Is a Struct.Eng. desination required for designing a townhouse in City of Vancouver?

[AlexWong122]

From my understanding it is not required (as per the building bylaw), as long as the floor area is less than 600m2 and it is less than 3 storey height (which is the cirteria for Part 3 building). However friend advised that it is....

Anyone from Vancouver can answer this?

Thanks,

 

[skeletron]

Phone the city:

https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/building-and-renovating.aspx

The application document identifies the designation is NOT required for
• Part 9 Buildings;
• Structural components of Part 9 Buildings that are designed under Part 4;
• Structures which are outside the scope of the British Columbia Building Code, the Vancouver Building Bylaw, or the National Building Code of Canada; or
• Components that are not part of the Primary Structural System, e.g. support, anchorage and seismic restraint of electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems and architectural components, etc.

Review the VBBL 2019 here:

http://free.bcpublications.ca/civix/content/public/vbbl2019/?xsl=/templates/browse.xsl

 

[NorthCivil]

The last time I worked in vancouver area was around 4 years ago, then, a struct eng was needed for any buildings in "part 3", which as far as I could tell, is a fuzzy definition.

In addition to the size and height requirements, there is also occupancy categories that put buildings into part 3. Restaurants, theatres, hospitals, shopping centres etc are automatically part 3.

From my past experience, for residential buildings, whether or not a building was part 3 depended on the permit processor at city hall.

 

[mronlinetutor]

I practice in British Columbia. I graduated from the University of British Columbia as a civil engineer in the structural discipline. I qualified as an EIT but EIT doesn't need to be registered. So I am not registered.

I design residential houses but I don't get many jobs. My company is Discotech Architectural Project Management. I hire architectural firm and engineering firms to take care of my projects and they are design built and turnkeys projects. All I have to do is to have coffee with the owner and chief architect. As I understand, you don't need to be a structural engineer to design houses under Part Nine of the Canadian National Building Code, but structural stamps are required when the city requires them.

If you are not a civil or structural engineer, you can only call yourself a civil designer or structural designer, the person responsible for the design.

If you are a civil engineer, you can design any building up to 10 stories high.

For over 10 stories high, you need a structural engineer.

The Building Authority of Canada says the following:

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS may design any building of any type.
CIVIL ENGINEERS may design any building of any type EXCEPT public schools and hospitals.
ARCHITECTS may design any building of any type EXCEPT the structural portion of a hospital.
UNLICENSED INDIVIDUALS may design only the following types of buildings:
Single-family dwellings of not more than two stories and basement in height.
Multiple dwellings containing not more than four dwelling units of woodframe construction of not more than two stories and basement in height and no more than four
dwelling units per lot.
Garages or other structures appurtenant to the dwellings described above of woodframe construction not more than two stories and basement in height.
NOTE: If any portion of the structures described above does not meet the conventional woodframe requirements described in Title 24 of the California Code of
Regulations or in the building codes of the local jurisdiction, then the building official having jurisdiction shall require the plans, calculations, and
specifications for that portion of the structure to be prepared and signed and sealed by a licensed engineer or a licensed architect.
Agricultural and ranch buildings of wood frame construction, unless the building official having jurisdiction determines that an undue risk to the public health, safety,
or welfare is involved.
Store fronts, interior alterations or additions, fixtures, cabinetwork, furniture, or other appliances or equipment, including any work necessary to install these items, or
any alterations or additions to any building necessary to install these items, as long as the alterations do not affect the structural safety of the building."

disclaimer: all calculations and comments must be checked by senior engineers before they are taken to be acceptable.

 

[skeletron]

There appears to be some misinformation in the above post.

An EIT does need to be registered in order to maintain good standing with EGBC. Without registration, you can't use that title.

A Designer can make up a set of plans, but the Registered Professional is still required for permits, construction, and safety. I don't know of any jurisdiction in Canada that doesn't require that. BC probably has some of the more stringent requirements for structural design.

Civil Engineers can design buildings or call themselves Structural Engineers in some jurisdictions (the Territories and Alberta, for example). There is often a difference in the caliber of work when compared to the jurisdictions which require supplementary education or specialization within structural engineering.

Part 9 is a prescriptive part of the code to help establish a minimum standard. It's mainly to help contractors and help accelerate smaller scale projects with defaults. However, using it as a directive standard is not good practice especially in a seismic zone.

 

[atrizzy]

Technically, by the word of the VBBL, you do not need to be a Struct. Eng.

However, I have heard confirmed horror stories of plan reviewers insisting upon a Struct Eng at permit stage. One reason provided is that the P.Eng used methods not applicable to Part 9 to design the building.

There's little consistency. I'm not a Struct.Eng so when I take on small jobs in the CoV I am open with my clients about the potential risks involved with city flippancy on this matter.

 

[r13]

On one of my company's project, the EOR was required to get license through B.C. structural engineering examination. Check with B.C.'s licensing board to get straight answers.