Watch how wind creates different pressure zones on your building's exterior - corners get hit hardest!
Get accurate ASCE 7-22 wind load calculations for your Broward County project.
Get Wind Load CalculationsPicture wind as a river flowing toward your building. When water hits a rock, it doesn't push evenly - it swirls around the edges and creates whirlpools at corners.
Wind does the exact same thing! The middle of your wall feels a steady push, but corners? They get hit by spinning vortexes that try to rip materials away.
In Broward County, our 180+ mph design wind speeds mean Zone 3 corners can see suction forces over 60 psf - that's like hanging a small car off each 4x8 sheet of plywood!
C&C pressure formula from ASCE 7-22
How wide are these zones? It's based on a value called 'a' - either 10% of your building's smallest dimension or 40% of the height, whichever is smaller (but never less than 4% of the smallest dimension or 3 feet).
For a typical 30-foot wide, 20-foot tall building: Zone 2 and 3 would extend about 3 feet from edges and corners.
This is why building codes require closer fastener spacing at roof edges and corners. A window in Zone 3 needs stronger impact protection than one in Zone 1.
Getting C&C calculations wrong means either over-engineering (wasting money) or under-engineering (risking failure). WindLoad.co calculates all three zones automatically.
Components and Cladding wind loads are the wind pressures that act on individual building elements like windows, doors, wall panels, and roof sections. Unlike MWFRS loads that affect the whole structure, C&C loads are calculated for smaller tributary areas and result in higher localized pressures, especially at corners and edges.
Zone 1 is the interior field of the wall or roof with the lowest pressure. Zone 2 is at the edges where wind separates, creating higher suction. Zone 3 is at corners where wind flows around the building, creating the highest pressures. In Broward County, Zone 3 corners can experience 50-70% higher wind pressure than Zone 1 areas.
C&C pressures are higher because they're calculated for smaller tributary areas. Wind gusts create intense localized pressures that average out over larger areas. A single window might see 80 psf while the overall wall sees only 35 psf. This is why corners and edges need stronger attachments.
C&C wind loads in Broward County are calculated using ASCE 7-22 with the local wind speed of 180+ mph (ultimate). The formula uses GCp coefficients from Figure 30.3-1 based on effective wind area and zone location. WindLoad.co provides instant calculations for all C&C zones in Broward County.
For windows, the effective wind area is the span length squared (L²) or the actual tributary area, whichever is larger. For a 4-foot wide window with 8-foot span, the effective wind area would be 64 sq ft (8² = 64), not 32 sq ft (4 x 8).
Get accurate Zone 1, 2, and 3 pressures for your Broward County project in seconds. Our calculator handles all the complex ASCE 7-22 formulas for you.
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