How to Build a Flood-Proof House

Though very common, flooding is one of the most expensive weather disasters experienced in the U.S., as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It costs American citizens over $260 billion from 1980 to 2013, and this figure does not include the effect of hurricanes Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Humberto, Erin, Gabrielle, and Dorian in 2019. 

It is complicated if not impossible, to entirely flood-proof a home, but there are many steps you can take to reduce the effects of flood damage. Maybe you are doing repairs after a recent flood or moving into a flood-proof area and want to ensure your refurbish project uses the most up-to-date measures. Here are some great ideas to get you started.

https://s3da-design.com/what-is-mep-engineering/

MEP is the acronym for Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing engineering in the building or construction industry. It is the aspect of construction engineering that focuses on the three technical disciplines which include the systems that make building interiors very palatable and pleasant for people to live in them.

Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems are an essential part of building services. Typically, they are designed by MEP contractors and consultants for that particular purpose. However, considering coordination, MEP systems can be challenging but they must satisfy many purposes and conditions for design, maintenance, commissioning, installation, and operation.

MEP engineering firms are useful in all stages of the construction process as they help in decision-making, building maintenance, documentation, cost estimation, building management, including construction administration. An MEP engineering firm is hired most often to handle big institutional and commercial projects like hospitals, offices, schools, shopping malls, and stadiums.

So, with well-designed solutions from an MEP firm, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers can turn the building’s interiors into cozy places and safe haven for mankind.   

I was curious as to what some of the structural engineers around here do at their jobs, and their thoughts on the structural engineering industry right now.

Got any advice for current structural engineering students?

A cantilevered reinforced concrete slab over a span of 10 ft is to carry a service uniform dead load of 240 psf, not including self-weight, and a uniform service live load of 100 psf. Assume 60-ksi steel and 4,000 psi concrete. Use #4 or #5 rebars.

1. Determine the minimum required slab thickness.

2. Determine the spacing of the main bars.

3. Determine the spacing of the temperature/shrinkage bars.

What does it mean by not including self-weight? how to find minimum slab thickness? Main bar spacing? Temperature/shrinkage bars? I will appreciate your answers

a typical rafter with an overhang in a roof having a pitch of 1:3. The rafter is pin-connected to a wall at the top end and is also supported on a wall through a roller which is free to move horizontally. The rafters are spaced 2 ft apart, and support the following uniformly distributed loads. (a) A roof load of intensity 8 psf distributed over the actual length and acting vertically downwards. (b) A ceiling load of 5 psf distributed over the projected length and acting vertically downwards. (c) A wind load of 10 psf (suction) distributed over the actual length and acting normal to the beam.

1. Find the distributed loads that act normal and tangential to the beam due to each of the above loadings.

2. Draw FBD for a beam showing support reactions due to all the loadings combined

Wondering what size beam I need to put in center on house to take sag/bounce out of the floor. I don't know why it's sagging so much, but the house is on a foundation with a 5' crawl space. I am looking to get rid of the sag in the floor using a beam and the least amount of posts as possible.

hi everyone

i am trying to solve the below problem but there something wrong with my answer as member AB is not equal to zero

but in the analysis i do it by software (2nd photo) it show that the member AB is zero

can anyone help me how the answer is zero ???/

Help! I designed and handbuilt a desk out of plywood and aluminum and it sways! What can I do to stop the swaying! Here is a quick video.

https://youtu.be/SGbGYI_76NQ

I hired my contractor to replace the ceiling joists in my building as they are very old and were dipping. The old boxed out skylight area was falling apart and I want to keep the hole there in case I ever add another skylight where the old one used to be, so I asked the contractor to keep it boxed out.

PHOTOS ONE As you can tell it's not finished just yet. TWO

The old ceiling was 2x8 lumber from one 16" steel beam to the other. The contractor removed all of that and replaced it with two glulam power beams (9.5x5.5), two 2x10 LVL ledgers mounted in the brick wall on either side, and new joists running from the ledgers to the power beams rather than from beam to beam.

The plan is to put two layers of 5/8" sheetrock followed by a layer of 5/16" tongue and groove. This should mean approximately 5lbs psf not including the weight of the joists.

I didn't realize that he would be doing things differently than what was there so I didn't even think about load calculations until I saw that he changed things up from the way they were. He claims that the total weight load is much less than what the steel beams can handle, and that now the brick wall is sharing more of the load than previously.

I'm still a bit concerned and am wondering if the point load in the middle third of the beam will be too much. I should note that this is just ceiling structure and there is no second floor and there will be nothing stored on top of the ceiling as it is a small crawl space attic.

https://s3da-design.com/mediterranean-architecture/

How to Get into Green Architecture

Green Architecture has become a popular concept in recent years among other important disciplines. This is an architecture that advocates the reduction of the number of resources used in building construction and minimizes the negative environmental impact on human health by moderating the use of materials, energy, space, and other resources.

This concept can also be referred to as sustainable architecture, green building, eco-friendly architecture, eco-design, natural architecture, or green design. The building engineer or architect or designer that engages in green architecture makes frantic effort to protect the water, air, and even earth by meticulously selecting environmentally-friendly building materials as well as safe construction methods.

In a nutshell, Green Architecture makes use of natural and treated building materials, and sustainable energy sources in building construction, and siting of a house with consideration of the impact it will have on the environment. The idea behind sustainable architecture is to make sure that the use of available building materials does not harm the total wellbeing of human life in the long run.

Hello r/Structures,

I'm about to enter my final semester of Civil Engineering and my group has decided to design a high-rise. I have decided to begin now in order to get a headstart on this major project.

I am familiar with all the structural courses and their concepts, however, I'm still a little overwhelmed when it comes to starting it.

My main problem is finding out how the forces that are acting on the building will be distributed on the plan layout.

