Loading effects on timber truss to wall connection in a contemporary house

Windstorms are one of the major causes of severe damage to houses and other infrastructure. An assessment of previous studies on damage to timber framed houses shows that the roof is the most vulnerable part of a house, and that failures take place at inter component connections (i.e. cladding to batten, batten to truss connection and truss or rafter to top plate connection). The failure of roof structures during extreme windstorms emphasises the need to study their response. The stability of the roof structure mainly depends on their inter-component connection response to wind loading. The roof to wall connection is an important inter-component connection for the structural stability of a house during strong winds, by providing a continuous load path from the roof to the foundation. The aim of this study is to assess the loading effects on roof to wall connections of a typical brick veneer contemporary house. A numerical model of the representative house was developed and the result shows the load sharing and the structural response. This result also shows that the structural system stability will improve with elements such as ceiling and ceiling cornice sharing the load.