A new reinforcing system for building frames increases wind-resistances of the buildings from 85mph to 120 mph, and costs around the same to build the property owners building with. The property owner is aware of the new reinforcing method, but the Building Contractors all refuse to grant the property owner’s requests, and constructs the buildings with 85mph resistant frames, which get knocked down by a tornado/hurricane before the Building Contractor’s warrantee expired.
How would the "act of god" clauses in the Building Contractor’s warranties and the building owner’s insurance company’s policies work in this realistic scenario?
ANNA, pay close attention to what I am stating here:
The better building frames are not a change in materials, it is a change in the assembling methods.
Sue; GREAT ANSWER, you bring up an important point.
The term "experimental" does not apply to the Building Codes specifically, because they are not a testing faction of the Industry. They The Codes are a Guide to what is consensusly considered as a MINIMUM way to design and assemble a building or structure, WITH all currently known and tested products that go into the ASSEMBLAGE of the building or structure, AND how those products interact with each of the other products.
The Building Code Publishers gather the various information about the wide range of products that go into the assemblage of a building/structure, including DESIGN SYSTEMS, of which each and every one of ARE experimental, as long as any assembled building/structure fails within a 100 year lifespan, for any reason. The 100 years comes from the Technical Boards of Registrations and Registrar of Contractors, not the Building Codes.
Structural Strap-Netting/Continuous Reinforcing does fall within the Codes.
As for inclusions of this new method of reinforcing buildings and structures, there really isn’t any, except for condensing all the provisions of the Codes that these new systems meet and exceed, into a singular, easier to follow, Provisions/ Prescriptive (topic-direct) Written subchapter.
I am running into all kinds of roadblocks in getting the Publishers of the Building Codes to develop these changes to the Codes, even though all the products of Structural Strap-Nets and the systems that Structural Strap-Nets accessorize, have already been tested and are currently in the Codes.
What I have done basically, is rearrange these included products into a better working and resulting SYSTEM, that dramatically improves the building/structure’s frames in resisting winds/seismic activity, etc; and added the always desired resiliences of flexure, elasticity, and tension-resisting FRAME PROTECTIONS, that are not included in braced-frame-only systems.
Tests are included with purchases.
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