×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Standards for wall panel fabrication and design

Standards for wall panel fabrication and design

Standards for wall panel fabrication and design

(OP)
I am a Florida trained truss designer who has been hired to work in Illinois to assist with the start of a wall panel production line, in addition to truss design.

In Southern Illinois, there is no requirement for an EOR, no sealed truss design requirements, and no real permit review or building inspections.'

My new employer has no engineer or architect retained for consultation and currently does not get even his truss drawings reviewed by the plate manufacturer's engineer.

Our panel design software supplier made it clear to me that "do's and dont's" with wood panel design and production are beyond the scope of our business relationship. They train for software use only.

Where can I go to determine load limitations, height limitations, shear limitations, and limits to the number of stories for wood wall panel construction, as well as associated sub-component requirements?

RE: Standards for wall panel fabrication and design

Are you doing just residential construction?  If so, you likely will never exceed the allowable number of stories for wood construction.  I believe the maximum number of stories per the IBC is 4.  As far as load limitations, etc., I would just design per latest code (IRC adn NDS).  

RE: Standards for wall panel fabrication and design

I believe Illinois has a mandated State Code - probably IBC2003 and/or IRC2003 which you should follow.

But like many parts of Missouri - there is no code enforcement in many parts of the state of Illinois.

You need to avoid any lawsuits - so live up to the code and hire a Structural Engineer (Illinois requires that) to help you out.

RE: Standards for wall panel fabrication and design

(OP)
Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. I've always had an engineer in florida to turn to when I had truss questions, but we do not have that.
I'm uncertain about who requires who to have a structural engineer in residential construction here. Nobody seem to pay attention to that. House plans come from plan books or they're hand drawn by a carpenter/contractor.

How do I get a copy of IBC2003? Do you know the ballpark cost?

What I am naively hoping for is a safe/conservative set of rules of thumb for overall height, stud size increases, mainly basics.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources