Traditional wooden buildings and their damages during earthquakes in Turkey

Wood is one of the oldest structural materials used in structures in many parts of the World. Woodframe buildings were also commonly constructed in Turkey until approximately 1960. After that, as reinforced concrete and masonry buildings have been preferred, wooden buildings have almost been forgotten. But, in 1999, Kocaeli and Duzce earthquakes reminded traditional buildings. Since reinforced concrete buildings presented high level of damage and traditional buildings relatively performed well during these earthquakes. In this study, types of traditional wooden buildings used in Turkey are mainly introduced and their damages in earthquakes are discussed. Damaged and undamaged wooden building photos are illustrated. Some structural weaknesses are highlighted by the earthquake damages including cracking and falling of plaster, failure of mortar, loosening or failing of connections, large lateral displacements, dislodgement of the masonry infill, loosening or failing of connections and failure of connections to foundation.