Location Wall Detail Fields

Wall Type

•       CA EQ

•       HI EQ

•       HI TC

•       JP EQ

•       US EQ

•       US HU

•       US ST - Straight-Line Winds, Tornados

One of the following values to describe the materials used for the external walls of the building at this location:

•       Unknown/default (0)

•       Brick/unreinforced masonry (1)

•       Reinforced masonry (2)

•       Plywood (3)

•       Wood planks (4)

•       Particle board/OSB (oriented strand board) (5)

•       Metal panels (6)

•       Pre-cast concrete elements (7)

•       Cast-in-place concrete (8)

•       Gypsum board (9)

Different types of wall materials offer varying degrees of resistance to wind-induced lateral loads. Breaches in the wall can result in internal pressure buildup.

With respect to seismic performance, some wall forms can contribute to increasing the lateral-load capacity of a building, while others tend to act independently when shaken.

•       Optional

•       Defaults to a value in the Touchstone user interface

Unknown/default (0)

Wall Siding

•       AU WF

•       CA EQ

•       HI EQ

•       HI TC

•       JP EQ

•       US EQ

•       US HU

•       US ST - Straight-Line Winds, Tornados, Hail

•       US WF

One of the following values to describe the materials used for the weather protection of the external walls of the building at this location:

•       Unknown/default (0)

•       Veneer brick/masonry (1)

•       Wood shingles (2)

•       Clapboards (3)

•       Aluminum/vinyl siding (4)

•       Stone panels (5)

•       Exterior insulation finishing system (6)

•       Stucco (7)

Wall sidings offer protection from wind and rain. Different types of wall siding materials have varying degrees of wind load resistance. A breach in wall sidings can expose the wall to wind and rain, resulting in water intrusion and internal pressure buildup.

Different types of cladding materials offer varying degrees of resistance to earthquake-induced lateral loads. Veneer and stone panels in particular are more susceptible to falling off in an earthquake.

•       Optional

•       Defaults to a value in the Touchstone user interface

Unknown/default (0)

Glass Type

•       HI TC

•       US HU

•       US ST - Straight-Line Winds, Tornados, Hail

•       US WF

One of the following values to describe the type of glass used in the building at this location:

•       Unknown/default (0)

•       Annealed (1)

•       Tempered (2)

•       Heat strengthened (3)

•       Laminated (4)

•       Insulating glass units (5)

Different glass types have varying degrees of resistance to wind loads and debris impact.

•       Optional

•       Defaults to a value in the Touchstone user interface

Unknown/default (0)

Glass Percentage

•       HI TC

•       US HU

•       US ST - Straight-Line Winds, Tornados, Hail

One of the following values to describe the percentage of the wall area that is covered by glass for the building at this location:

•       Unknown/default (0)

•       Less than 5% (1)

•       Between 5% and 20% (2)

•       Between 20% and 60% (3)

•       Greater than 60% (4)

The greater the percent of glass in a wall, the greater the vulnerability to damage, in general.

•       Optional

•       Defaults to a value in the Touchstone user interface

Unknown/default (0)

Window Protection

•       HI TC

•       US HU

•       US ST - Straight-Line Winds, Tornados, Hail

One of the following values to describe the type of wind protection system used for the windows of the building at this location:

•       Unknown/default (0)

•       No protection (1)

•       Non-engineered shutters (2)

•       Engineered shutters (3)

Protecting the windows can reduce the potential damage to a building.

•       Optional

•       Defaults to a value in the Touchstone user interface

Unknown/default (0)

Exterior Doors

•       HI TC

•       US HU

•       US ST - Straight-Line Winds, Tornados

One of the following values to describe the type of doors used on the exterior of the building at this location:

•       Unknown/default (0)

•       Single width Doors (1)

•       Double width Doors (2)

•       Reinforced single width doors (3)

•       Reinforced double width doors (4)

•       Sliding doors (5)

•       Reinforced sliding doors (6)

Exterior doors are weak in resisting wind loads. The frame that holds the doors is also weak in resisting wind loads. They deflect considerably under high wind loads and, thus, fail.

•       Optional

•       Defaults to a value in the Touchstone user interface

Unknown/default (0)

Building Exterior Opening

•       CA EQ

•       HI EQ

•       JP EQ

•       US EQ

One of the following values to describe the percentage of exterior walls that are open (that is, that have windows or doors) for the building at this location:

•       Unknown (0)

•       Less than 50% of wall open / default (1)

•       More than 50% of wall open (2)

Note that this field is reserved for future use in the Japan Earthquake model.

A shear wall with many openings for windows and doors has less resistance to earthquake loads. Buildings with walls that are more than 50% open are evaluated as having less seismic resistance than they would otherwise.

Optional

Brick Veneer

•       CA EQ

•       HI EQ

•       JP EQ

•       US EQ

One of the following values to describe the percentage of exterior walls that are brick veneer for the building at this location:

•       Unknown/default (0) (represents 50-90%)

•       More than 90% (1)

•       25-50% (2)

•       0-25% (3)

Note that this field is reserved for future use in the Japan Earthquake model.

The masonry of brick veneer is typically unreinforced and is likely to crack and come loose when subjected to ground shaking. Therefore, buildings with this type of exterior siding are more likely to experience direct damage from repair of the masonry, and possible indirect damage due to repair of adjacent components that may be damaged caused by falling debris from the veneer.

•       Optional

•       You should use this field in conjunction with the 103 - masonry veneer construction code.