It was a beautiful spot on an island off
Maine, facing the summer sunrise. The
architect sited the house in a meadow
next to a grove of pines, about 150 feet
from the water. The client wanted a
design in the local Downeast style, but
with an open floor plan and a twostory-
high cathedral ceiling.
Structurally, the design was a horror.
The architect specced some stout posts
and LVL headers to provide vertical
support for the tall east-facing eaves
wall, but there was no lateral strength
(Figure 1). Gusts of wind from a nor'easter
were sure to shake the house quite
severely. From experience with a lot of
wood frame coastal buildings, I know
this shaking