Author(s)

A.R. Selby & S.A. Smith

Abstract

The structural engineer working on the refurbishment of buildings with traditional timber joints is often faced with the task of assessing the strength of the truss in its present condition, with possible damage or deterioration from years of service. Current practice is to avoid replacement or strengthening where possible (Hume, 1991). Modern codes of practice do not refer to the strength of traditional joints, and simple methods of equilibrium are unduly conservative. A study was undertaken to investigate the strength of two commonly occurring types of eaves joint, using both laboratory tests on scaled joints, and computational analyses of detailed stress distributions in the timber. Materials tests on the shear capacity of timber showed that the along-grain shear

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