NZS4104:1994 Seismic Restraint Of Building Contents

NZS4104:1994 Seismic Restraint Of Building Contents

NZS4104:1994 Seismic Restraint Of Building Contents

For items that are part of the Building Engineering System IE HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, or Fire Suppression Systems these are covered by NZS4219 and NZS4254. These items are typically viewed as critical items required to allow the building to remain functional, and as such have a more stringent demand on how they are to be supported and also seismically braced in the case of a seismic event. Suspended ceiling and partitions are covered by NZS2785

Items that do not fall into the above category, are covered by NZS4104:1994 which is the New Zealand Standard for Seismic Restraint of Building contents and has two aims.

  • Reduce the risk of injury to people and ensure access to and from a building after an earthquake.
  • Reduce the damage to building contents.

NZS4104:1994 is intended to be used by non-specialists and outlines steps to ensure the building contents are either suspended or retrained in such as way to achieve the two primary aims above. The standard set out the steps to be followed and the required protection type or if a restraint is required.  Some items either due to the weight of the item or the type of item being considered are not covered, and in these cases, NZS4104 advises the person doing the review which standard they should be referring to.

For architectural items I.e., suspended light panels or suspended artwork, these would generally fall under a type 1 protection. The requirements for this type of protection are that the connection needs to be a solid structural connection and that the strength of all the components used is 4 times the weight of the hanging item, and that the item is very to move in the case of a seismic event.

Gripple wires are supplied with a 5:1 safety factor, giving you confidence that the support system not only meets but exceeds the requirement of having a minimum of a 4:1 safety factor.  

In cases where there is likely hood of the item contacting another suspended item or wall etc, then further wires may be used in the opposing direction to the object, the number and size of the wires being used to restrain the item should be equal to the number and size being used to support the item.

To find out more, please feel free to contact our team here

* The above information has been kindly supplied by Gripple New Zealand.