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  • Users: Ben29
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  1. Ben29

    Wood Bridge Inspection

    Hello! I am a structural engineer (buildings - not bridges). My in-laws own a house on a private island in Cape Cod. There are approximately 100 homes on this island. There is a 60 ft long, single-span, laminated arch wood beam bridge, supported at each end by timber piles. The (4)...
  2. Ben29

    Masonry Stem Walls - commercial construction

    The below detail is from IRC. I personally have never designed a masonry stem wall like this for a commercial building. Is this ever done? I have a client that wants to install an 11'-5" tall wood stud wall on top of a 3'4" masonry stem wall. The roof truss bearing elevation is 14'-9". I'm...
  3. Ben29

    dry bulk fertilizer: large fertilizer retaining wall above/near column footing

    I am working on a dry-bulk fertilizer plant. I am doing the foundation work (it is a PEMB). Another engineer is designing the precast retaining walls for the fertilizer bin. The precast engineer provided their calcs and the pressure exerted by the retaining wall footing is about 1800 psf at...
  4. Ben29

    2x10 Floor Joist Hung from Ledger

    Would you feel comfortable hanging floor joist on a ledger if the span was 14.5ft? existing rim board is 2x8. The new joist (and ledger) would need to be 2x10 to span 14.5ft. Personally I don't feel very comfortable with it but perhaps I am being too conservative. Thoughts?
  5. Ben29

    House Review - Site Visit without report?

    Would you do a cursory review of a house without providing a report? I was contacted by a man who just wants a SE to walk a house with him that he is interested in purchasing. He doesn't want to pay for a report. Quite frankly I don't want to do a report because they are so time consuming...
  6. Ben29

    Arch changed occupancy load after permit issuance

    We issued a permit for a 2-story new construction day care center last year. Arch permit drawings states Occupancy Load = 230 and Occupancy = E. So I designed the building for Risk Category 2. It has been about a year since we issued the permit. Recently they sent me an updated 1st floor...
  7. Ben29

    HOT TUB - gut check

    I am supporting a hot tub on an elevated wood framed deck. The deck joist will be supported via a top flange hanger attached to a nailer on a steel beam. I wish I could bear the wood joist directly on top of the beam, but I cannot for architectural reasons. I am concerned about the top flange...
  8. Ben29

    IRC Braced Wall Line - 20ft rule

    I have a potential client who wants to install (3) 4ft wide windows in the rear wall of his existing house. I cannot get this to work because it removes the braced wall panels at the corner of the house and the next braced wall panel will be 22ft from the corner. The client is open to...
  9. Ben29

    new concrete retaining wall / abutting existing rubble wall

    We had a series of (6) rowhomes burn down. There is now a 90' wide lot between the remaining rowhomes. My job is to design a ~90 foot long concrete retaining wall to separate the existing sidewalk from the monstrous "pit". We are retaining about 6ft of soil. The retaining wall design is easy...
  10. Ben29

    Very steep roof (24/12) - vaulted

    I am working on a single family house ($$$$$) where they want a 20ft x 60ft building with a very steep roof pitch (24/12) and a vaulted ceiling throughout. They want the roof thickness to be shallow (12 inches). There are no opportunities for shear walls in the short direction. I came up...
  11. Ben29

    contractor not following plans... at all

    I designed a new construction church back in 2021. It is being built today. The contractor is making major changes on the fly without approval. We just "found out" that they started building because the architect happened to drive by the site. 1) The foundation has been poured without...
  12. Ben29

    Business registration / taxes

    I am not sure where exactly I should post this, so bear with me, please. My accountant is telling me one thing, but I disagree with him. Does anyone know if you need to register your business in every state that you do work in? I think the answer is yes. So then, does the company need to...
  13. Ben29

    facade EIFS detail question

    Is there a way to install wide (or maybe the correct term is deep) furring strips on the outside face of a CMU block wall, and then put EIFS over that, so that it looks like the upper floors are cantilevering ~12 inches? In other words, is there a way to "build out" the outside face of the CMU...
  14. Ben29

    AC unit support bracket fastened to the side of the existing wood outrigger at balcony

    I have a residential client that wants to replace their existing balcony. The balcony is constructed of (2) LVLs outriggered from the 2nd floor framing. The plan is to demo the existing balcony; install (2) Parallam Plus PSL outrigger Beams (secured to bearing wall at rear of garage - backspan...
  15. Ben29

    High-rise floor slab construction (circa 1920); structural clay tile?

    This is an existing 10-story building (circa 1920, Downtown Baltimore, MD). Can anyone recognize the structural system used here? Are those clay tiles structural? It doesn't look like the "TYPICAL ONE-WAY COMBINATION FLOOR" referenced in the thread linked below...
  16. Ben29

    Tall Parapet

    Seeking advice on best option for framing a tall parapet above storefront opening. Option 1 shows the block continuing to top of parapet. Option 2 shows block stopping 1 course above joist bearing elevation and metal stud framing above. My hangup with option #2 is that I am concerned that a...
  17. Ben29

    Contractor will not provide rebar shop drawings?

    I did a fairly simple project. It is a 1,500SF,1-story addition to an existing building. The foundation consists of strip footings and slab on grade with WWF. Our general notes require that rebar shop drawings are provided. Our General Notes read: "if shop drawings are not provided then our...
  18. Ben29

    1 1/2" roof deck - support at all edges?

    In the below image, imagine the steel beam aligns with the end of the roof deck. Do I need to provide a continuous angle, welded to the top of each joist, such to attach the metal deck to? I have seen countless times when engineers do not provide an angle here to support the deck edge. WHen...
  19. Ben29

    Terminate steel K-joist bridging at LG Metal Stud Bearing Wall?

    I have a small 1-story "box" building with a steel K-joist roof bearing on LG metal stud walls. When the bar joist are parallel to the metal stud wall, are you supposed to terminate the joist bridging at the metal stud wall in a similar manner to how you would terminate it at a CMU block wall...
  20. Ben29

    Fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) on Structural Tile (aka Terracotta) Bearing Wall?

    Sometimes structural clay tile is used for the construction of party walls in early 20th century brick rowhomes. Sometimes the old rowhomes collapse or are demolished, leaving the party wall exposed. Can FRCM be used to reinforce an existing Structural Clay Tile party wall (aka, "structural...

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