Changes to the National Building Code of Canada for the 2015 edition allowed for 5- and 6-storey buildings.
Mid-rise construction requires extra design considerations, of which the following are not yet included in WoodWorks Shearwalls:
Deflection analysis which includes cumulative rotational effects from the storeys below, from the (non-mandatory) O86 Appendix A.11.7.1.
Continuous hold-down systems that are needed to keep rotational deflection within limits and to resist the higher forces from taller structures. These tie-down systems will appear in the next major release of Shearwalls.
Special requirements for L-, T- and E-shaped plan layouts, and other shapes
Mid-rise considerations that have been taken into account in WoodWorks include:
Restrictions on percentage of gypsum wallboard (GWB) contributing to seismic resistance. Shearwalls disallows GWB from contributing to shear resistance for buildings greater than four storeys.
Seismic irregularity restrictions. Shearwalls does not allow Type 4 and Type 5 offset irregularities for buildings greater than 4 storeys.
Increase in base shear if you enter a value of the period T into the program.(This increase is not required when using NBC 4.1.8.11 c) for T, the default procedure