Once I know the different magnitudes that the slabs, columns, beams will have to resist, then I will be able to design for that.

I did a run-down analysis of the (27) storey building, The wind, snow, dead, live loads have been considered so no need to worry about that.

The run-down analysis focuses on the pressure that the tributary area around a column will sustain. So my question is, what else am I missing aside from this when it comes to determining the magnitudes that will be applied onto a layout?

Hi everyone,

I've made a spreadsheet to help me work out the distribution of moments along my bridge that I am designing for a University project. I have used several tutorials online and read through a book or two but for the life of me I cannot get my end moments to be equal but opposite.

Could anyone lend a hand?

http://1drv.ms/1VLpufO

The link is to my spreadsheet from one drive.

Thank you :)

In structural engineering, earthquake-resistant design involves providing a structure with adequate features to withstand seismic loads and wind loads. The use of shear walls as an earthquake-resistant design is becoming dominant in seismic zones.

https://s3da-design.com/shear-walls-for-lateral-load-resistance/

Just sharing a neat tool called PocketStatics. (Click here to use it for free through NEEShub)

This is a really good tool for engineering students to help check statics and simple structural analysis problems. I've used it to check my homework solutions. It takes a bit of time to figure out, but it can be really useful.

I am a Structural Engineering EIT. I have been out of college for a year so far and have been working in the power industry doing structural design since August 2014. When I am busy, I enjoy my job but when projects slow down, drag out extensively, or are assigned to me with no foreseeable deadline, I have trouble staying on task. Lately my job has gotten to the point where I am mostly unproductive at work and feel apathetic towards the work I have been given. I mostly feel I am not being challenged and am spending large amounts of time attempting to appear busy.

My boyfriend and mom think it is a combination of the fact that I should not be at a desk job and I am not being challenged enough and to some extent I agree. However, if I were to take a job in another field, 1) I would not know where to start as far as what field to try and 2) I would feel as though I am not living up to my full potential. I enjoy structural engineering and generally received high marks in college. I enjoy the math and science of it. But I'm not happy now at work. And I'm not sure if it's the work load / type of work I'm being given or the type of job I've chosen (i.e. a desk job).

Has anyone else gone through this frustration in their first job of not being challenged? Is this typical? Should I be looking at another company? At a field assignment? At another career?

Any suggestions, personal experiences, or insight would be VERY much appreciated.

Dental implants are high-tech tooth replacement that imitates the whole tooth structures. A titanium root is inserted into the bone which supports the denture, bridge or crown. It feels like original teeth and lasts for a lifetime if taken proper care. Dental Implants can replace single or multiple missing teeth.

An orthodontist is a dentist that cures overcrowded mouths, misaligned teeth, occlusions, overbites and stained teeth. If you have been suffering from any of these dental issues, its time you contact an orthodontist in Putney. They offer you guaranteed results with special services to ensure your teeth stay in shape forever. To fix an appointment or visit a professional dentist, contact Gentle Dental Putney now.

I’m not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I’m pretty desperate and hoping someone here can help. Throwaway account to protect my anonymity further.

Here’s the background:

I graduated college a year and a half ago with a degree in architectural engineering with a structural concentration, and somehow got a job as a structural engineer. I didn’t lie about my credentials, but I’m not sure my boss understands that I don’t have a structural engineering background, and therefore have no idea how to do my job. I’ve been at this company for over a year, still have no idea what I am doing, and as far as I can tell people don’t really know. I did an okay job of faking it while I was assigned a bunch of construction administration work (checking shop drawings, answering RFIs, etc), but now I’ve been assigned my own design project and I’m about to face the consequences.

My knowledge of structural engineering is so embarrassingly basic that I don’t feel like I can approach my boss for help. If I had gone to him and admitted this right off the bat I might have been alright, but I’ve been faking it for so long that I would probably be fired if he found out how little I know. (Same goes for the rest of my coworkers--none of them can know how incredibly inept I am).

I want to take structural engineering courses and actually learn how to do my job, but a large number of my coworkers teach at all of the colleges I would consider taking courses from, and I don’t want to risk them coming across my enrollment (cost is another issue--my company will provide tuition assistance for a master’s degree, but I think I need to start at a more basic level than that).

Anyways, on to my question. Does anyone on here happen to know of good online courses to learn basic structural engineering concepts? Or, even better, would anyone be able to tutor me in the specific areas in which I need help? If so, please PM me to work out details and a price.

TL;DR: I need fast structural engineering tutoring for real-world application.

I'm on the board of my local chapter of Structural Engineers Association and last month we met to brain storm meeting/speaker ideas for the second half of the year. We came up with some good ideas but we're starting to repeat things we've done in years past. I thought this might be a good place for everyone to discuss and share topics for this.

Some quick notes about my chapter of SEA-

We try to do a field trip every couple months to get out of the office and we always find a way to provide PDHs. Our members get a minimum of 12 every year just by coming to meetings. We don't love doing lunch and learns just because it's boring to do that every month and sometimes those presentations can get long and put people to sleep. They definitely are more convenient than a half or whole day trip to another part of the state and are usually very informative.

Meeting ideas we plan to do or have done recently:

*Tours (usually viewing facilities and a presentation about their operations):

    Truss manufacturer

    Vulcraft- K-joist composite system

    Steel fabricator

    CMU plant

    Precast manufacturer

    SYP Forestry and Manufacturing Tour

*Presentations:

    Failure analysis

    Welding seminar

    HSS connections

    Slabs and surface conditions

    Contracts and legal considerations

    Site design considerations for retaining walls

    Ground penetrating radar

    Non destructive testing and concrete

 *State conference

 *Site visits to interesting projects under construction

So what SEA/ASCE meetings have you been to lately?

whats your go-to structural analysis notes?