My father is originally from New York, and moved back to Manhattan after raising his family in SoCal. In about 1990 he was attending a meeting on the 39th floor of the Citicorp building when they had an earthquake - not a big one, but a measurable 3-something or 4-something on the Richter. Out here, that's just your neighbor's subwoofer, but 400' above grade in a building that wasn't designed for seismic it was a water ride and my dad likes to tell the story about Captains Of Industry freaking out and running every which way in a panic.
The point is that NYC, Missouri, parts of Kentucky ... literally dozens and hundreds of places in North America have been accurately identified as seismic zones in geological terms, and the IBC (not to mention NFPA 13, 2007) correctly identify the need to address with appropriate seismic protection. But a structural or seismic joint is very different than an expansion joint - at least in the terminology of the Left Coast. An expansion joint is merely to keep assemblies like exterior stucco soffits from cracking due to thermal and humidity-driven expansion and contraction. These can be of a nearly infinite variety of designs and are non-structural, except with regard to how you might frame or finish the assembly in question. A separation or seismic joint is where two SEPARATE structures abut, but don't touch and when crossing one you are connecting to different structural assemblies on each side, that are designed to move completely independently of one another. Hence the requirement for an omni-directional joint. Steve Leyton Protection Design & Consulting -----Original Message----- From: Koebrich, Bill [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 12:36 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Building expansion joints Not common but I have seen earthquake joints or Meta-flex required. New York City of all places. F. William Koebrich III SimplexGrinnell LP Sales Representative Direct: 954-862-5229 Cell: 954-931-0495 Fax: 305-825-8880 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ed Kramer Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 3:26 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Building expansion joints Common for larger buildings to have structural expansion joints. Rarely (actually, never) have I seen an architectural/engineering plan call for anything special when crossing them (plumbing, HVAC or sprinkler). Is this something to be concerned about, or should I move on to something else? Ed Kramer Littleton, CO _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum
