order for us to conserve
our remaining covered bridges? Perhaps the Cornish-Windsor case study will
provide insight into a conservation process of engineering analysis and preservation philosophy that led to the compromise solution that was completed in
November 1989.
The 460-foot-long Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, which links Cornish,
New Hampshire, with Windsor, Vermont, is a special covered bridge. The bridge,
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228
The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge
which spans the upper Connecticut River, is the longest covered bridge still
standing in the United States and longest two-span covered bridge in the world.
As cited in its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, this is the
only remaining notched Town lattice bridge in the world. Until the start of
construction it had carried two lanes of automobile traffic safely across the
Connecticut River.
The Cornish-Windsor Bridge is a National Civil Engineering Historic Landmark. It was the subject of a book, published in 1926, titled, The Economic
Implications of the Bridge at Windsor, by structural engineer Richard Dana3.
HISTORY OF THE CORNISH-WINDSOR BRIDGE

The Cornish-Windsor Bridge was built in 1866. James F. Tasker of Cornish, New
Hampshire, and Bela J. Fletcher of Claremont, New Hampshire, constructed the
bridge after the 1839 notched timber lattice truss patented by Ithiel Town of
New Haven, Connecticut (17841844).
In the American Society of Civil Engineers paper A History of the Development of Wooden Bridges by Robert Fletcher and J. P. Snow, the following
information is presented regarding the Town lattice:
The distinctive characteristics of the Town lattice are its use of simple sizes
of lumber, the small amount of framing required, and the need of nothing
but bolts and a few round rods for metal work. In such regions as those mentioned, far from centers of skilled labor and steel fabrication shops, the simple
character of materials and labor required by this type is important. The trusses
are generally built of uniform sections throughout. While this is a feature that
is often criticized as wasteful of material, such waste is much more than balanced by the resulting simplicity of framing and erection.
The Town lattice principle is similar to that of the English iron riveted
lattice. Both will stand more abuse from service than any other type of truss.
Both will give indications of distress long before collapse, and those that were
properly built are found doing duty far longer than many other types. The most
successful early builders of wooden bridges placed much emphasis upon the
necessity of protection from the weather by roof and side covering. All later
experience has proved that bridges not so protected deteriorate rapidly1.
REHABILITATION ALTERNATIVE USING TIMBER ARCHES

The traditional New England method of reinforcing timber-covered bridges was
the subject of the controversy that lasted about eight years, according to David
W. Wright, director of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered
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Rehabilitation Alternative Using Timber Arches
229
Bridges. The laminated timber arch retrofit proposed by the Committee for the
Authentic Restoration of the Cornish-Windsor Bridge required traditional methods and materials as practiced by Milton S. Graton, craftsman, of Ashland, New
Hampshire. Mr. Gratons proposed timber arch solution had a long history.
In a letter to Mr. J. W. Storrs, Consulting Engineer, dated August 1908,
J. P. Snow, bridge engineer of the Boston & Maine Railroad, recommended
arches for the Cornish-Windsor Bridge. In another letter to Mr. Storrs dated
September 15, 1908, Snow stated the following:
. . . regarding Windsor Bridge: An arch of 20 rise could be used and the
figures would give a section of 9 42 or 10 38. . . .
The foot of the arches would need to be very strongly secured to the
masonry and timbers would need to be framed between the arches to prevent
ice catching on the lower one and to make both of them act together. I think
it can be absolutely safe.4
J. P. Snow co-authored paper No. 1864 (Proceeding, ASCE, November,

1932, Vol. LVIII, pp. 14551498) of the American Society of Civil Engineers,
A History of the Development of Wooden Bridges, which discussed the construction of supplemental arches in timber bridges:
Combinations of arch and truss have been disproved by school men because of
the impossibility of determining the theoretical distribution of stress between
the truss and the arch; but if there is strength enough in both, and they are
properly yoked together, the safe elasticity of the wood and the connections
will take care of the distribution. The Town lattice is the best of the various
types of wooden trusses to serve as an arch stiffener because its web members serve either as counters or main braces. The value of arches framed with
trusses, if heeled against the masonry, has been amply demonstrated by other
types of trusses, some of which have stood for a century.1
In 1984, Mr. Graton proposed the following as detailed in Plans for the
Authentic Restoration of the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge. The bridge
would be retrofitted with four radial arches, built up with 2 14s of dense
select structural untreated Douglas fir, mechanically laminated with stitch bolts
and spikes. The location of the reinforcing arches at the outside of the trusses
of the Cornish-Windsor Bridge would maintain the interior width of the bridge
at its original two lanes. Concrete thrust block supports would have to be built
into the tops of the two abutments and the central pier in order to create sufficient bearing area. Raising the bridge would be necessary in order to provide
the additional clearance needed to place the arches above damaging winter ice.
Additional longitudinal floor beams and transverse needle beams would also be
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230
required to increase the structural capacity of the bridge to HS15-44 (the designation for a standard highway design and the minimum live load for highways which carry, or may carry, heavy truck traffic). Load sharing between the
new radial rib arches and the trusses would be attained by adjusting threaded
hangers or suspender rods, which connected the two elements.5
Objections to Mr. Gratons arch solution were based on preservation philosophy, as well as other issues. Because the arches were to be 20 feet deep, they
would spring from a point 4 feet below the bottom of the bridge. The visual
impact of the partially exposed curved arches was objectionable to many people, particularly the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the Vermont Division
of Preservation, and the Town of Windsor. In addition, with the arches placed
to the outside of the trusses, the bridge cross-section and end appearance would
have to change. Probably the greatest objection was the necessity of raising the
bridge 4 feet above its original location so that the arches would avoid the winter ice that forms in the upper Connecticut River. The bridge raising would
change the historic relationship of the bridge to grade at both ends. The street
in Windsor and the highway in Cornish would have to be elevated, along with
several residential structures. The arch supports would also have extended,
beyond the protecting envelope of the bridge, to bear against stone masonry and
a concrete thrust block. This critical connection would have been subject to wetting by driving rain, high water, and moisture derived from contact with the stone
and concrete, as well as ice damage. Protection of the spring point of the arch was
a major concern of the opponents of the timber arch retrofit.
REHABILITATION ALTERNATIVE USING

REPLACEMENT-IN-KIND
The solution preferred by the transportation departments and preservation
offices of both New Hampshire and Vermont was a replacement-in-kind retrofit
that would substitute larger, stronger timbers for existing fabric. The replacementin-kind solution was shown through analysis not to be feasible for two reasons.
First, solid timbers of sufficient strength were not available. That is, to maintain
a cross-section similar to the original chords, new timbers would require design
values in tension far exceeding those published for the grades and species of
timbers available. Second, the presence of butt joists and shear blocks, which
would be required in any replacement chord configuration of the truss, would
reduce the net section in tension. The original chords consisted of four members
connected together in such a way that many of the end splices in the 32- foot-long
pieces occurred in areas of high stress.
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Rehabilitation Alternative Using Glued Laminated Timber Replacement Chords
231
REHABILITATION ALTERNATIVE USING GLUED LAMINATED

TIMBER REPLACEMENT CHORDS
In January 1988, I proposed a solution requiring replacement of the original
chords with glued laminated timber members in very long lengths, to bridge
areas of high stress. Although it was presented with reservations, this solution
was immediately accepted by the two departments of transportation. The glued
laminated timber replacement chord solution provided the Cornish-Windsor
Bridge with an HS15-44 capacity without the addition of retrofitted laminated
timber arches. This alternative required the installation of architectural grade,
prefabricated, structural glued laminated timber chords and floor beams in
areas of high tensile stress in the bridge.6
Structural glued laminated timber, commonly referred to as glulam, was
introduced into the United States in 1936 from Germany. In glued laminated
timber products, higher design values are obtained by providing clear, dense
laminations in areas of high stress. Strength-reducing defects such as large
knots are removed. Natural growth characteristics such knots, wane, and
checks normally found in all timber materials are considered to be defects
because of their strength-reducing capabilities.7 In the production of structural
glued laminated timber, laminations are glued together with waterproof glue.
The surface appearance of structural glued laminated timber does not have to
be the slick-planed finish often seen in architectural applications. A crosssanded finish approximating a rough sawn appearance can be furnished.7
For the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, the use of prefabricated glued laminated
timber offered five advantages:
1. Because glued laminated timber consists of a number of pieces of laminate
glued together, it can be fabricated in longer lengths than solid materials.
2. It can usually be fabricated and shipped within 8 to 10 weeks. This period
is less than the total time required for ordering, cutting, and drying large
solid timber materials.
3. The moisture content of structural glued laminated material is rigidly
controlled. Constant moisture content throughout the cross section of
15 percent or less is provided at the time of shipment. This aspect of glued
laminated timber is significant because the shrinkage of truss members
after construction can cause additional deflection as a result of the opening of critical joints.
4. Unlike solid timber, structural glued laminated timber is an engineered,
stress-rated product of a timber laminating plant. Plant fabrication
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232
ensures quality control, which is impossible to obtain by field laminating

or by using solid materials.
5. Also, glued laminated timber members of southern pine can be pressure treated before gluing with complete penetration of the preservative. This is desired to extend the life of members subjected to wetting.
Complete penetration of preservative is not obtainable in some species
such as Douglas fir or in the heartwood of most other species.
The advantages of the laminated timber chord replacement design over the
timber arch retrofit immediately became apparent. Modification of the foundations of the buttresses and central pier was not required. The cross-section of
the bridge would also remain essentially the same. All live and dead loads
would be supported by the rehabilitated lattice trusses, thus preserving the use
of the original structural technology.
Additional continuity would be built into the bridge by using the longer
chord material. This continuity would help to limit future deflection by eliminating splices and shear block connections. Additional transverse and longitudinal carrying beams would not be required if laminated timber floor beams
were substituted for the existing 4 16 floor beams.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE GLULAM CHORD

REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVE
There are four disadvantages of the laminated timber chord replacement design:
1. The use of structural glued laminated materials integrated into an historic
bridge structure may not be acceptable to some historic preservationists.
2. Overall bridge stiffness is not as great as can be achieved with retrofitted
laminated timber arches.
3. Overall bridge safety would depend on relatively few mechanical splices.
These critical splices would integrate the new laminated timber chord
material with existing bridge fabric. Such work would require a very
high level of skill among the timber framers.
4. Long timber pieces are difficult to handle, ship, and integrate into the
bridge. Precise coordination of field cuts and daps is necessary so that
lattice web members fit as required between the chords.
Early in 1988, the design and construction of the glued laminated timber
chord replacement alternative was implemented. In making this decision, the
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Disadvantages of the Glulam Chord Replacement Alternative
233
key for us was the confidence expressed by Jan Lewandowski of Greensboro

Bend, Vermont, that he could successfully integrate the glued laminated timber
chords into the bridge by scribing and notching. At each lattice to chord connection, the members were both notched 1 inches and pinned. The snug fit
of these joints was critical to the performance of the rehabilitated trusses.
The analysis for the Cornish-Windsor Bridge in 1989 was executed on a
personal computer using a STRAAD three-dimensional frame analysis program. It involved 1,600 members and 2,800 joints for one truss and required
approximately 13 hours to run. We modeled joints to allow rotation and continuity at lattice intersections using links.
FIGURE 16-1
The analysis provided
forces for 1,600
members.
To obtain realistic support conditions, we modeled springs. It was a frustrating ordeal because often the 13-hour process would yield incorrect results.
I would start the program at the end of the workday, expecting results the next
morning. Too often, summer electrical storms would interrupt the power and
I would have to start again.
The results of the analysis were magnificent. All of the lattice member and
chord forces were produced. We could see the effects of bolster beam supports
and accurately determine the optimum locations for chord splices for an array
of loading conditions.
A temporary cable-stayed support system was designed to allow construction to proceed while the Connecticut River was filled with ice. The design of
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234
the cable stayed temporary support system was an adventure in itself. Originally, Chesterfield Associates was planning to shore the bridge from the river.
Unfortunately, the Upper Connecticut often freezes during the winter. Moving
ice would simply destroy any temporary supports standing in the river. During
a meeting with NHDOT engineers and officials, Dave Allen, of Chesterfield
Associates, the contractor, explained that the two-year construction schedule
would require work to be phased in such a way to avoid the ice. The plan was
to work on the two spans of the bridge independently. While the discussion
ensued, I was quietly sketching on the proverbial, back of an envelope.
I quickly sketched the bridge with a two-span cable stayed structure to allow
the symmetrical two-span bridge to be rehabilitated in a symmetrical manner.
After presenting the sketch and interjecting a few comments into the discussion, the advantages of such a system became apparent to all. It was immediately embraced. The cable-stayed system had to be fast tracked. We designed
the three 80-foot towers using 10HP42 steel piles, which were available to the
contractor. The steel system consisted of transverse needle beams, two longitudinal carrying beams, built-up towers, and an array of 140 ksi Dywidag bars
for stays. The design was handsketched on notebook paper and faxed to the
jobsite on a just in time schedule so that welders would not be waiting.
FIGURE 16-2
The towers were
fabricated in a field
on the Cornish, New
Hampshire, side of the
river.
Two towers were erected on opposite banks, and one on the central pier.
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235
FIGURE 16-3
The cable stayed
system allowed for an
orderly rehabilitation
of the roof structure.
(See color insert.)
Larger concrete dead men with earth anchors were installed to resist the
pull of the stays on the end towers. The needle beams provided a perfect support for a rail and rolling hoist.
FIGURE 16-4
The glued laminated
timber chords were as
much as 116 feet in
length.
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236
This enabled the long glued laminated timber chord replacement members
and other materials to be pulled into the bridge.
FIGURE 16-5
Glued laminated
timber was used for
chord replacement
material, floor beams,
and bolster beams.
The cable-stayed system allowed work to continue through the winter and
the repairs to be made in a symmetrical manner that was important for a twospan continuous truss with very high tensile stresses in the top chord over the
central pier.
FIGURE 16-6
The cable stayed
system allowed work
to proceed through the
winter.
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237
As an added bonus, it allowed the contractor to pull up to 30 inches of

camber into each span. This was important because there were reports that
James Tasker was unhappy with the dead load deflection of the bridge, which
appeared soon after construction. The sag in the spans of 12 and 14 inches
were reversed providing the positive camber that the bridge never had. To
assist the trusses, we installed large glued laminated timber double-cantilevered
bolster beams under the bridge at the central pier.
FIGURE 16-7
The cantilevered
bolster beams are
10 inches wide by
42 inches deep.
Construction was completed in November 1989, and the bridge rededicated

on December 8, 1989, with the governors of both states attending the ceremony.
The problem of how to rehabilitate the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge
became a question of compromise. The retrofitted arch solution would have conserved a greater percentage of the historic fabric by supplementing the original
lattice truss with reinforcing arches. The retrofitted arches would have been an
excellent structural solution because of their great rigidity. However, the laminated chord solution retains the original system as the primary structural element
with a minimum of intervention, while requiring only the replacement of overstressed chord material with glued laminated timber.
Because of the primary consideration of highway bridge safety, the glued
laminated timber chord solution emerged as the most reliable and acceptable of
all the solutions considered. Analysis indicated that the increased strength
afforded by modern timber materials and connections was required to upgrade
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238
FIGURE 16-8
The governors of both
New Hampshire and
Vermont attended the
dedication ceremony.
(See color insert.)
FIGURE 16-9
Key to the project
was the ability to
successfully integrate
glulam sticks into the
notched Town lattice
system.
the Cornish-Windsor Bridge to a level that would allow it to be kept in service as

a highway bridge. Conservation of our historic timber bridges can become a reality when the solution combines the ultimate goal of highway safety with a sound
preservation philosophy. Only through rigorous structural analysis, which recognizes the special conditions inherent in historic timber structures, does sufficient
information on which to base sensitive preservation decisions become available.
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References
239
FIGURE 16-10
Camber remained in
the completed bridge
for several years.
REFERENCES
1. FitzSimons, L. Neal, et al. American Wooden Bridges, ASCE Historical
Publication No. 4. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers, 1976.
2. Donovan, Richard T., ed. World Guide to Covered Bridges. Boston:
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, Inc. 1980.
3. Dana, Richard T. The Bridge at Windsor, Vt., and Its Economic Implications.
New York: Codex Book Co., Inc., 1926. Copy in Wilbur Collection,
University of Vermont Library.
4. Snow, J.P. (Bridge Engineer, Boston and Maine Railroad, Boston), letter to
J.W. Storrs (Consulting Engineer, Concord, NH), Aug. 22, 1908, Engineering
Society Library, New York, NY
5. Graton, Milton S. and Wright, David W. Plans for the Authentic Restoration
of the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge. Unpublished report, 1984; revised,
1987.
6. Fischetti, David C. Glulam Chord Replacement Alternative, CornishWindsor Covered Bridge report, Jan. 19, 1988.
7. American Institute of Timber Construction. Timber Construction Manual.
3rd ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1985.
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CHAPTER
17
A New Covered Bridge for

Old Salem
unique covered bridge has been built in the United States. The North
Carolina Department of Transportation project provided a pedestrian
overpass over Highway 52 at Old Salem, the site of North Carolinas first
Moravian community. Moravian settlers arrived in North Carolina from Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, in 1753.
To enhance and blend with the cultural landscape and historic architecture of
Old Salem, several types of covered bridge structures were considered. The final
choices were the Burr arch-truss and the Town lattice. The Burr arch-truss is a
two-hinged arch combined with a multiple kingpost truss. The arch affords great
stiffness. The Town lattice has many redundant members, providing a truss with
great toughness. Although Theodore Burrs (17711822) patent of 1817 claimed
nothing but the arch, combined with the multiple kingpost truss, it became the
most popular covered bridge structural system in the United States.
Of the seven surviving covered bridges in Lehigh and Northampton counties near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, all are Burr arch-trusses. In 1970, nearly
300 Burr arch-trusses were still standing, with 175 located in Pennsylvania;
this was the type of bridge that the Moravians would have constructed for
themselves in Salem during the first half of the nineteenth century. For this
reason, it was decided that the Burr arch-truss was the logical choice for the
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A New Covered Bridge for Old Salem
covered bridge built at Old Salem. This paper will discuss the development of
the design for the Old Salem Bridge and the application of covered bridge
technology to both the preservation of historic structures and the construction
of modern transportation structures.
THE CONCEPT
Why build a covered bridge at Old Salem? As a tourism destination, Old Salem
needed a pedestrian overpass structure to enhance and blend with its cultural
landscape and historic architecture. The choice of a covered bridge conforms to
the traditional technology of covered bridge building in North America. At the
same time, it was important to Old Salem planners, such as John Larson, that
the structure not be mistaken for an original artifact. To differentiate, the bridge
is clad with transparent panels that give a modern appearance while exposing
the traditional interior construction.
FIGURE 17-1
The acrylic
panels provided a
weathertight sidewall
closure. (See color
insert.)
The bridge serves as a gateway for vehicular traffic entering Old Salem as
the museum community expands westward.
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Description
243
DESCRIPTION
The bridge is a 120-foot span Burr arch covered bridge that spans business
Highway 52 through the city of Winston-Salem, enabling pedestrians to gain
access to Old Salem from a visitors parking lot. Pedestrians using this bridge
enter Old Salem adjacent to the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.
The bridge is framed with two massive Burr arch-trusses, 15 feet, 10 inches
in height with a 5-foot rise. The chords and arch are built up from several members with staggered splices to provide continuity. Individual chord members are
5 inches square in cross-section. The braces are rectangular in section. The
posts are large, cut to shape timbers, which contain offsets at brace-bearing
points.
FIGURE 17-2
The brace to chord
connections had to be
made tight in the field.
The roof deck is 2 6 (1 by 5) tongue and groove decking. The floor

