Overview Metal fastening is designed per the requirements of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC): Specification for Structural Steel Buildings in conjunction with the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA): TIR-A9-14 Design Guide for Metal Cladding Fasteners. Types The two most common types of fastener threads used in construction are Unified Coarse Thread (UNC) more …
Perforated Design Method vs. Segmented Design Methods for Shear Walls The International Building Code (2018) defines a shear wall as “a wall designed to resist lateral forces parallel to the plane of a wall.” Lateral forces include, but are not limited to, wind and seismic forces that may shift or deflect a structure laterally. …
Perforated Design Method vs. Segmented Design Methods for Shear Walls Read More »
Designers and manufacturers create building products based on how they think people will use them and conditions they will resist through their life cycle. To create a product that is safe and easy to use, one requirement is to determine the product’s performance in various weather conditions in conformance to applicable federal, state and local …
Starter List in Evaluating Your Building Component For Product Approvals & TER’s Read More »
FLOOD GLOSSARY The following is provided as a curated summary of terms taken from the referenced standards that appear in the article footing. SEE ALSO OUR GENERAL GLOSSARY OF TERMS NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM (NFIP) The Federal program, create by an act of Congress in 1968, that makes flood insurance available in communities that enact …
An engineer’s walk through of the design requirements for flood resistant design of building components With Engineering Express’s early start with floodproofing designs for floor barriers and exterior glazing in projects across the US, we quickly became experts in this field. We’ve witnessed and directed static and dynamic flood testing, sat on industry meetings, met …
Flood Resistant Design & Floodproofing of Buildings Read More »
Many don’t understand how wind works & state that a product is rated to a specific wind speed. This is false advertising & not true. There’s no such thing as “Rated to XXX MPH wind” This is frequently seen in marketing materials which is a false & misleading statement that comes with many unwritten …
About TEK Screws The following information is complied compliments of All Points Fasteners, Totally Nuts And Bolts, and Fastenermart Tek® screws, which is a brand name describing self-tapping fasteners, have a very small carving at the end of its tip called a drill bit. This particular product is very popular since it is basically a self drilling product …
TEK Sheet Metal Screws (SMS) – About – Sizes – Gauges Read More »
Product Approvals for building components are the general rule in Florida. Building officials, architects, insurance companies, even homeowners ask for them all the time, frequently refusing permits, insurance discounts, and product installations. So what is the legal ruling on when and if product approvals are required for this product? The Florida Building Code requires only …
Case Study: Phantom Screens – Is a Florida Product Approval Required? Read More »
The Scenario The question comes up from time to time regarding requirements for a fence or railing to be 75% open (such as in the Lighthouse Point FL Building Code Amendments). This is the case for example in Florida when overlooking the Intracoastal in Broward County. This porosity also affects the design calculations for the …
About Porosity & When is a Fence or Railing 75% Open? Read More »
Concrete Footing Frost Protection – An Explanation Section 1809.5 of the Florida Building Code (2020) and 2015 & 2018 International Building Code describe the design requirements of shallow foundations in regions where soil is subjected to seasonal ground freezing. The code requires that footings are protected from frost to prevent a phenomenon known as heave. …
Frost Protection For Concrete Footings On Grade – Heave Read More »
Per the Aluminum Design Manual (ADM) 2015, the allowable bending stress of round tubes shall be determined for the limit states of yielding, rupture, and local buckling: that given by section F.6.1 (compressive yielding), or that given by section F.6.1 (tensile yielding), or that given by section F.6.1 (tensile rupture), or that given by …
Procedure For Calculating Aluminum Box Beams For Bending Read More »
Per the 2015 National Design Specification for Wood Construction (NDS 2015), section 12.1.4.6, the minimum length of lag screw penetration Pmin not including the length of the tapered tip, E, of the lag screw into the main member of single shear connections and the side members of double shear connections shall be 4D where D …
What’s the minimum penetration for lag screws into wood? Read More »
Per AISC-ANSI-360-16, the minimum edge distance for bolts to the edge of a connected part is to follow the below table J3.4 (inches) AISC/ANSI 360-16 is a free publication from AISC/ANSI Visit Our Pre-Engineered Plans & Evaluation Reports
There is often confusion as to which size product a client actually needs – Pipe Size or OD Tubing Size. Keep in mind that pipe size refers to a nominal – not actual – inside pipe diameter. Schedule refers to the pipe’s wall thickness. The dimensions provided for OD tubing on the other hand refer to the actual …
What’s the dimensional difference between a pipe and a tube? Read More »
Everything You Need To Know About Door Buck, Why Are They Used and When Do They Need to be Anchored Masonry openings in buildings are frequently not exact and are referred to as rough openings for that reason. When window products are placed into openings, they often need to be shimmed into place to …
