Report #: 58

Report Date:

Country: SLOVENIA

Housing Type:

Housing Sub-Type:

Author(s): Marjana Lutman, Miha Toma#evic

Last Updated:

Regions Where Found: Buildings of this construction type can be found in the area of Upper Posocje. The residential housing stock built before the World War II in that area is generally of this type. It represents 24 % of dwelling stock in that area. This type of housing construction is commonly found in both rural and urban areas.

Summary: Rubble-stone masonry houses are still found throughout Slovenia. This housing type is special because of its history. It represents a typical, older residential building in the northwestern part of Slovenia. After their destruction during World War I, these houses were rebuilt, mostly with the recycled stone material (from the buildings that were demolished). Many houses of this type were subsequently damaged during the last two earthquakes in Slovenia (1976 Friuli and 1998 Bovec). In order to preserve the country's architectural heritage, about 66% of these houses were strengthened after the earthquakes.

Length of time practiced: 51-75 years

Still Practiced: No

In practice as of:

Building Occupancy: Single dwelling

Typical number of stories: 2-3

Terrain-Flat: Typically

Terrain-Sloped: Typically

Comments:

This type of construction was practiced between the World War I and the World War II.

Plan Shape: Rectangular, solid

Additional comments on plan shape: Typical shape of building plan is usually rectangular.

Typical plan length (meters): 13

Typical plan width (meters): 10

Typical story height (meters): 2.7

Type of Structural System: Masonry: Stone Masonry Walls: Rubble stone (field stone) in mud/lime mortar or without mortar (usually with timber roof)

Additional comments on structural system: Lateral load-resisting system: The lateral load-resisting system consists of exterior and interior stone walls. The walls are generally uniformly distributed in both orthogonal directions, and the building plan is generally regular. With a few exceptions, the walls are not connected by means of wooden or iron ties. The thickness of walls varies from 40 to 70 cm, with spacing ranging from 3.0 m to 6.0 m. The walls are supported by foundation walls (strip foundations) made out of rubble masonry or there are no footings at all. Lateral load transfer to bearing walls is accomplished through roof and floor structures. The weakest links in this structural type are usually weak inner infill between exterior wythes of masonry, vertical joints between walls, and connections between roof /floors and walls.

Gravity load-bearing system: The gravity-load bearing system consists of roof, floor structures and structural walls. Original or new roof structures are made out of timber and roofs are covered with ceramic tiles. In many cases original wooden floor structures have been replaced with reinforced concrete slabs.

Gravity load-bearing & lateral load-resisting systems:

Typical wall densities in direction 1: 10-15%

Typical wall densities in direction 2: 10-15%

Additional comments on typical wall densities: The typical structural wall density is up to 10 %. 9% to 12 %.

Wall Openings: Average area of a window opening in front exterior wall is 1.2 m.sq. in the rural area and 1.7 m.sq. in the urban area. The door opening area in exterior and interior bearing walls is approximately 2.0 m.sq.. Maximum opening area is approximately equal to 16% of the front exterior wall area. The back exterior walls are usually not perforated with openings at all or in some cases there are smaller window openings (approx. area = 0.5 m.sq.).

Is it typical for buildings of this type to have common walls with adjacent buildings?: No

Modifications of buildings: After the 1976 Friuli earthquake certain modifications on the buildings of this type were carried out, mainly combined with the repair and strengthening. Some examples are: construction of new r.c. slabs above the basement and ground floor, addition of balconies and exterior staircases, and new bathrooms. The replacement of existing interior stone masonry walls with brick masonry walls or reinforced concrete columns are rare. The extensions are usually built close to original buildings, however the old and the new parts have not been adequately connected together in the structural sense.

Type of Foundation: Shallow Foundation: Wall or column embedded in soil, without footingShallow Foundation: Rubble stone, fieldstone strip footing

Additional comments on foundation:

Type of Floor System: Other floor system

Additional comments on floor system: Wood beams with ballast and wood planks.

The existing wooden floor/roof structures are not considered to be a rigid diaphragm unless they are tied with diagonal ties and connected to the walls.

Type of Roof System: Roof system, other

Additional comments on roof system: Timber: wood planks or beams that support clay tiles.

The existing wooden floor/roof structures are not considered to be a rigid diaphragm unless they are tied with diagonal ties and connected to the walls.

Additional comments section 2: When separated from adjacent buildings, the typical distance from a neighboring building is 10 meters.

Typical Plan Dimensions: Length ranges from 9 m to 13 m, width ranges from 6 m to 10 m. Typical Story Height: Story height varies from 2.5 to 2.7 meters. Typical Span: Typical span is 3 - 6 meters.

Who is involved with the design process?: Other

Roles of those involved in the design process: Engineers and Architects play a role during the renovating, repair and strengthening.

Expertise of those involved in the design process:

Who typically builds this construction type?: OwnerBuilder

Roles of those involved in the building process: The houses of the presented type were mainly built by local builder or by owners themselves, with the assistance provided by neighbours. The houses were built to be used by the owners; in some cases the builders live in the houses as well.

Expertise of those involved in building process: Construction of this type of houses is nonengineered and it is based exclusively on the builder's experience.

Construction process and phasing: The houses were built traditionally with the local construction materials: local lime-stone, sand and timber from local forests. The construction of this type of housing takes place in a single phase. Typically, the building is originally designed for its final constructed size.

Construction issues

Is this construction type address by codes/standards?: No

Applicable codes or standards:

Process for building code enforcement:

Are building permits required?: Yes

Is this typically informal construction?: Yes

Is this construction typically authorized as per development control rules?: No

Additional comments on building permits and development control rules: Building permits are required nowadays, when any structural invention is planned. Building permits are required to build this housing type.

Typical problems associated with this type of construction:

Who typically maintains buildings of this type?: Owner(s)

Additional comments on maintenance and building condition:

Unit construction cost: Since houses of this type were constructed approx. 80 years ago, the costs can not be estimated.

Labor requirements: N/A

Additional comments section 3: National and European Codes are applied for structural modifications, including repair and strengthening.

Ladava 1982: Ladava, A, #Guidelines and Procedures Used to Eliminate the Impact of the Earthquake in the Soca Valley, # Proc. Social and Economic Aspects of Earthquakes, Jones, B.G., Toma#evic, M., Eds., Ljubljana-Ithaca, 1982, Institute for Testing and Research in Materials and Structures - Cornell University, pp. 413-423

Report 1998: Report on Mitigating and Consequences of the Earthquake of Bovec of April 12, 1998, Ljubljana, 1998, Adm. for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (in Slovene).

Toma#evic and Sheppard 1982: Toma#evic, M., P.Sheppard, #The Strengthening of Stone-Masonry Buildings in Urban and Rural Nuclei Against Earthquakes,# Proc., 7the European Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Vol.5, Athens, 1982, pp. 275-282.

Toma#evic et al. 1993: Toma#evic, M., M. Lutman, P. Weiss,#The Seismic Resistance of Historical Urban Buildings and the Interventions in their Floor Systems: an Experimental Study,# The Masonry Soc. j., 12 (1), Boulder, 1993, The Masonry Soc., pp. 77-86