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
