Questions tagged [building-design]
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107
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Horizontal "external beams" on a steep section of a roof
The pictures below are screen shots of what appears to be a barn in the Ukraine. One is a top down aerial view and the other a ground up, side view.
What intrigues me is the purpose of the apparent &...
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Looking for the name of a certain type of room
I don't know if this is the place to ask, but I am wondering about the name for a certain type of room in a building.
I am thinking about the ones where it is basically like a central room, but it is ...
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69
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Is this a normal shadow gap? Connection between a wall and the ceiling
I am currently checking out an appartment in which I noticed a strange connection between the side walls and the ceiling.
The guy told me it is a shadow gap which I then googled and it just didn't ...
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Do we allow mass and moment of the footing itself, when calculating ground support and eccentricity of a footing?
Suppose we are designing a footing for the wall of a building. There are two checks that are crucial.
Ground support: suppose the ground is assessed as being suitable to load up to 80 kN/m2. Then a ...
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Beam rebar doesn't develop its length in column. Reinforced concrete analysis and design
In reinforced concrete design, there are some cases that engineers have to design beams which rebar doesn't develop its complete length or hook length according to codes. It is because of restrictions ...
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Why are there horizontal spaces in walls of many large buildings?
Many buildings, especially in the Europe, have horizontal gaps in their walls. For example, the walls of the Royal School of Mines and the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington (See attached ...
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Reinforced concrete by steel, poor durability, why?
I've been reading up about reinforced concrete, as it is one if not the cheapest way how to build (with some solid foundation). I found out that it actually has quite poor durability (50-100 years or ...
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Who takes care of structural health monitoring of civil structures?
There are numerous studies about the possibility of structural health monitoring (SHM) of tall structures, like bridges, skyscrapers, water towers, wind turbines, where, for example, inclination or ...
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What were these two objects from the top of a tall building in the 1920s used for?
I saw this in a movie from the 1920s, set in the USA. ("Safety Last".)
At the top of a tall building, there are two strange objects which I believe I've seen before but never could figure ...
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92
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Why does the IRC think ceiling joists are weaker than floor joists?
According to the IRC, a 1200S162-68 cold-formed steel C-section can hold 40psf total load at an almost 22' span when used as a floor joist, but can only hold 25psf total load at a 21' span when used ...
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Waterlogged multistorey apartment
I fraction invested in a real estate project several years back. Mid way through the construction, after about 12 floors, the building contractor filed for bankruptcy. An asset reconstruction company ...
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Would a larger building more safely or smoothly ride the seismic waves of an earthquake?
If larger ships are less affected by ocean waves, and tend to ride smoothly through them, would that same principle influence the survivability of a larger building when weathering the seismic waves ...
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Component Additive Method for fire ratings: (why) are cement backer units not rated?
IBC 722.6, along with Harmathy's Ten Rules (written down in AWC DCA4, among other places), provide a method, known as the Component Additive Method, for computing the fire ratings of light-frame wood ...
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123
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What is the purpose of these "safety" ledges on this Asian skyscraper?
While watching a video of a crazy person jumping around on buildings in some Asian country in a death-defying manner, I noticed these odd "safety" ledges outside, with nothing preventing you ...
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What is this sticky outy bit called?
We have a bit of wall sticking out of a flat wall
____
__________| |_______________
I have always called it the sticky outy bit of the wall and ...
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What would happen if the air conditioning failed in a skyscraper for an extended period?
I'm writing some fiction which involves the AC in a modern glass curtain skyscraper (50-80 floors?) in an American city failing for a period of weeks, maybe even for up to two months.
Could anybody ...
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What type of engineer/profession specialize in the design and building of residential homes/houses? [closed]
Peace and blessings beloved. I come from a family of tradesmen (plumbers, electricians, welders, carpenters, painters, etc) but never took a real interest in learning about said trades (or anything ...
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Lintel construction technique in UK in 80s using blockwork
An issue has been raised when replacing windows that the blockwork inner leaf is missing a lintel.
The hollow blocks have been in-filled with concrete which makes me believe that this is a ‘cast-it-...
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How do extra building levels affect the foundation design apart for the extra load?
I have been talking to some structural engineers trying to find one to design foundations for my contemplated bespoke building based on hi-cube 40-ft shipping containers. The initial concept is just ...
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Is this alternate grounding practice practically implementable?
While grounding power sockets in modular prefabricated steel buildings (see Light Gauge Steel Frame Technology), can we just connect the ground wire to the steel frame of the building itself? as the ...
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Is there a miniture atmospheric water vapor condenser?
I am looking to add a condenser for a plant preserving container. The plants need water and I was wondering if I can have a passive method to condense atmospheric moisture to water. My container is ...
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197
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Gas kitchen stove in skyscrapers
I have watched a property tour around an apartment in the Steinway Tower (NY) on YouTube and I noticed one detail that bugs me, namely gas stoves.
In Poland it is very uncommon for new blocks of flats ...
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How to calculate the square footage of a duplex building
In a college project, I was instructed to design the floor plans and the conduit layout of a duplex building. It was instructed that the duplex is 2500 square feet. No other instruction was provided. ...
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Are these horizontal timbers removable in an attic/loft?
There are 3 horizontal lengths of timber stretching across the centre-level of my attic/loft space and are attached at either end to the rafters with a single nail. I can wobble them by hand and they ...
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How to make an Idol always strictly face the rising Sun?
