I hear this all the time. Ask the builder if he can seal the plans and take responsibility for the structure for a long time.
I do find engineers are a bit heavy handed. Call it a safety factor plus several errors and omission payments. Does the builder have such?
I have asked my engineer to approve by observation many times. Just based on the observation the building or detail has stood for 30 years a 100 years. Tested by time, a full scale working model. What more can one ask for. He always says no is it not fine. So we argue over it. He always wins when he ask me to stamp the drawings.
I use 4 engineers depending on the work. Some are more builder friendly than others. Ask some of the builders in your area who they call on.
I like a stiff floor l/480 or greater, wall and roof (no scalloping on a frosty morning for me). I also think about long term creep of wood. What is going to be like 20 years 40 years? Longer, a hundred years. So we do not design to minimums. Remember the building code is the least required by law. So the building code is good starting point.
Best of luck in your new PRACTICE..
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Donald Duffy AIA
Don Duffy Architecture
Charlotte NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2014 10:04
From: Lisa Cohen
Subject: Working with Structural Engineers
This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Custom Residential Architects Network .
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I am the owner of a small residential design firm. While I have over a decade of experience in my field, I am new to owning my own firm. I lack confidence in my structural skills, so I developed a relationship with a structural engineer to assist me in developing my framing plans, and to size the structural members. Its been a great relationship, but now that my projects are starting the construction phase, I am getting a lot of push back from contractors that the structures are over-designed. While I trust my engineer's calculations, I am also realistic that the contractor has built way more house than I have at this point, and has a better understanding for building standards. Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation? Any advice on how to determine when the contractor is right vs. insisting he follow the engineered designs? Any books or other resources you might recommend? Or any other business models out there that might give me the structural support (no pun intended) that I am looking for while accounting for standard business practices?
Thank you,
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Lisa Cohen AIA
Architect
LMC Architecture, LLC
Fair Lawn NJ
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