Building Products Structural Testing | Wall, Floor, Anchor

Accredited testing of wall panels (ASTM E72, E564, E330, E2126); floor diaphragms (ASTM E455), and anchors (ASTM E488).

QAI provides accredited structural testing for building products at our Rancho Cucamonga, CA facility. If your wall system, floor panel, or anchor product requires code compliance data, a Los Angeles Research Report (LARR), or testing for an ICC-ES evaluation report, QAI runs the full program from product sampling to testing and issuance of the final test report.

Our lab operates three dedicated structural frames for static and seismic wall testing (under ASTM E72, E564 and E2126), a floor diaphragm program under ASTM E455, and an anchor testing program under ASTM E488, covering the most common ASTM structural test standards for building products.

What Is Building Products Structural Testing?

Building products structural testing measures the strength, stiffness, and ductility of construction assemblies under defined loading conditions per the test specifications, acceptance criteria, and structural design requirements. Tests are conducted on full-scale or representative specimens and produce data used in code compliance evaluations, product certification programs, and engineering reports. 

Testing areas covered at QAI: 

• Racking shear, axial, transverse, and combination load testing of wall panels (ASTM E72)
• Static load shear resistance, strength and stiffness of framed wall assemblies (ASTM E564)
• Cyclic seismic shear resistance testing of vertical lateral force resisting system elements (ASTM E2126)
• Static shear capacity and stiffness testing of floor and roof diaphragm assemblies (ASTM E455)
• Strength testing of anchors in concrete and masonry under static, seismic, and fatigue loading (ASTM E488)
• Structural performance testing of exterior windows, doors, and curtain wall assemblies under uniform static air pressure (ASTM E330) – see Hurricane Impact Testing and Certification for Windows and Doors

Racking shear testing establishes wall panel design values

Cyclic loading qualifies wall systems for seismic zones

Floor diaphragm shear capacity for structural design data

Anchor pull-out testing in concrete and masonry

Our Process Includes

• Specimen review, connection detail confirmation, and test setup per applicable ASTM requirements
• Two designated static racking shear testing frames that can accommodate wall panel sizes up to 14-ft wide x 14-ft tall under ASTM E72, E564 and E2126; axial compression frame that can accommodate wall panel sizes up to 4-ft wide x 20-ft tall under ASTM E72; custom size frame for any wall panel size built for transverse load under ASTM E72 and E330.
• Cyclic reversed load testing of shear wall assemblies per ASTM E2126, measuring shear stiffness, peak load, and energy dissipation for seismic design qualification
• Static shear capacity and stiffness testing of framed floor and roof diaphragm constructions per ASTM E455 up to 10-ft x 20-ft size panels, including incremental loading, deflection measurement, and load-deflection curve generation
• Tensile and shear testing of cast-in-place and post-installed concrete and masonry anchors under static and seismic loading per ASTM E488
• Test report preparation formatted for our own QAI Code Evaluation Report (CER) applications and other product certification agencies

Why It Matters

Building codes in the United States and Canada require structural performance data from an accredited laboratory before construction products can be used in load-bearing or lateral force resisting applications. Without that data, your product cannot obtain a certification and/or listing, and building officials will not approve its use on permitted projects. In California and Florida, products must additionally comply to jurisdictional codes. For structures in high seismic zones, cyclic racking sheer load test results per ASTM E2126 are increasingly required alongside static ASTM E72 and E564 data, and design values based on untested configurations are not accepted by most code evaluation bodies.

How You Benefit from QAI

• Test data from an IAS-accredited laboratory recognized by state jurisdictional codes such as City of Los Angeles, California Building Code, and Florida Building Code as an approved testing agency for product approval pathways
• Dedicated test frames with axial compression capacity tested to 100,000 lbs and racking shear capacity tested to 65,000 lbs for wall panels, covering a wide range of product geometries and sizes without sub-contracting to another facility
• Reports formatted for direct use in ICC-ES evaluation reports, LARRs, IAPMO UES and our own QAI Code Evaluation Report (CER) applications, reducing preparation time before submission
• In-house certification and listing services through QAI’s accredited certification body, so testing and code recognition can be managed under one program
• Test programs configured around your product: custom specimen dimensions, hold-down and anchor configurations, and combined loading protocols when standard setups do not apply

Frequent Testing Methods and Standards

ASTM E72: panels tested to 100,000-lb loads

ASTM E2126: reversed cyclic load, seismic shear stiffness

ASTM E455: shear capacity of framed floor diaphragms

ASTM E488: anchor tensile and shear strength testing