deck is 3 6 (1 by 5) double tongue and groove decking. All of the timber
materials are various species of southern pine. The bridge is protected by a
standing seam copper roof and transparent acrylic wall panels.
The arches spring from two cast-in-place concrete, stone-faced abutments.
To conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 5-foot rise was
configured into a system of ramps and platforms.
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244
FIGURE 17-3
The bridge is protected
by a standing seam
copper roof.
FIGURE 17-4
The arches spring from
stone-clad concrete
abutments.
There is no historical precedent for a covered bridge at this location or in

the vicinity of Old Salem. Certainly, however, North Carolina had many covered bridges, which spanned nearby rivers such as the Deep, Catawba, Haw,
Dan and the Yadkin.1
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History
245
FIGURE 17-5
The 5-foot rise had to
be configured into a
series of ramps and
landings to conform
with ADA.
HISTORY
In 1751, the land now occupied by the city of Winston-Salem in North Carolina
was a wilderness crossed by the hunting trails of the Cherokee, Creek, and
Catawba Indian tribes. In London, leaders of the Moravian Church were considering an offer of John Carteret, the Earl of Granville, to sell them a large
tract of land from his holdings in the North American colony. The Moravians,
the spiritual descendants of the Czech priest Jan Hus who was martyred in
1415, had established in 1741, the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as their
chief center in North America. It is from Bethlehem that Moravian explorers
set out in August 1752 to search for suitable land.2
A small group of five men left Pennsylvania traveling down the coast past
the Chesapeake Bay to Edenton, North Carolina. Their leader was Bishop
August Gottlieb Spangenberg, whose task it was to search for the 100,000
acres of land for the church to purchase from the Earl of Granville. Accompanied by the Earl of Granvilles chief surveyor and three local inhabitants, they
traveled westward.2
After a wrong turn that led them into the North Carolina mountains, the
group found the tract of land they were searching for. They had surveyed several
plots that proved to be unsuitable prior to locating a large tract of land, which
they named Wachovia.2 In the following year, 1753, a group of Single Brethren
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246
(unmarried Moravian men) journeyed from Pennsylvania, down the Shenandoah

River Valley, and into North Carolina to establish a new settlement.2 In 1755, the
first married couples arrived to take up residence in the temporary town of
Bethabara. The permanent settlement of Salem was established in 1766.
For many decades, overland travel between the two Moravian communities
was common. This historical link between Pennsylvania and North Carolina is
important in the justification of the type of truss system selected for the new
Salem Bridge.
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION
The following time line is provided to show that a Burr arch-truss is the most
logical choice for this particular span.
1753 The first Moravian settlers arrive from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
They establish Bethabara as a temporary community.
1771 Theodore Burr, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania engineer and contractor is born in Connecticut.
1776
The residents of Bethabara move to Salem.
1784 Ithiel Town, a New Haven, Connecticut, architect, engineer, and

bridge promoter is born.
1804 Theodore Burr builds a 400-foot span bridge across the Hudson
River at Waterford, New York.
1817
Theodore Burrs patent of 1817 claimed nothing but the arch combined with the multiple kingpost truss. This became the most popular covered bridge structural system.
1820
Ithiel Towns plank-lattice design patent.
1822
Financial failure and death of Theodore Burr.
1835
Ithiel Town (17841884) secured a patent for a lattice bridge with

double webs and secondary chords.
1835 The Humpback bridge is built near Covington, Virginia. The 120foot-long multiple kingpost bridge has an 8-foot rise.
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1842
The pamphlet Hints on Bridge Construction by an Engineer is

published by Herman Haupt of Pennsylvania.
1844
Ithiel Town dies.
1894
Bunker Hill Covered Bridge is built in Claremont, North Carolina,

after Herman Haupts improved lattice.
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Project Justification
247
1970
The oldest covered bridge in the United States, built in 1812, is a

Burr located near Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
1971
Nearly 300 Burr arch-trusses are still standing, with 175 located in
Pennsylvania, more than in any other state.
1980 Of 893 historic covered bridges remaining in the United States,

231 are in Pennsylvania and 6 in North Carolina.
1989 Surviving Covered Bridges in Northampton County near Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania include:
Name
SpanType
Date Built
Solts Mill/Kreidersville
115 ft. Burr arch
1840
1989
Surviving covered bridges in Lehigh County near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania include:
Name
SpanType
Date Built
Bogert
187 ft. Burr-arch
1841
Wehr
236 ft. Burr-arch
1841
Manassas Guth
127 ft. Burr arch
1858
Rex
136 ft. Burr-arch
1858
Geiger
130 ft. Burr-arch
1858
Schlicher
127 ft. Burr arch
1882
The Burr arch-truss was the logical choice for a covered bridge in Old
Salem. This is the type of bridge that Moravian settlers would have built during
the first half of the nineteenth century as their community matured. During this
period, many Burr arch-trussed bridges were built in Northampton and Lehigh
Counties in Pennsylvania near the Moravian settlement of Bethlehem. In 1970,
nearly 300 Burr arch-trusses were still standing, with 175 located in Pennsylvania.
Of the seven surviving covered bridges in Lehigh and Northampton counties
near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, all are Burr arch-trusses3. Although a Town lattice bridge was proposed to be constructed on the plank road near Old Salem,
this type of bridge was not desirable as a pedestrian bridge because it does not
provide sufficient open space between chords to produce an open appearance.
The Town lattice is distinctive in its use of simple sizes of lumber, and the small
amount of framing. The resulting simplicity of framing requires less skilled
labor but produces a closed tunnellike structure that must overshoot its supports in order to distribute its end reactions. The Burr arch-truss requires great
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248
skill in timber framing, like the large Dutch barns found in many German
communities. In chapter 15, we dispel the common belief that the Town lattice
is simpler to build than a Burr arch-truss.
Louis Wernwag (17701843), who was born in Germany, and Timothy
Palmer (17511821) of Newburyport, Massachusetts, built many great timber
bridges. Their bridges varied in design and construction, each being designed
for a specific span, using a one-of-a-kind trussed arch. Because of their complexity, a pedestrian bridge built after the designs of Wernwag and Palmer was
judged impractical for this project. For these reasons, it was decided that the
Burr arch-truss was the logical choice for a covered bridge at Old Salem.
RECYCLED TIMBER
Originally, the drawings indicated that the large posts were to be recycled material. The intent was to obtain these members with reasonable moisture content
so that shrinkage in the posts would not affect the stiffness of the trusses. These
members were assumed to be more available as recycled material because of
their large cross-section and relatively short lengths. At one point, Al Anderson,
of Blue Ridge Timberwrights, suggested that his company could furnish all of
the material in the bridge as recycled timber. I agreed with the request as long
as a dependable method of quality control could be instituted.
During the process of material acquisition, BRTW revealed that it was unable to locate posts of a sufficient size in sufficient quantity. BRTW offered several
solutions for mechanically attaching blocks to the posts. I considered mechanical attachment, but rejected it as inadequate. Alternatively, to fabricate the posts
from glued laminated timber was not in keeping with the original intent of the
project. I suggested that the blocks be attached by gluing in a glulam plant if
quality control could ensure the integrity of the joint. Fabricating the large posts
from new material would require extensive drying, if timbers so large could be
found at all. It appeared at one point that the bridge would be furnished with
recycled timber for everything but the posts. This change would have reversed
the plans, which required new material with only the posts of recycled timber.
MATERIAL GRADING
Recycled material posed a problem in grading. The Southern Pine Inspection
Bureau (SPIB) does not have criteria for grading recycled material. Criteria for
certain types of deterioration, damage, manmade holes, daps, notches, and
mortises are not accounted for in the grading rules. There is no way to account
for the history of recycled timber. The effects of long exposure to high loads or
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Awards
249
elevated temperatures are unknown. NCDOT and I agreed that some sort of
mechanical testing would be required to verify that each piece had the necessary integrity for its role in the bridge.
It was agreed that first all timbers should be graded in accordance with SPIB
Grading Rules. Drilled holes would be considered to be open knots with the same
criteria applied regarding size, location, and frequency. After grading, all suitable
timbers would be load tested by applying a known load and measuring the deflection across a given span in order to compute the modulus of elasticity. This would
provide a measure of stiffness for each piece, presumably enabling us to discard
pieces that fell below the published values for the grade. Certainly, knowing the
modulus of elasticity for compressive members is particularly valuable. For tension
members, it was thought that the recycled material, being extremely dense, would
be at least as strong as published values for the same grade of new material.
MOISTURE CONTENT
It became clear that moisture measurement using meters would be problematic.
Because of accumulated salts in the recycled timbers, moisture contents varied
widely. The history of the timbers, according to BRTW, included some that were
taken from a marine structure and others that came from a building that stored
agricultural chemicals. Several samples were oven dried, establishing that the
average moisture content was much less than what the handheld moisture meters
had indicated. Storage at the job site was critical to the moisture content of these
materials. Timbers were stored at the site off the ground, but uncovered. Rain
affected the top surface of the timbers. Water-filled mortise holes and areas around
shakes and checks resulted in high moisture readings in various locations.
Through numerous conversations between the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the timber frame subcontractor BRTW and I suggested
that materials could evaluated and approved using a combination of handheld
moisture readings verified with oven-dry tests.
AWARDS
The New Covered Bridge for Old Salem won several awards for design, including the following:
2002 Biennial AwardsExcellence in High Design, Award of Merit for
the Pedestrian Bridge over Old Salem Bypass, Old Salem, North Carolina
Community Appearance Commission of Winston-Salem and Forsyth
County19992000 Count Zinzendorf Award
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250
CONCLUSION
The Salem Bridge revives traditional timber framing and bridge building as it
was applied to the construction of covered bridges in North America during
the first half of the nineteenth century.
FIGURE 17-6
The end view displays
the complexity inherent
in extending the
two-hinged arch to the
bearing point without
interrupting the bottom
chord.
The project required the application of modern timber engineering to the

