My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
(OP)
I'm checking shop drawings for a particular project and have run into some conflicts with stair hangers and the building's braced frames, which rise up alongside the stair. The contractor originally intended to hang the stairs eccentrically off of a horizontal braced frame member that was not sized for that sort of torsion. I've been looking for some solutions to this issue, and a (much more experienced) coworker asked if it were possible to hang parts of the stair off of the diagonal members of the braced frame. Has anyone had experience with this? Where in the US codes can I find any references as to whether or not this is allowed?






RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
I agree that this sounds like a bad idea due to the life safety and egress function of the stairs (if not particularly prohibited by code). I would like the redundancy of it not being tied into the lateral force system.
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
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RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” MLK
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
You said.... “We are the EOR in this particular case. We proportioned the framing so that the stairs would be supported differently.” But then, you didn’t bother to show the support points and loads on your plans and say ‘stairs go here.’ How does that happen? How did the contractor know what part of the building to put the stair in? I suppose the BIM model showed places were a stair wouldn’t clash (new technical terminology) with the sewer. It would have saved even more engineering time and effort if you had just put a note on the blank sheet, something like, “20 columns, and 37 beams, contractor to select all sizes and locations, don’t forget bolts and footings.” And, stamped em.
RE: My contractor wants to hang stairs off my braced frame
Hokie is correct. Although not desirable, it can be done as long as you account for the extra torsion/bending induced in your framing as a result. If your braces won't take the extra load (including P-Delta), then you need to work out another solution...maybe add a runner below your braces that's connected to the floor beams to pick up the stairs?
PE, SE
Eastern United States
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