38
votes
What are those large poles for that are always in front of US stand-alone store buildings?
They are called bollards.
Their function is to provide safety for pedestrians from traffic, distracted drivers who may encroach into the sidewalk, or runaway cars e.g a driver who inadvertently ...
30
votes
Accepted
Why dig out and then fill in before building a large structure?
This is to make sure they know what the foundation is made of. For all they knew there may have been an old tunnel underneath that would have collapsed when the new building is put on top. London is ...
29
votes
What are those large poles for that are always in front of US stand-alone store buildings?
They are called Bollards. But these aren't defensive as suggested.
Look closer. There's no curb.
This is a new style of store (from the architecture) and curbs have been eliminated for ADA reasons ...
21
votes
Why dig out and then fill in before building a large structure?
There are a few reasons why the footprint of large buildings are excavated and replaced.
All of the old building must be removed - Typically, older buildings will have been built with weaker ...
12
votes
Accepted
What's the purpose of these small closet-like-rooms-without-a-door?
I do not know, I've never been there and I have no other information other than what is in your question. However, ...
I'd say that best guess, until somebody who knows more presents, is your ...
9
votes
What are those large poles for that are always in front of US stand-alone store buildings?
Bollards and other defensive oriented structures significantly predate the 2016 Nice attacks. They have been in place at the construction of many buildings in the US and across the world for decades ...
8
votes
Accepted
Why aren't counterweights used more for garage doors?
It makes me wonder why some sort of counterweight system isn't used instead.
I'd guess it's because residential garages are normally a bit limited on space and the counterweights need somewhere to go....
8
votes
What concerns would I need to consider for building a swimming pool of gold coins?
The weight of the gold would be about 52,110,000kg, over 900 meters square of floor area. This is about 82.4psi of floor pressure, or, under standard gravity, 57.9kN/m^2 live load. This is only an ...
8
votes
Accepted
Will lightning strike an aluminum rod in a pot on my balcony?
xkcd has a fantastic description of how lightning works. This video is also quite good (especially as of 0:56, but the rest is worth watching as well) since it shows lightning in super slow motion, so ...
7
votes
Accepted
Why is it more common to use ceiling fans instead of air pumps?
Mainly cost difference.
And also, a fan is sufficient for the job. The problem being solved is thermal stratification. That's caused by a lack of vertical mixing; the warm air rises to the top, the ...
6
votes
Water pump at top floor or bottom?
Think about the pressures. With the pump above the supply line, the pressure at the input of the pump will be lower than the supply. At roughly 2 PSI per foot, you're down about 18 PSI.
Since air ...
6
votes
Accepted
Is it OK for a 2 story house not have a column or pillar
As @SamFarjamirad states it's best to consult a knowledgeable construction engineer where you live, or in your region, because such people would know the building codes & construction practices ...
5
votes
Accepted
How is biaxial bending considered for reinforced masonry design?
Unity Equation
The Unity Equation is a very standard method of analyzing a section under combined loads. Even though the masonry code doesn't specifically call it out in the reinforced pages, it would ...
5
votes
Why dig out and then fill in before building a large structure?
If one side of foundation has soil packed more loosely than the other side, the foundation may cause the ground to sink, and building may crumble. Even if it has a steel-reinforced concrete foundation,...
5
votes
What concerns would I need to consider for building a swimming pool of gold coins?
"Swimming" would be about impossible.
IF the gold conveyed buoyancy as water does, which it wouldn't, - at full density you'd "float" with about 5% immersed.
If mean density due to packing was about ...
5
votes
Why aren't counterweights used more for garage doors?
Seems like to me the reason is a counterweight provides a constant offset to the door weight and that weight changes as the door is brought back to horizontal. I suppose there would be a way to design ...
5
votes
Accepted
Humidity in home is much higher than outside
Sounds like you have covered your bases. The only thing I can recommend is gathering data and considering some scenerios to evaluate that data against. I am not an HVAC guy but can give you the 1000ft ...
5
votes
Accepted
Is there any way I can be sure a wall is NOT load bearing?
That wall has not been designed to be load bearing by a structural engineer. As you say, it only has a single header (top beam) rather than a double, and the verticals aren't cut accurately enough.
...
5
votes
When an elevator has two buttons next to it, ^ and v, what do they actually mean?
The elevator control system stores various bits of information in a logical fashion. The system will be optimised to maximise the utility of the lift. This generally means moving the maximum number of ...
4
votes
Why aren't counterweights used more for garage doors?
I’ll be installing a custom counterweight for my new garage door – it requires some clever engineering to make it work since a residential garage door doesn’t have a fixed weight: its track bends ...
4
votes
Foiling vortex traps around buildings
CFD
I ran this situation through a couple of simple 2D CFD models. As you can see from the pictures below, one way to keep debris from gathering in this area is to increase the velocity of wind in ...
4
votes
Accepted
Office Complex Foundations/Base Depth and Undeground Water
(1) What is implied by "Underground water level varies from 5-6m" for the construction?
Typically this means that the groundwater table starts between 5m and 6m below grade. In other words, if you ...
4
votes
Accepted
Why were pneumatic thermostats commonly installed in buildings?
In the 1940's and 50's, dynamic system controllers were invented which used air pressure to work. It was possible in fact to design and build not only analog control mechanisms but also binary logic ...
4
votes
Accepted
Concrete Slab Deformation
What is the technical term for this?
Bending downwards is called sagging. (Technically "sagging" isn't moving downwards; it's bending in a shape that looks like the mouth on a smiley face).
One ...
4
votes
What are those large poles for that are always in front of US stand-alone store buildings?
They are to prevent "smash and rob". A situation where someone steals a vehicle and drives through a store front to rob the store. Usually an accomplice drives a second vehicle to escape.
4
votes
can ceramic be used as a building material?
structural ceramic does have some applications in things like engine parts, but its cost and manufacturing difficulty makes it a less ideal choice for something as large as a building foundation
The ...
4
votes
can ceramic be used as a building material?
One of the foundational principles of structural engineering is obviously safety. And one of the foundational aspects of safety is the ability to show warning signs prior to any accidents. In the case ...
4
votes
Accepted
How is electrical building code defined and applied to new constructions?
New homes are inspected by local authorities to comply with local building requlations. As Mike says, give them a call.
The National Electrical Code (NEC) are standardized guidelines for electrical ...
3
votes
Will lightning strike an aluminum rod in a pot on my balcony?
The paths of lightning can not be predicted with certainty, so it becomes a question of probability.
I'd say that your rods are quite unlikely to be hit by lightning, considering that you are 3 ...
3
votes
Accepted
Can a dry-pipe or preaction valve be used to create a branch off a wet pipe sprinkler system?
Yes, this is permissible
NFPA 13 7.1.3 explicitly permits this:
7.1.3 Auxiliary Systems. A wet pipe system shall be permitted
to supply an auxiliary dry pipe, preaction, or deluge system,
...
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