design and construction of a cultural heritage structure.
FIGURE 17-7
The bridge is an
authentic covered
bridge built in the
traditional manner.
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Bibliography
251
REFERENCES
1. Richard Sanders Allen, Covered Bridges of the Middle Atlantic States.
(Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Green Press, 1959).
2. C. Daniel Crews, Villages of the Lord: The Moravians Come to Carolina
(Winston-Salem: Moravian Archives, 1995).
3. Susan M. Zacher, The Covered Bridges of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, PA:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Museum Commission, 1994).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Wooden Bridges (New York: American Society of Civil Engineers, 1976).
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CHAPTER
18
The Tohickon Aqueduct
first became aware of the Tohickon Aqueduct project when contacted by

William J. Collins, a landscape architect and timber framer from Point Pleasant, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We agreed to meet and discuss the proposed project at the annual meeting of the Timber Framers Guild of North
America in Guelph, Ontario, in 1992. Bill Collins, a resident of Point Pleasant
and a principal in the firm Simon Jaffe Collins Incorporated Landscape Architecture of Berwyn and Doylestown, Pennsylvania, had worked several years as
project manager, landscape architect, and designer for the local sponsor, the
Point Pleasant Community Association. The design concept he presented to me
in Guelph was an aqueduct framed with Town lattice trusses, in keeping with
the original 1834 construction.
The Delaware Canal was constructed in the early 1830s with the primary goal
of transporting anthracite coal from northeastern Pennsylvania to cities on the
eastern seaboard. The Tohickon Aqueduct is a vital link in the 60-mile-long
Delaware Canal carrying the canal over Tohickon Creek in Point Pleasant,
Pennsylvania. The canal climbs 164 feet between Bristol and Easton through a
series of 23 locks, over nine aqueducts. The Tohickon Aqueduct, originally built
as a timber-framed Town lattice truss structure was replaced in the 1890s with an
iron riveted structure containing a wood-framed trunkway. This aqueduct collapsed in 1931. After World War II, the canal was transformed into a Pennsylvania
state park and the aqueduct reconstructed with steel girders supporting a cast-inplace concrete trunkway. By 1990, the badly deteriorated concrete and steel
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254
structure needed to be replaced. As if to place an exclamation mark on the

statement that the aqueduct needed to be replaced, a September 16, 1999, storm
in Point Pleasant, caused a portion of the sidewall of the aqueduct to collapse.
Bill Collins was one of several community leaders who were very interested
in replacing the aqueduct as a timber structure. The concept plans were presented at a meeting of community and elected officials and officials of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Facilities
Design and Construction. A unique agreement was reached, allowing the community to collaborate with the State Parks Department by providing engineering
plans for the timber superstructure outside the normal procurement process.
Apparently, it was an easy agreement to broker, as the state would not have
to pay for the engineering. Fortunately, there was an organization interested in
having the Tohickon Aqueduct constructed of wood. The Wood in Transportation Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service came to the
rescue, providing five small grants to successive phases of the project. The state
would be responsible for administration of the project and design of the substructure and the interface of the trunkway with the canal. Initial funding for
design of the superstructure was provided by U.S. Forest Service grants through
the Wood in Transportation Program. Initial funding was minimal, so design
proceeded slowly between 1992 and 1999. This was especially frustrating for
the members of the Point Pleasant Community Association when I presented
them with construction photographs of the New Covered Bridge in Old Salem,
North Carolina, a similar project well underway, which had started at the same
time. By contrast, the aqueduct project had gone nowhere.
During the extended design phase, the proposed Town lattice truss had
evolved into a Burr arch-truss. The geometry of the aqueduct was governed by
the existing stone piers, the canal grades, and location of the towpath. It was
soon apparent that a trapezoidal shaped trunkway would be the most logical
cross-section allowing sufficient space for the ten foot wide standard canal
boat or barge while minimizing the total amount of weight to be supported.
Grades required the trunkway to be supported on transverse beams supported
by the bottom chords of two parallel trusses. Interior diagonal braces provided
lateral stability to the top of the trusses, completing the trapezoidal shape.
The use of a Town lattice truss had strong historical precedence in Bucks
County, with 11 covered bridges, so framed, remaining in 1989. Those covered
bridges were built between 1832 and 1875, certainly within the active history
of the canal. It is interesting to note that the counties in Pennsylvania that had
been settled by the English usually built Town latticeframed covered bridges,
while the counties settled by the Germans mostly built Burr archframed
bridges. We were about to upset the covered bridge continuum.
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255
There were a number of good reasons for selecting a Burr arch-truss system
instead of a Town lattice truss design for the superstructure. First, the original
aqueduct was a Town lattice, which was replaced after 50 or 60 years with an
iron aqueduct. We were not able to locate information about the original design,
its configuration, or its record of service. As a result, a Town lattice design
would be open to almost as much speculation as any other system.
In reality, the Town lattice would have been a difficult system to construct,
because it would have to be built on site with many trunnels driven into a large
number of lapped joints of chords and lattice. The aqueduct, by its nature,
needed to be built of pressure treated wood for durability. The problems of
treating and drying pressure-treated timber would be virtually insurmountable
using waterborne treatment such as Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA). The
acquisition of trunnel stock, which usually is of White Oak (impossible to pressure treat) and southern pine pressure-treated lattice and chord material, would
require a very long lead time to dry, treat, and redry. Any excess moisture in the
trunnels or lattice would result in splits forming in the lattice and the trunnels
loosening as the structure reached its equilibrium moisture content.
Although the goal was to design a bridge that timber framers could build, the
assembly of a Town lattice structure requires specific experience and skills unique
to certain bridgewrights. Although the Town lattice has a reputation for toughness, it contains many built up and intersecting members with a potential for
decay between members on hidden surfaces. Boring or cutting through CCA
pressure-treated material is problematic because salt crystals associated with the
preservative tend to dull tools. Driving trunnels through salt-treated lattice and
chords is also an issue because of the brashness of the treated wood and the roughness of the salt-treated surfaces, which must engage during the driving process.
The Town lattice truss is labor intensive and would have to be built continuous over three spans, extending beyond the abutments a distance equal to
its depth. Although this would allow for the forces at the end supports to be
distributed among a sufficient number of lattices, as opposed to an abrupt
termination resulting in excessive stresses in the lattice, the total length of the
trusses would increase by 24 feet. Repairing a Town lattice truss is extremely
difficult and labor intensive because of the closely spaced and tightly held lattice sticks. Again, this work would require the services of a bridgewright with
specific experience.
The Burr arch system was designed as a redundant system with either the
arch or the truss able to support all loads, independent of the other. The nineteenthcentury builders would proportion each and then simply yoke the two together.
In this way, they could circumvent the question of whether the truss stiffens the
arch, or the arch stiffens the truss.
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256
In this case, the truss and arch were analyzed separately and then also together.
Instead of superimposing the arch on the truss, in the computer we actually suspended the less stiff continuous truss from three two-hinged arch spans. The Burr
arch structural system was designed to support a total weight of 8000 plf.
FIGURE 18-1
The aqueduct consists
of three equal spans
of 66 feet. (See color
insert.)
Although the superstructure was covered and protected with a membrane

