I just want to take a moment to thank everybody who contributed to this thread. There is a LOT of food for thought here and this will surely impact our approach to the wording in the report and the information we provide. If anything interesting comes of this, I'll be sure to update the...
BFstr,
I'd rather not share any pictures as to limit chance of identification.
The building is a slapped together old mining mill way out in the middle of nowhere. Minimal seismic, but decent snow loads.
I'm not as familiar with ACI as I am with CSA, but if the member is meant to act like a 'beam' (horizontally oriented flexural member spanning between supports) I believe it should be detailed as one.
I think external bracing is probably the way to go. One side is inaccessible so it'll have to be rigid, but a small price to pay, and one the demo contractor will be thankful to hear of in advance anyway.
I have no doubt that this is how it's working, but it was certainly not meant to by design.
I can see the ends of the bracing that was cut. In one location they left half of it lying against the equipment they installed. In another, you can see from when the building was built a note written...
So I'm tasked with assessing if a crew of workers can enter a building safely. It's an old industrial PEMB type building (moment frames in one direction, bracing in the other, wind resisting gable ends) and in pretty bad shape, but has stood in place in its current state for probably 25 years...
EngDM, my comment was more to point out that the fee is small with respect to what it could mean for your designs, especially if you're dealing with a remote site.
I do remote site designs all the time and have them on speed dial.
I suspect there's more to it than the seismic calculator. I...
Just call Env Can.
It's 200 bucks and you have something to hang your hat on. A little difference in elevation can make a huge difference in snow load, to name just one example.
It is a point load, yes, in an idealized scenario.
However, as you sound like you realize, there are a few hoops to jump through to convince yourself that it's an idealized point load at the top of the beam.
Firstly, the vertical load has to make it through to the beam, which the hanger...
Why not add stiffeners to the web until you're comfortable that the flanges won't fail?
Then it's a matter of resolving the torsion at the end of the lintel, perhaps with an HSS post?