Who's responsible for wood blocking at windows and storefronts

[RFreund]

For non-loadbearing (or load bearing I suppose) exterior cold formed steel framing around windows, doors, or storefronts where there is typically wood blocking between the window/door/storefront and the cold formed steel header/sill/jamb, who is responsible for designing the blocking and connection to the cold formed steel?
Is it the specility engineer for the CFS? Or the Specilty engineer for the window/storefront contractor? Where would this usually be covered, spec, industry standard, or is it just whoever is supplying the wood blocking (makes sense)?
In my experience it seems to be a gray area. I don't usually see it in the CFS shop drawings. I will see the wood blocking in storefront engineered shop drawings, but only the connection to the wood blocking is shown, not the connection of the wood blocking to the substrate. I suppose it would be covered in littureture supplied by the window/door/storefront manufacturer, but I'm not sure.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!


EIT

http://www.HowToEngineer.com

 

[Ron]

It can be either. I do a lot of delegated design work and have had to design the wood blocking for storefronts and anchorage for stuff hanging on CFS framed walls. CFS designers don't usually include any wood items.

Bottom line...it should be specified in someone's contractual requirements if not in the specs. Since both are delegated designs, the General Contractor is responsible to coordinate

 

[dik]

Ron sums it up:

the General Contractor is responsible to coordinate

You shouldn't even be involved with the question. It should be shown in a detail somewhere or in the specs. If not it's a little trickier. You have to question the Contractor, the expert in construction, how he proposed to do this.

Dik

 

[XR250]

I hate to say this, as a CFS designer, but we should probably be required to design it as no one else is going to......

 

[RFreund]

Thanks for the Responses. I have found myself on all sides of this situation (EOR, glazing contractor's engineer and CFS contractor's engineer) and I'm still not sure the right answer.
In general, I agree with Dik and Ron in that the general contractor needs to coordinate this, someone has to install it so it is in someone's scope. I don't know that I've specifically seen verbiage in specs for this although I'm sure it exists. However
I also hate to say this, but XR is probably right. Assuming that the CFS contractor is installing the blocking. However, I could make the arguement that the blocking is a requirement of the glazing system and that the CFS just needs to be designed for the loads imposed by the glazing system.

I should probably figure out a note or something to include on my EOR drawings. At least mentioning that it should be included. It is kinda like every project has the CFS designed and the glazing designed, but the one thing tying them together gets glossed over. Although maybe others have had a different exspierence.



EIT

http://www.HowToEngineer.com

 

[dik]

RFreund:

You really don't want to venture there... In construction there are so many issues, just like this... you don't want to open that 'can of worms'. Best to note that items such as this are to be coordinated by the Contractor... using a capitalised C on contractor to generally tie it into contract terms without stipulating what Contractor it is. Contractually, I hate using the term General Contractor.

Dik

 

[NorthCivil]

This is an easy one. It's "by others"

 

[jike]

In my former world (I'm retired), it was covered on the architectural drawings and the architectural specs (rough carpentry?) and the GC would provide it. It was never part of the CFS or other structural work.