Most construction/design related lawsuits I've seen in my career involve single homeowners ticked off that their beloved house has problems and someone promised them something and it didn't meet their expectations.
driftlimiter's Case 3 is correctly describing what your supervisor is suggesting - but you need to be careful because the two footings under each column, and the grade beam between them, aren't infinitely stiff and when the frame tries to rotate and lift the back footing upward, the grade beam...
I seem to remember a prof once talking about this and I recall him saying something about unexpected eccentricity of load as a concern with too-short welds. Steel axial members also carry with them initial out-of-plane sweeps or bends and with axial loads applying to these members there could...
The provision that weld lengths should be at least as long as the gap between them (perpendicular to the line of force) has been in the code for a long time.
A commentary from the 9th Edition for its section B3 states:
"...tests (Kulak, Fisher, and Struik, 1987) have shown that flat plates, or...
"I would be connecting the new steels to existing circular column via fin plates or steel angles which wont be a problem."
It might be a problem if you plan to weld onto that old column. The cap looks like a casting (cast iron?) which may not be weldable along with the column itself.
Should...
If the roof was to be removed then there would most likely be a structural engineer verifying that it could be removed (at least there should be).
But why in the world would the roof of a building be removed except in some large windstorm? I've heard of walls being removed for additions, doors...
Yes - I've seen city websites provide their "custom" loading criteria and mandate 90 mph wind using ASCE 7-16. I called them to suggest that the 90 mph wasn't valid as it was a service level wind and the 16 version used ultimate wind speeds. They didn't even understand what I was talking about.
I try to minimize depending on a geotechnical report as many times these reports offer suggestions, alternatives, etc. without specifying anything highly detailed. I have taken recommendations out of the geotech reports and integrated some of their language into my specifications or general...
You gotta do what's right - not what the contractor tells you to. I assume you'll do what's right but at some point I've had to tell contractors that I'll draw whatever they want done as long as they take responsibility for it after I leave the project.
I wouldn't even call it a cantilever retaining wall - the roof is there to laterally take out any horizontal loading from the soils, assuming you can design the diaphragm to transfer the loads properly and also to be stiff enough.
