Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Tag Archive: structural engineer

  1. Major Causes of Wood Truss Failures

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    Wood truss failures can vary and identifying the cause requires visual inspection as well as a working knowledge of the structural loads and building codes. These truss systems must transfer the gravity and lateral loads to the foundations. Consequently, the framing system and the foundation provide strength and stability for a structure. The most common type of wood-framed construction uses roof trusses, exterior and interior load-bearing walls, beams, girders, posts, and floor framing to resist the gravity and vertical loads. This type of wood-framed construction engages a system of horizontal diaphragms (roof and floors) and shear walls (vertical exterior sheathed walls) to resist the lateral loads. (more…)

  2. What You May Not Know About Using a Concrete Test Hammer

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    When assessing potential problems in concrete structures, consider a non-destructive test using the concrete test hammer, AKA “rebound hammer,” before investing a lot of time and money needlessly replacing or destructively testing the concrete structure.  The use of rebound hammer tests should be considered before you or your client decide to drill multiple core samples. Large areas of the concrete structure suspected of having potential strength problems can be tested quickly with a rebound hammer.  Analysis of those results can narrow down specific areas for more rigorous testing. (more…)

  3. Why the Structural Load Path MUST be Considered During Renovation to Prevent Property Damage

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    Understanding the structural load path is imperative when considering renovations in a home that may require the removal of a load-bearing wall. Some homeowners consider adding a new door or window opening and worry if the structure will collapse. Another reason could be that the owner wants an open concept floor plan. The goal is to remove walls and open their living space. (more…)

  4. When the Walls Come Tumbling Down… Retaining Wall Basics

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    A wall is really boring until it fails. A retaining wall is supposed to hold back soil to either support a structure or keep a space clear. When it fails, both of those roles are compromised. A retaining wall does not have to collapse to fail. In fact, a failure is perhaps better defined as when the wall does not perform as expected. (more…)

  5. Catastrophic Weather – Lessons Learned

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    In recent years, with Hurricane Ike in Galveston, TX in 2008 and Superstorm Sandy along the New Jersey and New York coastline in 2012, we have had the opportunity to see firsthand the destructive power of storms like these.  We were “boots on the ground” literally days after the initial coastal strike.  The damage observed to residential and commercial structures was far reaching, diverse and some preventable.  We want to share some “lessons learned” from these observations for these two CAT events. (more…)

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