Design of Opening 1008 at Veterans Care Center Earns CFSEI Award for ADTEK Engineers

Puller Veterans Care Center in Warrenton, Virginia, has 128 rooms arranged in 16-room households, with a chapel, activity rooms and secure courtyards. The facility, named after Marine Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, uses panelized cold-formed steel (CFS) walls as its main structural framing. It also features supporting CFS roof trusses.

Featured image: The Puller Veterans Care Center, Warrenton, Virginia, features cold-formed steel (CFS) shear walls. Profile courtesy of CFSEI. Images courtesy of Whiting-Turner and ADTEK Engineers.

Award-Winning CFS Solutions

ADTEK Engineers, Inc., designed and detailed the CFS roof trusses and X-braced lateral force-resisting walls. For this work, ADTEK Engineers won Third Place in the 2025 CFSEI Creative Detail Award competition. The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) presented the award. Andrew Newland, P.E., of ADTEK Engineers, submitted the entry.

The completed reinforcement for Opening 1008 at the Puller Veterans Care Center, designed by ADTEK Engineers.

Repair detail showing ADTEK Engineers’ load distribution member reinforcement design for Opening 1008 at the Puller Veterans Care Center.

Design Issue Leads to CFS Engineering Intervention

Construction began in 2017. After the project team completed the main structural elements and installed the sheathing and veneer, they began installing the interior door frames. The team then discovered that the rough openings were too small to accommodate the door frames.

Prior to consulting the original specialty engineer, the specialty contractor began modifying the openings to fit the doors.  Afterward, the contractor contacted the original specialty engineer to design repairs for the affected openings. Once limited repairs were completed, the project team engaged ADTEK Engineers to review the repairs and repair details. Upon visiting the site, ADTEK Engineers discovered numerous deficiencies.

CFS Engineering Ingenuity at Opening 1008

During drywall removal and remediation, the team found numerous load-bearing stud flanges damaged beyond repair. The contractor had used box beams as load distribution members, but they proved insufficient to resist web crippling. ADTEK provided LDM repair and shoring details to extend the openings — and meet rough opening requirements.

In most cases, drop ceilings allowed strongbacks to be attached to the LDMs. These remained in place as the new headers. When this approach wasn’t feasible, the team installed gussets to reinforce the LDMs.

Strongbacks and framing reinforce the load-bearing opening ahead of the new door frame.

Finished condition of Opening 1008 after ADTEK’s repair detailing restored structural performance and design intent.

Panelized Cold-Formed Steel Solution

Opening 1008 presented several challenges. Because the LDM was not located at a drop ceiling, the opening needed both gusset reinforcement and a separate temporary strongback. Complicating matters, the opening was adjacent to an X-brace wall. Designers intended the wall post to serve double duty as the jamb post by adding a single stud, but that stud was damaged beyond repair. Since the shear wall post could not be altered, the team needed a unique shoring solution.

After reinforcing the LDM, the team installed strongbacks on both sides of the wall. They coped the strongback flanges at the shear wall and fastened the webs to the X-brace wall post. To avoid transferring additional load to the post, the carpenters installed new full-height studs on each face and clipped them to the strongback. Once in place, the crew removed the header and damaged jamb stud and replaced them with a new jamb stud. The crew then removed the temporary studs and strongbacks, allowing the wall and opening to be finished.

Close-up view of gusset plates and fastener patterns used to reinforce the cold-formed steel load path.

ADTEK’s repair design being installed on-site, including new studs and strongbacks to stabilize and widen the opening.

Read the complete story about the CFS design used in the Puller Veterans Care Center. And see images from ADTEK Engineers’ 2025 CFSEI Creative Detail Award win here.

Additional Resources

• Insights and Inspiration Take Center Stage at 2025 CFSEI Expo in Raleigh
• Jeff Klaiman, ADTEK Engineers, Discusses Cold-Formed Steel Framing Trends in Scottsdale Podcast
• ADTEK Engineers Wins SFIA Award for Volkswagen Headquarters in Virginia