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I work for British Columbia Parks. In one of my areas of responsibility we are planning to build a new backcountry shelter. The structure would house up to 24 in the summer and 14 in the winter. The site is accessable by foot or helicopter. The structure would be timber frame with stress skin panels. It would be located at an elevation of 2500m, in an area where we may have a snowpack of 5m and a total snowfall of 18m.Where could I find information on rules of thumb for alpine construction? I would like to have some solid information when working with the people designing this structure. The designs to date look nice, but seem more suitable for a Banff Lodge than a high elevation, chalet style hostel.
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Peter,
I will do some searching the web, for you I have some friends that helped me alot in the past but I have a question for you.
How can I get there when it is done?
*A structural engineer should be able to calculate the load factor that you will need to withstand based on the snowpack for your site.There are Stress Skin type panels available that have integral structural members encapsulated within the core that can take a longer span and carry more load. Actually I believe that in Canada these are called Stress Skin panels (CSA 086.1) but here in the states they are labeled Structural Insulated Panels (SIP's)Fine Homebuilding did an article on roof systems for snow country which you may be able to find in the archive. It seems that the idea is to engineer for the load to stay on the roof or to have a steep enough pitch roof to shed the snow. Keep in mind that using panels with structural content will lessen the need for framework below which could cut your costs somewhat in regards to the amount for the timberframe itself. Usually a ridge beam and purlin system or timber rafters are all that are necessary. You might look at using panels for the floor system as well for your application. For a remote situation like yours with limited (read expensive) access and a short building season using a panelized system is definately a good idea.
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I work for British Columbia Parks. In one of my areas of responsibility we are planning to build a new backcountry shelter. The structure would house up to 24 in the summer and 14 in the winter. The site is accessable by foot or helicopter. The structure would be timber frame with stress skin panels. It would be located at an elevation of 2500m, in an area where we may have a snowpack of 5m and a total snowfall of 18m.Where could I find information on rules of thumb for alpine construction? I would like to have some solid information when working with the people designing this structure. The designs to date look nice, but seem more suitable for a Banff Lodge than a high elevation, chalet style hostel.