Recent content by wds1

Does anyone have any load tables on CECO trusses? CECO makes concrete forms and Pre-engineered buildings. CECO = Concrete Engineered Company. It used to make trusses with cold formed top and bottom chords in the 1960 and 70's. That portion of the company is out of business.

It often seems like bracing a trench can cost more time and money than what you are putting in the trench. I do not need a rigid structure, like alot of the long term solutions show. The structure can bend, but it cannot break or overturn. 1) The trouble with jacks, is they get in the way of...

I have a situation where we need to dig a 15' Deep trench for a 10' dia. x 60' long water tank. The trench only needs to be open for about 1 day. OSHA requires us to shore the trench or layer it back. Is there an easy and cost effective solution shoring the trench. The solution can bend, but...

How do you calculate the critical Storm? I use Hydrocad and I like it's simplicity. I would like to know how other calculate their critical storms. In the Critical Storm Detention method you determin the %increase for 1-yr volume(V1) between Post and Predevelopment(post V1/Pre V1-1.0)*100...

Is ASHRAE requiring a R-20(min. 3.3" polyiso) for roofs.? When will it be effective in the codes?

Usually the bankers limit the height of the buildings. Not so in the oil rich arab countries. The women in the right margin we pretty nice.

There is some confusion at our office of whether Horiz. Mas. Jt. Reinf. should be put in the masonry foundation wall below grade. According to NCMA Tech. Support, horizontal mas. joint reinforcing is Not required by code. I would like to get a consensus of whether other engineers require it...

For lapped Z's over supports, AISI uses the distance from the end of lap to the I.P. as the unbraced length of the bottom flange.

I have been called by the owner to eliminate some intermediate x-bracing that is interferring with machinery operations. The building has 12 bays @ 25'in the direction of the runway beams. The runway beams are x-braced longitudinally in the 1st, 8th, and 12th bays for (2)10 ton cranes on the...

We have a project to install a pit inside an existing building. The soil is loose sand and gravel. The clear height inside building is 18'. It's possible the soil may be very wet. Due to the limited clear height, it would be difficult to drive sheet piles or I-bms. Any recommendations.

What structural loads are others using on there firewalls? How are others designing their firewalls? The firewalls must maintain structural stability when the building on the other side of the wall collapes. There seems to be 3 methods: 1)Free standing wall cantilevered from the floor(neither...

Pressed, I think you are confusing lateral bracing for Main Wind Force Resisting Systems with lateral bracing to reduce the slenderness ratio. My concern is that I see alot of 2 story houses going up where the lateral support for the studs is provided by 1/2" drywall on the interior and 1/2"...

I have a 2x6 stud, 10.5' high. When I run the numbers, it can take 5.56k when braced in the weak direction and 0.49k when NOT braced in the weak direction. Can drywall provide the necessary lateral support? If Not, how do they build 2 story houses with walls made of 1/2"dry wall, 2x4 studs...

I have 2 concrete suppliers. One has No problem using #4 stone and the other is Not comfortable using #4 stone in exterior slabs. Does anyone know if there is any problem with using #4 stone in exterior slabs.

Can you use #4 stone in exterior conc. slab on grade. I have one supplier who says it is No problem and another who says you cannot use #4 stone outside. He says #4 has more deterious material, because it is not crushed as much. He says ACI does Not reccommend it outside, but could not quote...