Recent content by GeorgeTheCivilEngineer

I don't see much of an issue with that.

What we call 'buildability' - can the beam be physically installed? Does it need splices? How will the opening be propped? Will propping interfere? Are there significant services that need to be removed? You don't need the full answer to this, but some thought and warning to the Contractor...

It's a reference to a meme where hot tubs have been put on some very questionable locations.

Is it to do with bolts being part of a system of bolts, whereas a pin is expected to be a single pin?

What about when they add a hot tub?? I did think that but then the house is sat on the rest of that pad.

No I wouldn't expect blockouts in that situation. The slab on grade has different support and foundation conditions to the steel column, the upper floors are essentially all the same structure.

My gut says that won't work as a unreinforced masonry wall

We're not talking about design, though, we're talking about assessment. We can make assumptions about the construction of the ladder but unless we have the original specification the assessment is going to be based, at some level, on assumption. Anyway, I was only proposing it as an alternative...

Conducting a test is applying engineering knowledge. I just think when you're getting into the realms of FEA on a ladder, rigging up a test could be time better spent... Any code of practise or safety regulation I'm familiar with allows testing as a means to demonstrate suitability.

If there's a lot of ladders then it could be economic to undertake load testing on the actual ladders/fall arrest system in question. If it snaps like a twig then the Client has a very visceral sense of why it's not acceptable.

If there are welded studs then the fasteners aren't needed. However there are some advantages to fix the deck in place for construction and safety reasons - but that would fall to the Contractor to consider and decide on, and shouldn't make any structural difference given the eventual presence...

I should dig down adjacent and get a soil strength test done. Then you can make an informed decision over what any likely settlement would be. With a single story building and a metre wide reinforced footing, I would not be very concerned. Sliding starter ties to the existing building and proper...

You could make the argument in this case. The OP says it's a raft, so assuming there isn't full support from the ground and the raft does need to span, then minimum steel requirements has relevance. - But is ensuring ductility a significant concern? While it's preferable to a brittle failure...

i should think the plastic sheet fails before the frame or the house!

Load will go where it is stiffest. The vertical supports for the ridge beam are likely to be the stiffest part so i would expect the load to transfer via the ridge beam to the vertical end supports. However I'm not sure how your intersecting sloped LVLs will 'lock everything together' but I...