Exterior Slabs

[mijowe]

I was recently asked by an architect to design a loading dock slab (the slab outside of the building adjacent to the loading dock). Typically our scope is limited to be the extents of the building envelope, and miscellaneous portions of the structure attached to the building. When we design sight structures, retaining walls, light post bases, etc ., we do these as an additional service. I indicated to the architect that exterior pavements should be under the scope of the civil engineer, but the civil has excluded it from their scope as well.

Am I in the majority in excluding this design from the base building design?

 

[JAE]

What's in your contract?

 

[hokie66]

The scope tells the story, and it is commonly done both ways. It should be in either the building engineering or the civil engineering works. If not, the architect has omitted it, and now has to get somebody to do it.

 

[Ron]

Agree that it wasn't coordinated. I've seen a reluctance by general civils to design anything vertical, including retaining walls. I would generally consider that a loading dock would be adjunct to the building, not the site pavement.

 

[mijowe]

We specifically exclude pavements in our contract. There appears to be a hole in the scope, and since we work for the architect, and the civil does not he has come back to us. I don't have a problem with adding this to our scope, but since the civil engineer is providing all pavements up to this slab I believe that this is better added to his work.

 

[steellion]

We typically design the loading dock and retaining walls, but not the loading dock ramp. Anything that is pavement we consider to be in the civil engineer's scope.

 

[jgailla]

From a civil perspective, steellion's response is the same as mine. I would expect the structural to design the dock and ramp side walls.
I wouldn't have a problem doing it, but it would probably cost more because I don't do it often and would have to review some things that I may have forgotten since the last time.