liner in the trunkway, all wood was specified to be pressure treated to resist
decay. The aqueduct, by its very nature and environment, is susceptible to decay
caused by moisture derived from condensation, leaks, and splash.
The first design was as traditional as possible using timber-framed connections for splices and to build up the arches. The arches were detailed with
mechanically fastened laminated members with shear blocks and stitch bolts
with timber washers. The posts and braces were solid timbers, while the critical chord members were glued laminated timber members to ensure quality
control and long continuous lengths. To minimize the amount of steel in the
structure, posts and braces were notched to fit notches in the chord members.
To provide continuity as the supports, the chords were connected with traditional bolt-o-lightning splices.
The trunkway was fitted with a membrane liner to ensure the water-tightness
of the aqueduct. We suggested that a second layer of wood consisting of large
panels be placed on top of the liner to conceal it and provide puncture protection.
An aqueduct is unique because it is uniformly loaded on a constant basis.
A vessel traversing the aqueduct displaces an amount of water equal to its weight,
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257
and thus, does not increase the load to the structure. Aqueduct structures
provide an opportunity to test the concept of load duration, which is central to
the design of timber structures.
The Tohickon Aqueduct was bid in 1999 with J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Chester
County, Pennsylvania, submitting the low bid of $3.1 million. Several timberframe companies that were heavily courted by the designers declined to submit
a bid. Because the low bid exceeded the states proposed budget, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources was directed by the state to
develop an alternative design in concrete. Again, on behalf of the Point Pleasant
Community Association, Bill Collins petitioned the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to consider a timber aqueduct. This time it would
be a value engineered version of the first design, bid as an alternative to a
concrete structure designed by the department. Again, it agreed, on similar
terms, that value engineering would proceed without funding from the state. As
before, the Forest Service agreed to fund the engineering design with the condition that the project include fiber-reinforced polymers to reduce cost. Fiberreinforced polymers were introduced as a research project of the Advanced
Engineered Wood Composites Center at the University of Maine.
The structural system was value engineered to reduce costs by simplifying
details, remove requirements for traditional timber framer qualifications, and
introduce more glued laminated timber into the project, in particular, for the
two-hinged arches.
FIGURE 18-2
The arches were
replaced through
value engineering
by glued laminated
timber.
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258
Traditional hand-crafted joinery was deleted, including the complicated

bolt-o-lightning splices. The three spans were designed to be individual trussed
systems identical in geometry. The use of Pennsylvania red oak was deleted as
an alternative and the more easily obtained southern pine was specified.
The goal of the value engineering was to reduce construction costs by
$500,000. The revised project bid in 2000, with J.D. Eckman, Inc. again
emerging as the low bidder, was $2.1 million, approximately $1 million less
than the original.
The aqueduct as built is a skewed structure, 201 feet, 10 inches in length
with trusses that are 12 feet in height, out to out of the chords.
FIGURE 18-3
The skewed structure
is 201 feet, 10 inches
in length.
It includes three 66-foot spans with double 6 inch by 23 38 inch glued

laminated two-hinged arches yoked to a multiple kingpost truss with double 6
inch by 16 inch and single 8 inch by 16 inch glued laminated timber
chords, top and bottom.
Although the Tohickon Aqueduct was formally reopened on September
15, 2001, and was eligible for nomination for the special Palladio Award Competition for Covered Bridge Restoration announced by Clem Labines Traditional Building magazine, I was persuaded by one of the jurors not to enter it
since it was a reconstruction and would not qualify.
The Palladio Awards program launched in 2000 by Traditional Building magazine and Period Homes magazine included covered bridge repair, preservation,
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259
FIGURE 18-4
The chords are
pressure-treated glued
laminated timber.
FIGURE 18-5
The superstructure
was constructed of
pressure-treated
southern pine.
restoration, or reconstruction completed between 1998 and 2003.1 It appeared

that the twin dilemmas of whether the aqueduct would qualify as a covered bridge
and whether a total reconstruction of the superstructure in an alternate system
would render it unlikely to earn honors. Of course, there were historic examples
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260
FIGURE 18-6
was reopened on
September 15, 2001.
FIGURE 18-7
The completed
aqueduct won a
National Timber
Bridge Award in 2002.
(See color insert.)
of aqueducts with Town lattice and Burr arch structural systems included in
Richard Sanders Allens series of covered bridge books. Some structural engineers
favor demolition of a historic covered bridge, only to reconstruct it new, as a viable
preservation solution. They argue that the new rebuilt bridge is still historic
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Reference
261
because the original idea remains. Certainly, the reconstruction from scratch of
the superstructure of a long-gone timber framed aqueduct does not trample on
preservation sensibilities. In fact, prior to the Palladio Awards, the Tohickon
Aqueduct had won a first place National Timber Bridge Award in 2002 for Rehabilitation of an Existing Bridge.
The most remarkable aspect of the Tohickon Aqueduct project was the
ability of Bill Collins to move a state agency toward a solution in which they
had no initial interest, and then obtain, through negotiation, interested third
parties to pay for the engineering.
REFERENCE
1. Cesa, Edward A., News Release USDA Forest Service, January, 2003.
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CHAPTER
19
The Current State of Historic

Preservation Engineering:
One Engineer s Point of View*
INTRODUCTION
s we ease into the twenty-first century, it is useful to reflect on the last
30 years of preservation engineering in the United States, as well as the
current status of the profession. One organization, the Association for Preservation Technology, has been at the forefront, raising awareness and providing
a forum for a wide spectrum of preservation-engineering issues. There is, however, additional work to be done. Knowledge of preservation and materials
technology, increased ability to communicate and exchange ideas, and both
successes and failures in practice have enabled preservation engineers to make
the necessary judgments in evaluating historic structures. The engineer must
be convinced that the structural model in the computer is an accurate representation of the building, or the building components, being considered. Once
that is clear, the application of rigorous analysis, test, and engineering judgment
* This chapter was originally written for the APT Bulletin Vol. XXIX, No. 3-4, Thirtieth-Anniversary
Issue, The Journal of Preservation Technology, The Association of Preservation Technology.
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12/18/08 10:24:34 PM
264
The Current State of Historic Preservation Engineering: One Engineers Point of View
is necessary to explain why the structure has performed adequately for many
years, rather than simply explaining why it is not working.
CURRENT PRACTICE
Within the construction industry it is architects who have assumed leadership
in historic preservation. A relatively small portion of structural engineers in
private practice consult with architects on building design. Of these, very few
provide engineering services for National Historic Landmark or National Register properties. Often, when engineers, as consultants to architects, respond
to the particular program established for a project, the amount of sensitivity
brought to bear is directly proportional to the architects direction. Fortunately,
there are numerous projects where the engineer has introduced sensitivity to
the benefit of the whole team. The creative preservation engineer can make a
major difference in the overall success of a project by being sensitive to the
original historic fabric.
Structural engineers may become embroiled in conflicts over preservation
philosophy with architects, clients, approving agencies, state preservation offices,
and third-party reviewing organizations. In many cases, the engineers responsibility is to ensure that all structural code requirements are met with a minimum
of intervention. At the same time, money allocated for testing may be limited.
The tendency is to opt for a retrofitted independent structural system, such
as a steel or concrete frame, which will support all vertical and lateral structural loads, including the buildings own weight. This, to many engineers, is the
most appropriate solution because it circumvents the issue of the capacity of
the existing structure, particularly in buildings with timber structural components and masonry walls. One would assume that sufficient fieldwork would be
undertaken to verify deficiencies and deterioration before replacing the existing
structural system with the new. Often, however, this is not the case. In many
cases, the decision is based on insufficient testing, observation, and analysis.
The philosophy of analyzing the structural system of a building sufficiently
to justify doing little or nothing to the historic fabric is contrary to current
practice, which establishes design fees on the basis of how much work needs
to be done. An innovative, creative solution including research, job-site observation and measurement, long-term monitoring, and extensive analysis of the
existing system and potential solutions may be beyond the fee structure in the
standard contractual arrangement between architect and engineering consultant, since fees are usually determined as a percentage of construction cost.
Unfortunately, an intrusive solution requiring major intervention may result.
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Preservation Engineering Education
265
Our society, which demands immediate solutions, does not tolerate unforeseen
costs and does not forgive errors or omissions in construction or design. This
forces the design engineer to follow the path of least risk, although this approach
may result in the highest overall project cost. For construction financing purposes, cost must be predictable. To prevent possible cost overruns due to unforeseen conditions, the design engineer is often forced into major intervention
involving great quantities of new materials, which are far more predictable. The
perceived risk extends to the serviceability of the rehabilitated historic structure
and is based on not knowing. Lack of information originates with the absence of
a thorough investigative program involving observation, testing, and analysis.
Some architects may be tardy in bringing the preservation engineer on
board. Selection of a qualified engineer early in the project is crucial. According to Martin Weaver (1993): Although structural surveys should involve
qualified structural engineers, the conservator is frequently going to encounter
evidence of structural problems when no engineer is present and in situations
where it is unlikely that anybody is going to be able to return for a second look
until much later in the project when it may be too late.1
Some architects may be unsure of which consultants they should hire.
Rather than hire both a conservator and a structural engineer, they engage one
of them, until it is apparent that the needs of the project dictate additional
assistance. As an organization, the Association for Preservation Technology is
built on the premise that an interdisciplinary relationship must exist for a
project to succeed. The concept of minimum intervention was confirmed in the
special APT Bulletin (XXIII, 1991) on preservation engineering.2 APT members have also engaged in interdisciplinary exchanges with such organizations
as the American Concrete Institute, the American Society for Testing Materials, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society for NonDestructive Testing, and others. APT is one of few organizations that serve as
a forum for technical issues, as well as preservation philosophy.
Many times, it is the conservator and structural engineer working together
who strike a balance between structural adequacy and the maximum retention
of historic fabric.
PRESERVATION ENGINEERING EDUCATION

