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MODEL GUIDELINES FOR DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND INSTALLATION OF ENGINEERED PANELIZED WALLS

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This new publication from the Partnership for Advancing
Technology in Housing (PATH) will help the housing and
building industries improve housing quality, safety, and
affordability. Model Guidelines for Design, Fabrication,
and Installation of Engineered Panelized Walls addresses
key technological and procedural barriers to the
effective use of conventional and innovative panelized
wall systems. A panelized wall is a portion of a wall or
an entire wall that is manufactured in a factory and then
delivered to the construction site for installation.
Although this guide focuses on a manufactured assembly
approach, the provisions also include specific guidance
that is applicable to wall constructions that are built
on-site.

This publication is a resource for the housing and
building industries and offers comprehensive guidelines
for design, fabrication, and installation of panelized
wall construction. State-of-the-art methods provide the
fabricator, designer, and builder with a set of tools
that support the efficient design of residential
structures and other buildings.

The guide is organized in four sections covering:
o General issues;
o Responsibilities;
o Quality guidelines; and
o Structural evaluation.
Appendices provide useful supplemental data and design
examples.

The provisions in the Guidelines address structural
design, fabrication, and installation of light-frame
walls, including components and subassemblies, using wood
or cold-formed steel members in platform-frame building
constructions. The guidelines do not address non-
structural and other design considerations, such as:
o Thermal insulation;
o Exterior and interior finishes;
o Fire resistance ratings; or
o Sound transmission ratings.

By relocating the wall framing operations from the
construction site to a controlled factory environment,
panelized wall construction can provide a spectrum of
benefits, if successfully implemented. Factory operations
can be optimized and automated for mass production of
wall panels that are engineered to meet structural and
functional specifications. In addition, the factory
environment allows for more efficient utilization of
material and human resources. Moreover, the panelized
construction technology can successfully incorporate
innovative and improved wall systems developed through
research and engineering to cost-effectively meet
performance-based building code provisions..

The authors overarching goal in developing this
publication is to improve existing methods of wall
panelization and encourage innovation. It's not a stretch
to say that they succeed admirably in their efforts, in
that the Model Guidelines represent a valuable addition
to the progressive A/E's and builder's design and
construction library.

A complete copy of Model Guidelines for Design,
Fabrication, and Installation of Engineered Panelized Walls
is available at
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/destech/panelized_walls_guidelines.html
or through HUD USER.

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