Welcome to the LAVA tutorial!
LAVA is a powerful, Windows-based structural engineering tool for the Lateral and Vertical Analysis of wood-framed structures up to six stories. Created by structural engineers for structural engineers, it delivers a complete solution for wood design, whether you're just starting or are a seasoned professional.
With LAVA, you’ll learn to:
Streamline Load Calculations: Automatically compute and apply gravity, wind, and seismic loads, with seamless load transfers across levels and connections.
Optimize Material Selection: Choose from wood, manufactured lumber, and steel, tailored precisely to your project.
Enhance Lateral Load Analysis: Accurately distribute lateral loads, factoring in both flexibility and rigidity theories for wind and seismic conditions.
Simplify Shear Wall Design: Automatically select shear walls, hold-downs, and proprietary lateral systems, with detailed attention to factors like FTAO.
Ready to dive in? This tutorial will guide you through each of these features, helping you save time, improve accuracy, and produce comprehensive, submission-ready reports. If you are a first-time user of LAVA, we recommend that you start here.
The example in this tutorial is only an example for educational purpose. This publication aims to be as complete and accurate as possible, but no guarantee of suitability is implied. The concepts, methods, and examples are for educational purposes only and may not apply to specific engineering problems. Consult a professional where appropriate.
Prefer to watch instead? You can also follow along with our step-by-step video tutorials.