In many ways, the engineering profession is slighting preservation practice in
that engineering education applies the latest in research and thought to new
construction. Very little time is given to historical perspectives relating to the
built environment, regardless of when it was built.
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266
Academic training for engineers in North America is lacking in several crucial

areas of preservation technology. Courses in history, history of technology, materials science, masonry, timber design, and preservation are the minimum core subjects for a program in preservation engineering. Other courses, such as industrial
processes, would provide students with an appreciation of basic manufacturing
methods uncommon in todays construction industry. For economic and environmental reasons, many manufacturing methods have disappeared or have been
relocated outside of North America. As a result, engineers are not being trained
in such areas as pattern making and foundry practice. This puts them at a disadvantage when such mundane items as earthquake washers must be specified.
Some universities are providing appropriate courses for preservation engineering undergraduates. This direction should be encouraged. However, the
nationwide push toward mandatory continuing education for engineers
presents the best opportunity so far to ensure that practicing engineers are
equipped with preservation knowledge and skills. In the United States, preservation engineers and trainers must become aware of the professional development requirements in each state in order to address shortcomings.
Moreover, APT, an organization composed mostly of architects and conservators and an excellent repository of research and experience, is in an ideal
position to help provide continuing education to practicing engineers.
RESEARCH IN HISTORIC STRUCTURES

Historic structures provide the best laboratories for basic research in materials. The service life of a material or system can best be observed in an installation that has experienced cycles of thermal and moisture changes, long periods
of sunlight, and gravitational force. Accumulated knowledge in preservation
technology offers a broader palette of solutions. For example, a structural system to replace a historic hammer-beam truss in a church could be a steel frame
clad in wood, a glued laminated timber frame with bolted connections and
steel side plates, or a traditional timber frame with dovetail and mortise-andtenon connections, or multiple leaves of prefabricated nail plate trusses. The
structural system could be built with precast concrete or extruded aluminum
box sections, or the frame could consist of fiber-reinforced plastic resin structural elements simply grained to look like wood. The final decision should
depend on what is most appropriate for the project, rather than what is most
comfortable for the engineer.
Unfortunately, there is little incentive for the construction-material industry to spend money on historic-materials research. Basic research focuses on
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Building Codes
267
bringing new products to market. For example, basic research into the loadduration factor for timber design as it applies to timber structures that have
been in service for a very long time will not help sell new products for the forest-products industry. The clay-products industry has little or no interest in
doing research into what might be considered archaic systems, such as limebased mortars, terra cotta, and structural clay tile. Smaller specialty suppliers
are still the primary source of replacement materials for preservation projects.
BUILDING CODES
Building codes continue to change in response to disasters. The terrible Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory fire of March 25, 1911, affected building codes
in New York City, as well as other North American cities. The 1981 Kansas
City Hyatt Regency walkway failure changed the way steel structures are
designed and detailed by shifting more of the burden for the design of shop
details to the engineer of record. As a result of Hurricane Andrew, which battered south Florida in 1992, codes have been complicated with various windload factors and unrealistic loading conditions in order to prevent future
damage from a similar storm, as if a deficiency in the code were the problem
(studies have shown that the code in South Florida was more than adequate,
had it been followed, to produce buildings constructed well enough to resist
wind forces generated by Hurricane Andrew). The Northridge, California,
earthquake of 1994, as well as the one in Kobe, Japan, a year later, will greatly
affect seismic requirements of the building codes to be published in the next
few years.
New textbooks, handbooks, design codes, and building codes regularly
replace the old. In recent years, there has been an accelerated transfer of basic
research regarding the application of loadswind, snow, and seismicfrom
the graduate-school laboratories directly into model building codes. Building
codes are not the proper forums for this exchange of ideas; rather, they should
be a distillation of the best and simplest requirements, which have been proven.
Only time will tell how these more complex building codes will affect the existing stock of buildings as they become candidates for restoration, rehabilitation,
or demolition.
Instead of being of repository of minimal, yet simple, requirements for the
construction of the safe structures, building codes are prescribing complicated
methods of analysis, forcing engineers into a cookbook methodology from
which they cannot vary, except at their own peril. An engineer evaluating the
seismic resistance of a historic structure must fit in into a certain building type.
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268
In a 1990 issue of Wood Design Focus, Arlo Ceccotti presented an earthquakeperformance challenge to researchers, code writers, and designers:
It is evident that thorough knowledge and planned balance of the positive and
negative aspects will yield a proper design that guarantees structural safety at
a reasonable cost.
Researchers have the challenge of quantifying the factors that yield ductile
behavior and energy dissipation in the structure. They can determine how to
design and detail connections that lead to ductile systems, rather than brittle
failures.
Code writers have the challenge of combining the often disparate results
of research. They must present a few relatively simple and conservative design
rules, which are easy to apply, for the most common structural forms (those
with known ductility and dissipation levels). Yet, for less common structures,
for which experience has demonstrated good structural performance, code
writers must provide simple rules or guidelines based on the engineering judgment. Designers, have the challenge of finding the classes, creating the most
convenient design from technical and economical points of view.3
Having participated in a building code review committee, it is apparent

that code writers ultimately accept the findings of academia, possibly due to
liability concerns, As Ceccotti has explained, these issues will not go away, and
their impact on historic structures cannot be denied. Proposed seismic provisions for building additions will affect the historic preservation and the renovation and rehabilitation segments of the construction industry. The application
of complicated seismic requirements, which are subject to wide interpretation,
will cause the demolition of many existing buildings. For example, to determine the seismic resistance of an existing building accurately, the unit weight
and shear capacity of the existing masonry must be known. This may require
extensive testing in the field to obtain design values to be used in the analysis,
for which owners often are not willing to pay.
Seismic strengthening should not automatically require the installation of
a retrofitted steel or concrete structural system into a building. Bernard Feilden
(1982) has discussed methods of strengthening historic buildings to retain as
much historic fabric as possible: Examination of earthquake damage shows
that bonding of walls together at the corners is vital, together with the tying of
floors and roofs to walls. The insertion of tensile reinforcement with some
degree of prestressing to bond elements together give the masonry of historic
buildings greater earthquake resistance.4
Photographs of heavily damaged buildings in Friuli, Italy, after the 1979
earthquake demonstrate the efficiency of temporary timber bracing. Similar
bracing can be employed during repairs to stabilize tall masonry walls.
Many owners faced with rehabilitating or adding to an older or historic
structure will elect to demolish when faced with engineering fees for evaluation
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Conclusion
269
or potentially unknown construction costs required to bring a building into

conformance with the seismic code.
Preservation engineering is quite different from designing new structures. Freedom of choice is eliminated. The preservation engineer must evaluate an existing
system, which in some cases was not designed but merely proportioned according to a pattern book based on rules of thumb. Meeting the requirements of the
building code is not the same as ensuring a safe structure. Structural engineers
must make the judgments necessary to keep a historic structure in service when
parameters appear to fall short of minimum code requirements. For example, in
reviewing the capacity of an existing structural member, many parameters complicate the process. Size, span, and spacing of members are dictated by the structure. It is the engineers task to determine the size, orientation, material, properties,
and boundary conditions of all the structural elements in an existing building.
It must be recognized that structural members that are determined to be
overstressed may in fact be perfectly safe. It is important to evaluate the basis
for the conclusion. The loads assumed for design should be reconciled with the
actual loads. A safe floor structure should not fail in bending due to the actual
loads imposed, but excessive deflection, excessive vibration, or a lack of stiffness should not automatically categorize a floor structure as unsafe.
Strict deflection limitations should be set for floors that support plaster
ceilings in lieu of wood, or tin ceilings, or no ceilings at all. For comfort, the
deflection limitation set in most building codes for floors, no matter what the
ceiling, as 1/360th of the span.
Today we have the technology to analyze loose-laid stone walls, obtaining
a quantitative methodology that utilizes lateral earth and hydrostatic pressures,
unit weights, friction and roughness coefficients, shape factors, and wall dimensions. Yet engineers insist on building replacement stone walls with reinforced
concrete faced with a stone veneer while knowing that the serviceability of a
loose-laid stone wall, properly constructed of a suitable stone material, can
easily outlast the reinforced concrete wall.
CONCLUSION
Preservation engineers dare to meet challenges that engineers engaged in new
construction never encounter. The knowledge that is being accumulated through
these experiences needs to be shared with engineers entering the field through
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270
undergraduate education and with practicing engineers, who must continue to

educate colleagues in architecture, government, and the community about proper
preservation techniques so that the body of knowledge and the physical inventory
of historical structures will remain for those who follow.
REFERENCES
1. Martin E. Weaver, Conserving Buildings, Guide to Techniques and Materials (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1993), 5.
2. Stephen J. Kelley, Overview: The Role of the Engineer in Preservation,
APT Bulletin XXIII (1991): 6.
3. Arlo Ceccotti, The Earthquake Performance Challenge, Wood Design
Focus 1 (1990): 3.
4. Feilden, Bernard M. Conservation of Historic Buildings (New York:
Butterworth & Co. Ltd., 1982), 104-105, 121.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fitch, James Marston. Historic Preservation: Curatorial Management of the Built
World (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982), 128129, 146147, 350355.
Harvey, John. Conservation of Buildings (London: John Baker, Ltd. 1972),
116125.
Hosner, Jr., Charles B. Preservation Comes of Age From Williamsburg to the
National Trust, 19261949 (Virginia: The University Press of Virginia, 1981).
The Preservation Press, National Truss for Historic Preservation, Preservation:
Toward an Ethic in the 1980s (Washington, D.C.: National Preservation
Conference Williamsburg, Va., 1980).
c19.indd 270
12/18/08 10:24:37 PM
Index
AASHO. See American Association of State Highway and

