| This weight study compared two different residential construction designs, conventionally framed and log. It was intended to verify two things; to determine the weight difference between the two structural designs, and to confirm whether the building foundation/footing requires any design modification because of additional weight loads.; Three different material types, wood studs, metal studs, and logs were cut to size and weighed utilizing both 17.5 and 12 inch lengths.; It was discovered that there was a weight difference between the 13 course pine log home and the wood and steel frame home's mean weight by 28 pounds per running foot. Unless the log home had undergone custom modifications to the overall structure, it was discovered that, regardless of the wood species used, the need for additional footing width and thickness modifications would not be required beyond the structural code design for residential foundation systems as listed in Section 1009.0; 3.1, 3.2 of the Building Officials and Code Administrators Basic Building Code Manual (1998).; It is recommended that the size of home, construction design, and materials used, be determined before calculating the footing width. Further, soil samples should be taken to determine the soil matrix and its ability to support the home in relation to the depth the structure will be placed. |
