Built‐Up Wood Columns

Current design rules for wood columns are reviewed, and a linear elastic analysis of pin-ended built-up columns with timber connectors concentrated near the ends is presented. The analysis shows how stresses, deflections, and buckling loads depend on individual member properties, joint stiffnesses, overall geometry, and how the load is applied. Particular results are presented for a column made from two pieces of lumber joined together at the ends with nails and with the axial load all applied to one piece of lumber. Spaced columns are also covered, and a conclusion is that current design rules are very conservative with long-spaced columns with nailed joints requiring 10% of the joint capacities specified by the National Design Specification for Wood Construction.