I am assessing a situation involving an existing segmental retaining wall (SRW) that is undermined at the base course due to inadequate embedment of the base course(s) below grade. The wall is approximately 150 feet long
and approximately 16 feet high (maximum). The adjacent grade at the toe...
According to NDS SDPWS Table 4.2A "Nominal Unit Shear Capacities for Wood Frame Diaphragms", 15/32" sheathing w/ 10d@6" edge nailing is stiffer than the same sheathing with tighter nail spacing (i.e., 10d@4"), and is also stiffer than thicker sheathing with the same nailing pattern (i.e., 19/32"...
I am designing a building with flat, bottom chord bearing, metal plate connected, wood roof trusses. The truss span is approximately 45 feet. I am thinking the bottom chords will probably be 2x6 oriented in the strong direction.
The bearing walls are wood stud walls with a 2-2x6 top plate...
See attached detail. This is a work in progress. I am designing a repair plan for an existing, residential, exterior deck. The columns are rotted at the base and the edge beams are under sized, among other problems. This is a large, wrap around, 2-story deck, that will be very expensive to...
See the attached images. I came across this cracked floor joist in a the crawl space of a single family residential building. It's the joist just to the left of the HVAC duct and just to the right of the plugged foundation vent. Any ideas what has caused the crack?
This is the only joist...
A prospective new client was referred to me by an architect. The prospective client is a home owner that is planning to build an addition on the back of his home. He also apparently holds a residential/light commercial general contractor license in my state, but he says he doesn't work as a...
I am assessing a situation for a residential homeowner who has discovered that a wood post supporting part of an exterior deck is located on top of a septic tank. The tank is buried approximately 2 feet below grade. The post is an 8x8 timber post approximately 15-20 feet tall with a tributary...
I am looking at a concrete crib retaining wall that is loosing backfill through the face of the wall during heavy rain events. There is an obvious surface water drainage problem that is contributing to the loss of backfill through the face of the wall, in that their is a tennis court upslope...
I have a building envelope rehab job where exterior stone/stucco veneer is being removed and replaced because it has been leaking. My role as structural engineer is to diagnose and specify repairs for any wood framing that is uncovered that has been damaged by wood rot (fungal decay) as a...
I have a small concrete repair project that involves a building originally constructed in 1901. I have been researching building codes from that era and have come across limits on working stresses for compression in concrete of around 230 psi, which seems very low to me. Is this the stress...
Structural engineers, do you stamp site visit reports during construction? These are not Special Inspections. These site visits are to make observations for general conformance with the Construction Documents. The reports will usually include a description and some photos of the general...
I have a project with a 5" slab on grad. The concrete spec'd was 4500 psi, max w/c ratio 0.45, max coarse aggregate size 1" (but 3/4" is commonly used in mix design around here), air entrainment 4.5% or 5% plus/minus 1.5% for 1" or 3/4" max aggregate size respectively, and max slump of 5". The...
Looking for consensus or opinions on common ways to frame exterior corners when both walls that intersect at the corner are shear walls. How many studs do you typically use to build up the corner (I know this could vary depending on the shear wall chord forces, but assume 2 minimum are required...
Isn't there a code requirement that says something about the distance between the face of a concrete wall and the edge of a steel bearing plate on top of the wall? I seem to remember a minimum or maximum distance of about a half inch. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? I honestly can't...
For a floating slab on grade, what is best practice at an exterior door? I assume the slab edge should get extended to the outside face of the wall. Does the slab edge need to be thickened? If so, how much, or should it be turned down onto the strip footing/grade beam? It seems to me that if...
I have received a request for a change from an isolated wall footing to a thickened slab edge supporting a CMU wall. Both details are attached. The contractor states that they prefer to pour the slab before building the CMU wall because the slab will protect the subgrade from rain and...
I have a job where PVC stay in place wall forms will be used. The forming system supplier's literature says to use a "pea gravel" 4000 psi concrete with a slump of 4-5. I indicated "pea gravel" coarse aggregate on my drawings. I have received a concrete mix design submittal that is using 89...
Anyone care to take a look through the attached calculation sheet for lateral capacity for a 1/4" diameter lag screw. I think there is an error in the calculation, but I cannot find it. In the attached calculation the controlling yield limit equation is Mode IV which is 105 lbs. However, the...
The anchor rods for a column were supposed to be set in a 1'-4" square pattern, but instead they were set in a 1'-2" square pattern. The column is part of a moment frame. It is a W10x112, the base plate is 2" thick with 2-5/16" diameter holes, and the anchor rods are 1-1/2" diameter with...
I'm seeking some guidance on the requirements for preservative treatment of logs used in the construction of log homes. I have a situation where a builder wants to use (actually has already constructed) some southern pine logs as posts to support porch roofs and exterior decks. He got the logs...
