ICC ESR's 1

[BSVBD]

I apparently live a sheltered life...

I've never heard of ESR's until recently. I've never sought an ESR unless referred to within this site.

Throughout Eng-Tips, i'm seeing many of you referring to ICC ESR's so frequently that it appears as though some of you know these reports as well as IBC and ASCE.

Is there a report for every structural product on the market?

How do i find a list of products that have an ESR?

What (basic) occasion would i refer to an ESR?

Any other helpful advice?

Thank you!

 

[sandman21]

If you are specifying a product which does not have a standard, ie. Wx, CMU, nails, etc., it needs to have approval based on testing. An example of items which require testing, post-installed anchors, hangers, metal studs, screws, etc. The US has two testing agencies. ICC or IAPMO

 

[MrHershey]

General rule of thumb for me is if I need information from someone else to calculate strength, then it should have an ESR. Another easy tell is if there's a brand name attached to it, I need an ESR. Verco, Vulcraft, Hilti, Simpson, ITW, etc. should all have ESRs. Main exception to the 'brand name' rule of thumb is if there's an ASTM for the product instead like a lot of concrete-related items (admixtures, form release, curing compounds, etc.). And then a lot of the cold-formed guys will attach their brand name to their studs that I don't typically need ESRs for if they're standard sizes and following material ASTMs. But I absolutely do need ESRs for their connectors.

Basic difference is 'product' vs. 'engineering material'. I don't need an ESR for structural steel or concrete or CMU because the materials are governed by ASTMs and then I calculate strength and other properties based on whatever the applicable code is. I don't need any information from whoever produces the physical material beyond their conformance with applicable ASTMs. Used to be able to do this for items like metal deck as well, though a lot of those guys have started using proprietary connections (particularly sidelaps) that then kick me back to needing design values from someone else.

 

[wannabeSE]

If I had to guess, I'd say ICC ESRs are more of a west coast thing, or perhaps areas that adopted the Uniform Building Code (UBC) before the IBC, or maybe areas with pedantic building officials. Before the ICC formed, there were ICBO ERs (International Conference of Building Officials also published the UBC).

When I am not familiar with a manufacture and they have an ESR, I feel more comfortable than relying on the manufactures claims. If I am comparing the capacity of expansion anchors or sheet metal screws with ESRs, I know they were tested using the same criteria.

If you want a better idea of what products have ESRs, you might browse through ICC's list organized by CSI divisions at

http://www.icc-es.org/reports/index.cfm.

Or look through ICC's list of Acceptance Criteria (AC) at

http://www.icc-es.org/Criteria/criteria/index.cfm?list_all=yes.

But just because there is an AC or an ESR for a product doesn't mean it is widely recognized. There are ESRs for headed studs, and deformed bar anchors, but I don't often see them referenced.

 

[BUGGAR]

The ESR's for concrete anchors gave some of the clearest format for Appendix D Anchor design that I've seen. It's easiest to go straight to the manufacturers for their ESR's. They usually even have product installation information that your Contractor hasn't a clue about.