OWSJ, bottom chord connection

[GalileoG]

Hello all,

I was inspecting a couple of floor joists today when I noticed that the bottom chord of a couple of joist had a plate welded to it with 2 holes (presumably to connect the bottom chord) but the plate/end of the bottom chord was so far off from the connection point that the contractor simply did not bother and left it alone. The problem is that the drawings that we have at present are not enough for me to determine whether or not the bottom chord should be connected. The floors joists in question span into a much stronger truss of equal depth, so the bottom chord of the joist would span into the bottom chord of the stronger truss. Is this typical? I thought bottom chords are connected at column locations only. I would hate to specify that the bottom chord is to be connected when the original designer did not intend them that way. I hope my question is clear.

 

[apsix]

If the diagonal terminates at the support point of the top chord you probably don't need bottom chord connection.
If it terminates at the end of the bottom chord you definitely need the bottom chord to be supported.

 

[SteelPE]

Typically the bottom chords of OWSJ are not rigidly attached to anything unless required by the EOR. If the bottom chord is rigidly attached then the engineer must supply the joist manufacturer with the axial load induced in the bottom chord so they can design their joists properly. This axial load must be indicated on the structural drawings.

You may need to contact the EOR to clarify.