A photograph of the earthquake damage to a house in Christchurch. One of the side walls has crumbled, exposing the inside. Steel bracing is being used to hold up the ceiling inside.
A photograph of bracing under a bridge.
Cordon fencing around the Arts Centre on Worcester Boulevard. Men with hard hats and hi-vis vests are entering the building. Wooden bracing has been placed on the gable on the tower to limit further earthquake damage.
Wooden bracing holding up the remaining masonry of this wall of the Cramner Centre (formerly Christchurch Girls' High School). Above the bracing, the masonry has fallen away.
A photograph of St John the Baptist Church on the corner of Madras and Hereford Streets. Sections of the closest wall have crumbled and steel bracing has been used to hold up the rest. Wire fencing has been placed around the bracing as a cordon.
Wooden bracing protecting a tower on the Arts Centre.
Damage to St John the Baptist Church in Latimer Square. Behind steel bracing, the gable end of the building has partly collapsed. The photographer comments, "The bracing did help hold the church up".
A photograph of the Arts Centre with steel bracing holding up the walls.
Bracing on the old Civic Chambers building.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Woodham Road".
The Octagon Live Restaurant (formerly Trinity Church) on Worcester Street. Bracing has been placed on the tower to limit further damage from aftershocks. Sculptures of a cyclist, bungee jumper , rock climber and kayaker can be seen on the bracing posts.
A photograph of signs under the rear section of the Forsyth Barr building. The signs reads, "Danger drop zone". In the background is rubble from an earthquake-damaged building . Steel bracing has been constructed around a concrete pillar to the right.
A photograph of the Durham Street Methodist Church. The parapet at the tip of the front gable has come loose and is leaning towards the road. Steel bracing has been placed behind the parapet to keep it from toppling.
A photograph of a gable of the Arts Centre which has been reinforced with wooden bracing.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Bracing on a house in Manchester Street".
The old Civic Council Chamber's west wall reinforced with heavy steel bracing.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Our City O-Tautahi Building on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace. Steel bracing has been placed against the building to secure the brick walls. The bracing is supported by large concrete blocks. Wire fences have also been placed around the bottom of the building as a cordon. Scaffolding has been erected around the tower to the right.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The steelwork bracing the Municipal Council Chamber in Worcester Street".
A photograph of the Cranmer Courts on the corner of Kilmore and Montreal Streets. The gable to the left has crumbled, and there is damage to the tip of the gable in the foreground. Wooden bracing has been placed on both walls to limit further damage from aftershocks.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. Steels bracing has been used to stabilise the front of the building. Crumbled masonry and other rubble is still lying in front. Wire fences have been placed around the building site as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. Steels bracing has been used to stabilise the front of the building. Crumbled masonry and other rubble is still lying in front. Wire fences have been placed around the building site as a cordon.
Light timber framed (LTF) structures provide a cost-effective and structurally efficient solution for low-rise residential buildings. This paper studies seismic performance of single-storey LTF buildings sheathed by gypsum-plasterboards (GPBs) that are a typical lining product in New Zealand houses. Compared with wood-based structural panels, GPBs tend to be more susceptible to damage when they are used in bracing walls to resist earthquake loads. This study aims to provide insights on how the bracing wall irregularity allowed by the current New Zealand standard NZS 3604 and the in-plane rigidity of ceiling diaphragms affect the overall seismic performance of these GPB-braced LTF buildings. Nonlinear time-history analyses were conducted on a series of single-storey baseline buildings with different levels of bracing wall irregularities and ceiling diaphragm rigidity. The results showed significant torsional effect caused by the eccentric bracing wall layout with semi-rigid/rigid ceiling diaphragms. On average, bracing wall drift demand caused by the extreme bracing wall irregularities was three times of that in the regular bracing wall layout under the rigid diaphragm assumption. This finding agreed well with the house survey after the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake in which significantly more damage was observed in the houses with irregular bracing wall layouts and relatively rigid diaphragms. Therefore, it is recommended to limit the level of bracing wall eccentricity and ensure the sufficiently rigid diaphragms to avoid excessive damage in these LTF buildings in future events.
A red-stickered building on Canterbury Street in Lyttelton. The building's facade has been propped up with timber, steel and concrete block bracing, and one of its windows has been weather proofed with plywood. Wire fencing has been place around the building as a cordon.
A braced chimney on a house on Hackthorne Road, Cashmere.
A partly constructed tilt slab building on the demolition site of 338 Montreal Street. In the background, a severely damaged B&B can be seen.
An old fashioned telephone box outside the Our City O-Tautahi building with heavy steel bracing in the background.
A close-up photograph of the Citizens' War Memorial in Cathedral Square. Bracing has been placed around the waist and neck of the angel.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "152 Hereford Street - broken column supported by steel bracing".
A view down Worcester Street towards Cathedral Square. To the left is the Municipal Chambers Building with steel bracing holding up the front.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Steel bracing being attached to 169 Hereford Street".