Thread: When are portal shear walls needed?

I am designing a free standing two car garage the size is 24 feet wide by 24 feet deep. Do I need to provide a shear wall on each side of the garge openings if the side walls are less than 4 feet wide? Please help me understand when the shear walls are required.

Thanks,
Alfred

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Originally Posted by Alfredo R. Trevino

I am designing a free standing two car garage the size is 24 feet wide by 24 feet deep. Do I need to provide a shear wall on each side of the garge openings if the side walls are less than 4 feet wide? Please help me understand when the shear walls are required.

Thanks,
Alfred

AT: Wood Strong-Wall®: Garage Portal Systems on Concrete Foundations

Hey Alfredo, how's it going? Yes you need portals/shear walls. The IRC doesn't make it easy to figure out what is required but based on your description, NJ wind loads, and my experience, you have to do it. Use Simpson Strong Wall or Portal system depending on calculated wind load. Also, the Simpson Strong Wall anchoring assumes a concrete foundation wall (CMU would be less capacity) for anchor uplift, so unless they've come out with a new catalog, the foundation wall for the front of the garage should be concrete not block. Good Luck.