Recent content by ampersand

This question is directed at any structural engineers, designing homes in Hawaii. (I'm a structural engineer in California) In the coast towns, there are so many homes raised up on piers, either completely, or almost completely devoid of shear walls. These are probably just older homes, built...

I ask this question only half joking. Quite frankly, I am sick of filling out Special Inspection (SI) forms, only to have builders ignore them, or building inspectors try to rewrite them, and so on. I am also sick of having to charge clients many hundreds of dollars to watch someone squirt...

Hello All, I am a licensed CA structural engineer, and I recently designed a rear addition to a residence in the SF Bay Area. The owner did not provide a geotechnical report. I visited the site, took measurements and photos, and I designed the foundation as a conventional foundation system...

The Subject sounds like a dumb question. I have designed ordinary moment frames in countless single family homes over the years. But today I found myself carefully reading section 12.3.1.1 of ASCE 7-05 (it's the only copy I own. It states that a plywood diaphragm my be idealized as flexible...

Thanks, dhengr and Canuck65. I don't actually know which ends are dead/live- I will apply some protection detail to both ends. Also, if I may add another question- do you think my 40-billable-hour budget, to produce the shoring plan/calculations, and demolition plan/sequence, is reasonable? I...

I am beginning to prepare a structural demolition plan and shoring plan for a multi-story post-tensioned structure. I have assessed the equipment the contractor will be operating on the decks, and I have designed the shoring required under the working surface before demolition of a floor may...

Hello, all. I am engineering a steel tube entry frame inside of an existing building. Anchors to an existing raised slab, which needs to be checked (separate issue). Consists of two moment frames, set about 5 feet apart, each 10 feet tall and 30 feet wide. The whole thing will be wrapped in...

Actually, I don't have a copy of ACI 318-11, but I'm glad to hear they may be trying to clear up the issue. But we seem to all agree that the intent of the 0.4 strength reduction factor always was the same as the intent of a seismic system Ωo factor- to maintain ductility.

Every engineer I know has struggled with determining the design loads for high-seismic anchors, specifically, applying multiple load-increase and strength-reduction factors until the anchorage is ridiculously overdesigned. Plan checkers often don't understand the larger design process, and will...

I find myself in disagreement with a plan checker- go figure. ASCE Table 12.12-1, first row, specifies allowable story drift for buildings with "interior walls, partitions, ceilings, and exterior wall systems that have been designed to accommodate the story drifts." The last row pertains to...

In designing a beam/column connection at a covered walkway, I end up with a net uplift on my 6x12 beam. The walkway is long, so they is no possibility of using a continuous beam the entire length- there will be a splice condition with two 6x12's abutting over a column. Naturally, I want to...

Hi all, thanks for the many responses- threads about money always get a lot of attention. So, the outcome is that we negotitated the salary and agreed to $32/hr. The benefits are also above par, in that medical premiums are paid for the whole family. I can be happy with this for now. The 50...

SteelPE, I live in the SF Bay Area. I knew this was an awful offer, but after 16 months looking... I think I give up.

I was a self-employed structural engineer for five years, and after the business failed, I have finally received an offer from a company. I have ten years of structural engineering experience (residential and educational), a PE license, and a BSCE from a top university. I've been offered $27...

Josh, That is true, that only a small section of the beam is reduced, but the location of the reduction is precisely at the location of highest moment- the end of the beam. So, I am left thinking that, at the location where we are designing for SMF seismic loads (R=8), we are also considering...