I recently came to know that the Sun rises on a different place in the horizon everyday : https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/39670/14624 To me the change in the direction of Sun rise seems ...
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Low slope roofing
I’m having trouble finding resources that explain/describe type of low slope roof for cold weather. Is single ply or metal standing seam or BUR better if we are considering all cold weather related ...
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60
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How is electrical building code defined and applied to new constructions?
A new home (completed in early 2020) in San Jose California does not have GFCI outlets in all the bathrooms. I thought this was a requirement (according to https://www.redwoodcity.org/home/...
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Why don't buildings in South Asia have basements?
I see that buildings in the developed part of the world have basements. Why?
But, I never see basements in most buildings in South Asia. Why?
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Sun light illumination on a lower floor vs high building closely
there is an investor that wants to build very close to our building. In case we agree, the buildings will stand like on the pictures below, 3 meters apart from each other. I tried to draw them in ...
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Climate control in data centers
I'm a student currently working on a market research project on the HVACR industry, and I'm having trouble nailing down a simple answer to these questions (it may be there are no simple answers, as so ...
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can ceramic be used as a building material?
From what I read, concrete has much lower compressive strength than ceramics. So why aren't we using ceramics to build? Is it because ceramic failure is difficult to predict? Because it's hard to ...
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What are those large poles for that are always in front of US stand-alone store buildings?
Screenshot of a video where they are featured in the background:
They appear to have no electronics built in, such as an electric charge station, or a parking ticket dispenser or something like that....
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When an elevator has two buttons next to it, ^ and v, what do they actually mean?
Both as a kid and as an adult, I've encountered elevators lined up next to each other, or single ones, which have two buttons on each floor (outside of the elevator):
...
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Increase in target emission rate (TER) when using a air source heat pump (ASHP) in standard assessment procedure (SAP) calculation
I am running a SAP calculation on a proposed building which will be utilising a 8.5 kW ASHP for space and water heating. I am also running a comparative analysis against a mains gas boiler to show the ...
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Is it safe to slightly cut the edge of RCC column for passage of pipe in bathroom?
The RCC column was cut in my absence due to passage of pipe for bathroom fittings. The thickness is about 1.5 in. Will it hamper the stability of structure?
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What is the strongest way to fasten 8020 extrusions in this arrangement?
I am making a project using 10mm aluminum extrusions. I am trying to connect all three extrusions like the picture below shows and I am going to make my own bracket (in red) out of aluminum since the ...
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Are the design load values in this floor determination table (span chart) inclusive or exclusive of the given floor weight (inherent dead load)?
So, I have been doing research into the use of Insulated Composite Concrete Forms (ICCFs) for small-scale construction, and that has led me to looking at the Rastra ICCF system, as it has been in ...
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Buildings sinking into the ground
My friend has proposed that the buildings in the images below have been sinking into the ground over time and that they're not planned with basements.
He thinks that the bottom of the building was ...
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Why rectangular windows are so common?
Most of the windows in our rooms are mostly rectangular.
Why don't we chose any other shape like circle, triangle or trapezium? Does it affects airflow through room? Is the reason is that they look ...
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Maximum spans in multi-level building
Is it possible to build a building with 3 levels, with the 2nd and 3rd levels having areas with clear spans (no columns) of 130 ft length and 85 feet width? There can be columns outside of this clear ...
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Concrete Slab Deformation
The concrete slab (?) supporting the swimming pool (≈ 10 x 10m x 1m) of my building has clearly a 'belly':
I'm not sure whether this was built this way or evolved over time, however, my best guess is ...
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How deep do you have to check for problems underneath a building site?
When you're putting up a new building, you have to check the soil underneath for stability. How deep do you typically have to check? What's the extent of your "due diligence" when ensuring that a ...
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Difference between ACI Code and Eurocode in Stiffness modifiers?
According to the ACI Code stiffness modifiers (modifiers used to reduce the moment of inertia) are used for each structural elements for example 0.7 for columns and 0.35 for beams...
For those who ...
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362
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Seismic Design Changes between ASCE and UBC Code?
what is the difference between the seismic design between ASCE and UBC code?
from load combinations to loads applied to the history between the sudden shift or change in the code. and which one of the ...
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What is the Difference between ASCE and IBC Code?
What is the fundamental difference between the ASCE Code and IBC Code and what is the objective of each one?
Thank you in Advance.
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Slab Stiffness Modifiers applied in Vertical Elements design but not in Slab design?
Why in the design of vertical elements (columns and walls) for a structure against lateral loads (such as seismic and wind) we use a slab (or shell) with a stiffness modifiers (such as 0.25 according ...
- 503
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147
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Drop Panel Design Above Columns?
How to design a drop panel at a column in case the column above is rotated or not aligned to the below column (see image below), the code that i am using is the ACI Code if any reference for the ...
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At what level is the Grade Beam most effective at pile cap level or at Slab-on-grade level?
The primary two functions of a Grade/Tie Beam in spread footing and/or pile caps foundation system is to support the Slab-On-Grade (S.O.G) and/or to take the moment from eccentric footing (or moment ...
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Do concealed door closers exacerbate wear on a door's hinges?
Not being of an engineering background, I was first inclined to think that a door closer would reduce horizontal load on all hinges and not contribute any support in the vertical dimension.
However, ...
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Can a crisscrossed metallic skeleton resist earthquakes for buildings?
To follow up with my previous question on the seismic design of buildings, I would like to ask if it makes sense to support buildings with strong thick 'crisscrossed' metallic frames.
I have the ...
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