Grade beam to strap beam?

[SamBloc]

Hello all,
I have an issue maybe I can have some help. I have a commercial building which is on piles. The design calls for driven pipe piles which have been already installed. Then we have pile caps and strap beams on top connecting the interior and exterior caps. Now connecting all the strap beams are grade beams. The Planck call for it to be continuously run through the strap. However the contractor doweled out of the strap using the same rebar as the grade beam. He doweled out of each side of the strap. Is this ok?

Thanks

 

[msquared48]

A detail of what is going on would help here. Some of the nomenclature is a little unclear to me.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

 

[SamBloc]

Sure. Again I actually am a builder not an engineer. My structural engineer is away on vacation, so I am trying to do a little research before he gets back. I have asked a lot of people and everybody has said that it is fine. We have already installed our piles and poured all of our pier caps. The pier caps on the outskirts of the building and the pier caps on the interior of the building are joined together using strap beams. These strap beams are then connected through grade beams .My issue is that my foundation contractor instead of making the grade beam continuous through the strap beam, he doweled out from each side of the strap using the same top and bottom rebar as the grade beam calls for.

 

[hokie66]

Your concerns are valid, but the answer is not clearcut enough to give a blanket statement that "it is fine" or not. Your engineer will have to evaluate whether or not the end shear of the "grade beams" is adequately transmitted through the construction joint.