This does sound weird. As LittleInch said, options are typically given. You'll often see startups use them to obtain and keep talent without having to spend cash. If you "buy" an option, then it seems the current owner is just raising cash, and you are betting on a higher future value than...
I appreciate your comments. Below are a few better pictures. It appears that the ties were not installed at all of the intended column locations, and heavy steel retrofits were used instead. The brick is finished on the interior at this particular floor. The pattern on the parge is where the...
It's tough to show helpful pictures. The outside looks like a 7 story brick building with windows on some sides. The inside is flat slab concrete frame with bay spacings varying between 16' and 20'. The picture below is of the tie in an area where the cork and fart-rock had been removed and...
I'm working on a 100+ year old building that was originally built as an ice house. It consists of 7 stories of heavy reinforced concrete frame (very heavy – presumably to support ice). The façade is 2-wythe brick that goes all the way up. There is a large offset (several inches) between the...
It is interesting to see how the market is responding. It seems that an open database rather than secret blacklist would provide excellent incentive to properly manage and maintain property...
That is a long time to sit in the yard on dunnage. Were they supported at the ends? I'm guessing not. The smaller self-weight moment can cause the camber to be much higher than anticipated.
I use the term "oil-canning". I've seen it in a number of bridges with slender webs. The paint and lighting probably make it more noticeable here than on other structures. There is some discussion of the issue in https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/NCHRP/docs/NCHRP20-07-415-Final_Report.pdf...
It sounds like you have a fun project. I was picturing Oakland when reading your post. One of the advantages of that design is there is no deck, so there is less dead load to carry. I wonder if that sort of system is more cost effective than one with large cantilevered decks carrying eccentric...
Understood. I'm actually much more open to trying new things than I sound in my post - at least from a technical perspective. After being involved in a few claims and legal disputes, my cautiousness has grown on the specs side of things. Figuring out how to get a contractor to deliver exactly...
HSS does not come in a steel grade commonly used in transportation projects, but I think there is now a grade that meets the same toughness criteria (Charpy V-notch testing, etc.). Also, the bridge welding code, AWS D1.5, specifically excludes HSS. Much of our fatigue and fracture control...
IMO, using an industry standard size hole does not mean that there will be more deflection. I think a lot of the statements above assume that all plies of the connection have perfectly matching holes and that the bolts are perfectly straight, perfectly round, and exactly 1" in diameter. There...
I was a consultant structural engineer in transportation for most of my career. I rarely worked less than 50 hours per week. Some years it was closer to 70 on average. Now I work for a contractor, and I only work more than 40 when there is something that needs immediate attention. And I have...
I've used details similar to yours in the past, but only on existing I-girders. For new stuff we usually get erection stiffeners added in the shop drawings if they are needed. It will be tough to place the tube steel if it is cut to exact length and each end is finished to bear. Will it be...
