b'THE OFFICIAL NFBA MAGAZINEcontinued from page: 15Figure 8 Accumulated Snow drifts at Roof Steps accumulate SIGNIFICANT snow weight on a buildingFigure 6 Truss to Column, Truss to Header, and Headerframe buildings is with knee braces (Figure 9). A to Column Connections: all Critical knee brace is a structural member that connects to to drifting, unbalanced, and sliding snow (Figurethe post and extends to the roof line and connects 7). The derivations for these special snow loadsto the roof truss top chord. In most buildings that are detailed in ASCE 7. The demand on structuralutilize diaphragm action to resist lateral loads knee elements in affected areas will be significantly higherbraces are not required. However, in open or partially than they would be for balanced snow loads alone.open buildings knee braces may be the primary Reinforcing the load path in this area may involve an increased number of trusses, closer spaced purlins, increased header or beam sizes, stronger connections, larger posts and footings. Inaccurate analysis of the increased loads for any of these elements could create a weak link in the load path (Figure 8).6.Knee BracesAnother method of resisting lateral loads in post-Figure 7 Snow Drift illustration and variables at aFigure 9 An open-sided building utilizing Knee Braces generic roof step conditionfor Lateral Resistance(ASCE 7-16 Figure 7.7-2)method to resist lateral loads. Knee braces can attract large forces in tension or compression and must be able to transfer these loads between the roof truss and the post.Part of this load path is the design of the truss for the load that is in the knee brace. The connection of the knee brace to truss, knee brace to post, and 16 / FRAME BUILDER - NOV2022'