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Steel
Roof wind girder
Horizontal lattice hidden in the roof plane: it collects wind hitting the gable and transfers it to the vertical bracing of the side walls. The most often forgotten member... until the first storm.
Typical dimensions & rules
- •Location: first bay behind each gable
- •Chords = portal rafters, posts = purlins
- •Diagonals: rods or angles working in tension
- •Designed as a horizontal beam laid flat
Common mistakes to avoid
- ✗Omitting it entirely (unstabilized gables)
- ✗Not connecting its reactions to the vertical bracing
- ✗Gable posts without top support
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