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Q: When designing light wood-frame shear walls with openings and using the force transfer around openings (FTAO) method, do the metal straps along the tops and bottoms of the openings need to extend the full wall length?
A: The American Wood Council’s Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic (SDPWS) document provides information and requirements for the design of wood-frame shear walls. Of the three shear wall design methodologies given in the SDPWS, two allow incorporation of openings within the length of the wall—perforated and force transfer around openings (FTAO)...

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