Transportation Officials
Abington, VA, 56
ACI. See American Concrete Institute
Adair, Kenneth, 188
African American, 125
Ahoskie, NC, 87
AITC. See American Institute of Timber Construction
Alison, Olivia, 174
Allen, Richard Sanders, 260
American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials, 36
American Concrete Institute (ACI), 25, 29, 265
American Institute of Timber Construction (AITC), 28
American Plywood Association (APA), 34, 119
Ames Dial Deflectometer, 85
Anderson, Al, 56, 248
Anthony, Ron, 54, 143
APA See American Plywood Association
Appalachian Mountains, 31
Aqueduct, 47
Archeological evidence, 125, 132
ASTM, ix, 7, 76, 8485, 131, 173
The Atlantic Monthly, 26
Auchumpkee Covered Bridge, 109, 216, 217
AutoCAD, 135
Beaufort, SC, 91, 104105, 170, 176
Bending stress, 16, 1819, 65, 81, 152153, 201
Bethlehem, PA, 123, 241, 245, 246, 247
Blake, Charlie, 47, 135
Blake Moving Company, 4647, 50, 135
Blue Ridge Timberwrights, 48, 56, 133, 248
Bolt-o-lightning, 49, 256, 258
Bolts-plus, 105106
Bows Notation, 36
Brazil, 33
Brick, 78, 4346, 7679, 86, 99103, 125, 182, 190
Brick masonry, 68, 4445, 7576, 97, 102103, 127128,
160, 178, 187
Brick piers, 43
Bridges, 27, 3536, 63, 211226

covered, 4956, 207210, 219220, 227239, 241251
highway, 11
historic, ix, 1112
one-lane, 11
two-lane, 11
Buies Creek, NC, 101
Bull, Peter, 48, 121
Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, 49, 219225, 246
Burnside Plantation, 50
Burr, Theodore, 27, 212214
Bush, David M., 193
Buxton, NC, 183, 201
Cable-stayed, 233, 234, 236
CABO code, 29
Caisson foundations, 30
Campbell University, 101
Camp, Billy, 103
Canada, 15, 57, 68, 149, 152
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, 181205
Carteret, John, 123, 245
Cast iron, 6, 67, 211
Catawba County, NC, 49, 219221, 224
CCA. See Copper Chromated Arsenate
Ceccotti, Ario, 32, 268
Certified rehabilitation, 2, 69, 83
Chapel Hill, NC, 45
Charleston, SC, 8, 10, 3031, 48, 52, 98109, 115, 122,
152157
Charlotte, NC, 49, 224
Chesterfield Associates, 234
Chesnut, Sarah, 54
Chowan County Courthouse, 18, 152
Church of the Virgin Mary, 190191
Civil Engineering, 2324
Civil War, 54, 115116, 125, 219, 225
Clay tile, 30, 102, 267
Code Mandated Vibratory Analysis, 29
Collins, Bill, 4748, 253254, 257, 261
Computer model, 11, 64, 66, 154, 220
bindex.indd 271
271
12/18/08 10:05:13 PM
272
Index
Concord, NH, 18, 152

Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI), 6, 88
Connecticut, 50, 115, 192, 228, 234, 246
Conservation, viii, 4156, 115, 149168, 178179
Continued professional development, 38
Continuity, viii, 11, 25, 46, 63, 106, 154, 176,
217, 233
Contour interval, 4, 63
Copper Chromated Arsenate (CCA), 157, 163, 255
Corning Glass Museum, 80
Cornish-Windsor Bridge, 227239
Count Zinzendorf, 124
Crack monitoring, 45
Crawl space, 4346, 7478, 84, 100, 127
Cribbing, 43, 54, 107, 109110, 190, 198199, 202
CRSI. See Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
Cyclic loading, 10, 18, 64, 152
Darlington, SC, 43
Darrah Hall, 5253
Deflection, viii, 26, 1619, 4546, 6365, 151155, 165,
231232, 269
Delaware Canal, 47, 253
De Niro, Robert, 33
Design philosophy, 36, 208
Diamond Shoals, 184
Differential settlement, 123
Dorton Arena, vii
Drift pin, 12
Drill rig, 84, 131, 134, 135
DuPont, William, 139
Dutchmen, 49, 52, 54, 147, 156157
Dywidag, 234
Eagle Block Hotel, 8790
Economic Recovery Tax Act, 58
Engineering education, 3637
preservation, 265266
Engineering judgment, 17, 33, 64, 150, 269
Engineer of record, 3, 2527, 3335, 42, 161, 267
Epoxy, 5253, 67, 76, 119, 146147, 162165, 201
Equilibrium moisture content, 89, 59, 255
Factor of safety, 17, 135, 194, 201
Fees, 22, 28
Feilden, Bernard, 268
Fiber saturation point, 9, 5960
Fish plates, 61
Flat-plate, 8790
Fletcher, Bela J., 228
Florida, 3435, 55, 188, 267
Fore, George T., 9192, 94, 103, 154155, 186, 205
Foundation Services, Inc., 134135
Freeze-thaw, 176
Froehling & Robertson (F&R), 81, 85, 131, 156, 174
Fungi, 161, 162
bindex.indd 272
Garcia, Antonio M., 24

Garrett Hotel, 87
Geotechnical testing, 84
Globalization, 55
Glued laminated timber, 16, 48, 5456, 118, 149,
152, 160166, 210, 227, 231237, 248, 257259
Glulam, 149168, 231, 232239, 248
Goddard Bridge, 215
Goldberg, Mike, 48, 120
Grade beams, 138, 188, 195
Grading rules, 9, 60, 248249
grading rules expert, 9
Graham, Tommy, 52, 54, 156
Grant writers, 42
Graphic analysis, 36
Graton, Arnold, 4951, 54, 109110, 145, 216, 224225
Graton, JR, 109, 216
Graton, Milton, 216, 229
Greensboro, NC, 46, 134135, 233
Griphoists, 110, 111
Ground modification, 42
Halma, Sidney, 224
Hand-auger borings, 84
Hanisch, Max C., 159
Harshman, Scott, 134
Haupt, Herman, 21, 27, 49, 211219, 225, 246
Hawaii, 31, 33
Hayward Barker, Inc., 134, 135
Henderson, NC, 50
Hillman Incorporated, 189, 198
Hillsborough, NC, 19, 153
Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program, 211
Historic District Commission, 45
Historic Preservation Office, 64
H.M. Kern Corporation, 135
Horizontal deflection, 4546, 155
Horizontal shear, 11, 16, 60, 65, 150, 161162, 217
Hurricane Fran, 4950, 58
Hurricane Hugo, 31, 153154
Hyatt-Regency, 25, 267
IASM. See International Association of Structural Movers
Improved lattice, 49, 219220, 222223, 246
Increment borer, 9, 59, 7677
In Situ, 175
International Association of Structural Movers
(IASM), 43
International Building Code, 3
International Chimney Corporation, 181, 194, 195,
204, 205
Iron dogs, 61
Jacking, 4244, 98, 164, 205, 218
James Madisons Montpelier, 54, 62, 139147
Jeanes, John, 144
12/18/08 10:05:15 PM
Index
Jobsite observation, 44, 129
John Milner Architects, Inc., 126, 130
Joints
dovetail, 60, 63, 68, 152, 266
tenon, 60, 63, 68, 152, 157, 266
Joist hangers, 11, 44, 60, 146, 164
Joist substitutes, 16, 18, 68, 168
Kivett Hall, 101
Knots, 63, 215, 231, 249
Kobe, Japan, 29, 105, 267
Laminated veneer lumber, 18, 54, 68, 146147
Lateral bracing, 5, 6667, 78, 107109, 138, 209
Larson, John, 130, 131, 138, 242
LEED, 158
Lehigh, PA, 241, 247
Lewandowski, Jan, 47, 49, 233
Lime mortar, 7, 100, 101, 107, 170
Live load duration, 17, 64, 151
Load duration, viii, 13, 1718, 64, 151152, 257
Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), 29, 151152
Load testing, 4, 6, 6566, 208
Long-term deflection, 35, 46
LRFD. See Load and Resistance Factor Design
Lumber grades, 49
273
The New Jersey Rehab Code, 3

NC State Building Code, 81. See also North Carolina State
Building Code
NDS. See National Design Specification for Wood
Construction
Nervi, Pier Luigi, 36
New London, CN, 192
Newport, NH, 87, 89
North Carolina State Building Code, 3, 29, 221.
See also NC State Building Code
North Carolina State University, 49, 72, 74, 83, 56, 183
Northampton County, 241, 247
Northridge, CA, 29, 267
Old-growth, 10
Old-growth forest, 63, 158
Old Salem, 56, 123, 241
Oppermann, Joseph K. 115
Orange, VA, 54
Original plans, 5, 185
Outer Banks, 183
Oven-dried weight, 9, 59, 85, 249
Owen-Thomas House, 174
Oxford Limestone, 52
MACTEC, 195, 204205

