The American Wood Council (AWC) has a new edition of the Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic (SDPWS) on the shelf. The 2027 edition cleared its final hurdle, earning approval as an American National Standard from ANSI and a spot in the 2027 I-Codes. For engineers working in high-wind and high-seismic zones, the updated SDPWS means more certainty, and more options, when designing for wood projects.
As a consensus-based standard, SDPWS updates are an involved process. The 2027 edition is the result of years of research and two years of committee work, 13 rounds of balloting, and a public comment period. This revision process happens every five to six years to keep the standard aligned with emerging research and other design documents, so engineers and developers can design with confidence.
SDPWS provides criteria for proportioning, designing, and detailing engineered wood systems, members, and connections in lateral force resisting systems. Engineered design of wood structures to resist wind or seismic forces is either by allowable stress design (ASD) or strength design using load and resistance factor design (LRFD) provisions. Nominal shear capacities of diaphragms and shear walls are provided for reference assemblies.
The 2027 edition includes several notable updates: two new systems were added, a Post-Tensioned Timber Rocking Wall system and a High-Capacity One-Sided Shear Wall system. The Post-Tensioned Timber Rocking Wall system offers designers another option for wood construction with demonstrated performance during high wind and seismic events. The new system for sheathed wood-frame construction likewise gives engineers another option for high hazard areas, allowing sheathing on a single side of the wall while still achieving the shear capacities needed for high wind and high seismic design, simplifying construction without sacrificing performance.
Along with the new systems, AWC also updated CLT diaphragms provisions, pulling from new test data, the same dataset feeding into upcoming seismic coefficients for CLT diaphragms in ASCE 7-28.
Now that SDPWS has been finalized, AWC is putting the final touches on updates to the Permanent Wood Foundation Design Specification (PWF). Going through the same rigorous consensus-based process as SDPWS and AWC’s other standards, the 2027 PWF is expected to be completed soon, continuing to support safe, code-compliant design of wood foundation systems.
The PWF standard covers permanent wood foundation systems which are intended for light-frame construction, including residential buildings. A Permanent Wood Foundation is a load-bearing wood-frame wall system designed for both above- and below-grade use as a foundation for light-frame construction. The PWF standard was initially based on information developed cooperatively by the wood products industry and the U.S. Forest Service, with the advice and guidance of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Federal Housing Administration and utilizing research findings of the National Association of Home Builders’ Research Center.
Early next year, AWC will continue the work of updating its standards.
The 2024 National Design Specification for Wood Construction® (NDS), the 2024 Fire Design Specification for Wood Construction (FDS), and the 2024 Wood Frame Construction Manual for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (WFCM) are all due for updates starting in 2027.
As the nationally recognized technical authority and advocate for the wood products industry in the codes, standards, legislative, and regulatory arenas, AWC is committed to partnering in the development of sound policies, codes, and regulations that allow for the appropriate and responsible manufacture and use of wood products in our built environment.
The 2027 SDPWS is available to view online, with a downloadable PDF coming soon. For more information on all of our products, visit www.awc.org.