Log house performance in the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake

Authors

  • Andy Buchanan PTL | Structural Timber Consultants, Christchurch, New Zealand
  • Daniel Moroder PTL | Structural Timber Consultants, Christchurch, New Zealand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5459/bnzsee.50.2.225-236

Abstract

This paper describes the performance of log houses in the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Most of these houses are in the Mt Lyford village 45 km south-east of Kaikoura.

Typical log houses at Mt Lyford were built using 200mm diameter machined logs. A smaller number of log houses were built with much larger hand-hewn logs of less regular shapes, in traditional log house construction. Most houses were constructed on a concrete slab incorporating the foundations. A small number, especially those on steep sites, had timber poles supporting a timber ground floor platform.

Most of the log houses suffered some lateral movement and subsequent damage. Very few of the houses were damaged beyond repair, and the overall performance was excellent considering the nature of the quake.

One house close to Waiau suffered extreme near-fault shaking, leading to extensive damage, but this is considered to be the result of exceptional ground movement rather than any deficiencies in the design or construction.

References

Ma Q and Wotherspoon L (2016). “Ground Motions and Seismology”. Kaikoura, NZ Earthquake Clearinghouse. http://www.eqclearinghouse.org/2016-11-13-kaikoura

Hahney T (2000). “How Log Buildings Resist Lateral Loads”. Log Building News 32, November 2000. Canadian Log Builders Association.

Popovski M (2002). “Testing of Lateral Resistance of Handcrafted Log Walls Phase I and II”. International Log Builders Association, Project No. 3512/3512A. 2002.

Leichti R, Scott R, Miller T and Sharpe J (2006). “Lateral Resistance of Walls and Anchorage in Log Structures”. Structure Magazine, March 2006.

Graham DA, Carradine DM, Bender DA and Dolan D (2010). “Performance of Log Shear Walls Subjected to Monotonic and Reverse-Cyclic Loading”. Journal of Structural Engineering, 136(1): 37-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0000035

Graham DA (2007). “Performance of Log Shear Walls and Lag Screw Connections Subjected to Monotonic and Reverse Cyclic Loading”. MS Thesis, Washington State University, USA.

Kessler S (2010). “A Study of the Seismic Response Modification Factor for Log Shear Walls”. MS Thesis, Kansas State University, USA.

Chambers RW (2016). “Log Construction Manual: The Ultimate Guide to Building Handcrafted Log Homes”. Deep Stream Press.

Berrill JB (2011). “Some Aspects of the M6.3 February 22nd 2011 Earthquake”. http://www.csi.net.nz/documents/Some Aspects of the Feb22 M6-3_R3.pdf

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Published

30-06-2017

How to Cite

Buchanan, A., & Moroder, D. (2017). Log house performance in the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, 50(2), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.5459/bnzsee.50.2.225-236