Magee, Tom, 121
Market Hall, 10, 4849, 115122
Marl, 31
Maxwell diagram, 36
MBM Construction, 48
Mesick, Cohn, Wilson, and Baker Architects, 54, 144
Methylene chloride, 163
Midway Plantation, 50
Miles Brewton House, 52, 152, 156
Milner, John, 126, 130
Mini piles, 130, 131, 134135, 137138
Modulus of elasticity, 19, 46, 66, 97, 174, 208, 249
Moisture content, 89, 18, 46, 54, 5960, 67, 76, 249
Moisture penetration, 8, 13
Montague Building, 1819, 7190, 152
Montezuma Castle, vii
Moorfields, 19, 153
Moravians, 123, 123, 125, 241, 245
Morris Island, 115
Mortar, 67, 30, 76, 92, 100101, 136, 170171, 267
MTMA Design Group, 186, 193
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, 243
Palladio Awards, 122, 258, 261

Palmer, Timothy, 27, 248
Partridge, Reuben L., 210
Penetration tests, 131
Peshtigo, 159160
Phillips, Charles A. 129
Phillips & Oppermann, 115, 130
Piles
pencil, 134
piles, 134
pin, 134
Pilkey, Orrin H., 183, 193
Pinckney, B.J., 94
Pith, 60
Pittsburgh, PA, 189, 190
Plan stamping, 5456
Pocopson Industries, 48
Point Pleasant, PA, 47, 253254, 257
Pooley, Bruce, 28
Portland cement, 92, 100, 135, 171, 177, 179,
188, 200
Preservation engineers, 18, 68, 168, 263, 269
Preservation philosophy, 16, 4142, 6869, 150,
227, 238, 264265
Purlin, 9, 16, 59, 6364, 142, 150, 168
National Design Specification for Wood Construction

(NDS), 28, 67, 81, 208
National Park Service, 64, 86, 172, 181, 186187,
193, 204
Negligence, 26, 33
Rehabilitation, 2, 6872, 115, 161, 194, 228232, 235

Relative humidity, 89, 59, 93
Replacement-in-kind, 18, 68, 152, 155156, 168, 230
Resistance drilling, 54, 143
Restoration, 67, 49, 72, 91, 125127, 135138, 229
bindex.indd 273
12/18/08 10:05:15 PM
274
Index
Restoration mason, 42, 120

Riveted iron truss, 47
Riveted steel structures, 12
Roller bearing, 46
Romanesque Revival, 74
Ruscon, 109
Saw kerf, 60
Scarf joint, 6062, 67, 156
Screws, 6768, 8384, 158, 164
Season checks, 60
The Secretary of the Interiors Guidelines, 161, 165. See also
The Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Rehabilitation
The Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Rehabilitation,
2, 68, 73, 92. See also The Secretary of the Interiors
Guidelines
Seismic design, 2933
Seismic Hazard Exposure Group, 32
Scissors trusses, 4446
Shear blocks, 61, 120, 230, 256
Shear heads, 77, 88, 89
Shop drawings, 25, 54, 55, 161163
Shoreline erosion, 183, 184
Shoring, 4143, 54, 74, 7779, 115, 134, 197198,
203205, 210
Shrinkage
radial. 9, 59, 66
tangential, 9, 59, 66
volumetric, 9, 59
Sickles-Taves, 103, 172, 176
Simbel, Abu, 191, 192
Simmons, Albert, 98
Simplified engineering, 2140
S & ME, 100, 103, 104, 106
Smith, J. Stephen, 109
Snowdrift, 2728
Snow, J.P., 228, 229
Southern pine, 10, 1819, 46, 8182, 127, 157, 215, 225,
232, 248, 259
Specialty contractor, 4156, 138
Specific gravity, 9, 59, 6667, 76, 85, 172
SPIB, 248, 249
Split Rings, 67
Standard penetration, 84, 105, 131
Statically indeterminate, 37, 213
Steel, 6, 12, 25, 7779, 8390, 99, 136142, 162164, 166,
197203, 264268
Steeple, 23, 52, 93, 99, 109, 113, 123, 153158
Stetson, Dexter, 185, 195
St. Helenas Episcopal Church, 91113, 170
St. Helena Island, SC, 52
Stick, David, 185
St. Michaels, 31, 52, 99, 153, 156157
St. Philips Episcopal Church, 101
bindex.indd 274
Stone, vii, 6, 15, 33, 42, 57, 154, 184187, 195199, 230,
269
Storrs, J.W. 229
Strain gauges, 4
Stucco, 8, 92, 102103, 176177
Structures
existing, viii, 3, 10, 30, 3738, 87, 159
historic, 114, 1718, 64, 151152, 266267
Surveyor, 2, 42, 76, 208, 245
Tabby, 92, 103, 169179
Tasker, James F., 228, 237
Tax credit, 8687
Tax credit status, 74, 83
Tedesko, Anton, 23
Telfair Museum of Art, 174
Tenon, 60, 63, 68, 152, 157, 266
Termites, 69, 161, 162
Terra cotta, 6, 267
Testing laboratory, 156, 173, 208
Thomaston, GA, 109, 216
Thermal movement 4, 13
Timber, viii, 46, 813, 1519, 28, 4751, 5770, 8586,
149168, 221225, 231232
Timber design, 811, 1518, 2829, 5860
Timber framer, 42, 4756, 64, 120121, 224, 232, 255
Timber Framers Guild of North America, 120, 253
Timber joinery, 6163, 139
Tinius-Olsen, 156
Tohickon Aqueduct, 4748, 253261
Tongue and groove decking, 243
Topographic plan, 4, 63
Town, Ithiel, 27, 211, 214219, 222, 228, 246
Town lattice, 4751, 212, 214219, 227229, 238, 241,
247248, 253255, 260
Treenails, 60
Triangle Shirtwaist Company, 267
Trinity United Methodist Church, 4344
Trunnels, 48, 60, 127, 215, 217, 220, 255
Tudor arches, 159, 162165
Tuttle, Harry, 33
Ultimate stress design, 29
Underpinning, 42, 74, 106, 125127, 130131,
134135, 138
Underwriters Laboratory, 25
United Church of Chapel Hill, 4447
United hydraulic system, 181, 202, 203
Use factor, 155
Utica Road Covered Bridge, 213
Wachovia, 124, 245
Wake County, NC, 50, 84
Walker Building, 1819, 152
Watagua Club, 74
12/18/08 10:05:16 PM
Index
Watagua Hall, 7190
Weaver, Martin, 265
Wernwag, Louis, 27, 248
Whipple, Squire, 21, 27, 219
White, Percival, 26
Whites Mill, 56
Wilson, Barrett, 193
Winston-Salem, NC, 115, 125, 130, 243,
245, 249
Wood Design Focus, 32, 268
bindex.indd 275
275
The Wood Handbook, 9, 60, 67

Wood scientist, 42, 54, 143
Working stress design, 29, 152
Wright, David W., 228
Wrought iron, ix, 6, 11, 66, 153, 158
nails, 11
Yates Mill, 4950, 58, 70
Yates Mill Associates, 49
Yline, A., 28
12/18/08 10:05:17 PM

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Structural Investigation

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural

Preservation and Public Safety: Structural Safety of

Conservation and the Specialty Contractor

Historic Timber Structures

Watauga Hall and the Montague Building

The Restoration of St. Helenas Church

Market Hall Rehabilitation

Differential Settlement at St. Philips Moravian

CHAPTER 10 James Madisons Montpelier

CHAPTER 11 Timber, Glulam, and Conservation

CHAPTER 12 Tabby: Engineering Characteristics of a Vernacular

CHAPTER 13 Relocating the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

CHAPTER 14 Crisis in American Covered Bridges

CHAPTER 15 The Timber Trusses of Burr, Town, and Haupt

CHAPTER 16 The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge

CHAPTER 17 A New Covered Bridge for Old Salem

CHAPTER 18 The Tohickon Aqueduct

CHAPTER 19 The Current State of Historic Preservation

Conservation of our existing structures has obvious economic and social

EVALUATING A TIMBER STRUCTURE

WHY THE BOOK IS NEEDED

Historic Structures: The Role of the

THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER AS A PRESERVATIONIST

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer

historic building might include a structural evaluation to determine whether

BUILDING CODES AND HISTORIC STRUCTURES

The Structural Evaluation

connections involved? As in the review and evaluation of any structure, the

Included in the code are provisions regarding repairs, additions, sprinkler

THE STRUCTURAL EVALUATION

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer

that length of time. Applying a known, safe load to a historic structure is an

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer

The structural engineer must be familiar with the properties of materials

THE EVALUATION OF CONCRETE

BRICK MASONRY RESTORATION

Brick Masonry Restoration

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer

The use of grinders, sandblasting, sanding discs, or other abrasives normally

TIMBER DESIGN AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Timber Design and Historic Preservation

Moisture content is the weight of the water contained in wood, expressed

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer

to assume reasonable design values to be used in the analysis. Certainly, in

Historic Highway Bridges

A joist might be perfectly adequate in bending and deflection and be critical in

THE TIMBER TRUSS COMPUTER MODEL

HISTORIC HIGHWAY BRIDGES

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer

DISMANTLING HISTORIC RIVETED STEEL

Reassembly in the original manner of construction is possible, with rivets,

HISTORIC STRUCTURES PROVIDE RESEARCH

Historic Structures: The Role of the Structural Engineer

5. Brick Institute of America, Technical Notes on Brick Construction, No. 39A

Preservation and Public Safety:

Preservation and Public Safety: Structural Safety of Historic Timber Structures

In todays residential market, timber is primarily of importance as dimension

Load Duration and Historic Structures

economic considerations, existing standards, and the structure of the building

LOAD DURATION AND HISTORIC STRUCTURES