A large number of precast bridge beams were replaced during construction of the Herb Gray Parkway in Windsor, ON in 2013 because tack welds had been used,
I have found that the MEP contractors normally do not comb through the structural drawings and specs looking for items like this. It would be better if the MEP consultants could also cover this in their drawings and specs. Regarding slabs, it is standard practice to place conduit directly on top...
There is a pedestrian bridge over the airport parkway in Ottawa, ON that was originally designed as a cable-stayed bridge, but the designers called for pipes instead. The use of pipes was heavily criticized, the designers were fired, and the new design used cables. This happened about 6 years ago.
Empirical design often does not meet the requirements of an engineered design. There have been many examples, but one of my favourites is the empirical design of unreinforced masonry walls subject to out-of-plane wind loads. I used to design school gymnasium walls in Canada that were almost 20'...
I would remove existing bricks and build in the anchors using bricks and mortar to help get a good bond to existing wall. I would also provide at least 6" bearing onto the wall for glulam beams.
Yes, you should be concerned about lateral stability. There may not be enough shear walls to resist a wind that is perpendicular to the old party walls.
See ASTM 2751-17 Standard Practice for Design and Performance of Supported Laminated Glass Walkways. I doubt people will use a glass walkway that has a high probability of cracking even if there is no danger of collapse.
If the retaining wall is reinforced on the earth face, you can check the spacing of the earth face rebars and footing dowels in the wall and the top bars in the footing using a pachometer. If there were no shop drawings, you can chip in at one or more locations in wall and footing to verify the...
