In commercial construction, a successful project is completed on time, within budget, and without incident or safety violations. Successful projects don’t just happen, they take exact planning, deliberate communication, and having the right expertise at the table.
One expert, essential for each project, is a structural engineer. A Structural Engineer is responsible for providing the overall structural design for the project. This includes dictating wood species, materials used, and concepts for the connections on how the building is pieced together. The bottom line, the Structural Engineer owns the building and the design.
The value of using Quality Buildings’ Structural Engineer service was recently demonstrated when the QB framing crew discovered a design discrepancy during the construction of a 5-story mixed-use residential development project in Southeastern, PA.
In this case, the discrepancy dictated the need for a solution to mount canopies being added as an aesthetic element to the exterior of the building. The architectural drawings called for four smaller canopies over entrances and one large (5 feet deep x 60 linear feet) canopy to wrap around the front of the building. Given that the force of some of the large canopy’s rod hangers pulling out of the building was over 2,000 pounds, the solution required serious consideration.
With Quality Buildings already contracted to provide the light wood framing package, bringing in the expertise of our in-house Structural Engineer was the natural first step in solving the problem. Our Structural Engineer was able to quickly coordinate with Quality Buildings’ carpenters, review the panelized wall drawings to understand the lumber grade and dimensions and work with our purchasing department to check on material availability and delivery schedules.
Our Solution:
- 24 individual sketches with a PA Engineer seal on it
- 24-28 individual connection and framing designs to coordinate with existing wall panels and MEPs already in place
Result:
- With quick communication and easy access to the information needed, we were able to begin installing framing designed by our engineer in less than 1 week.
With Quality Buildings’ turnkey framing and structural engineer package working in tandem, we were able to provide the general contractor with a quality solution in about half the time a 3rd party engineer would have required to get a solution approved.
To learn more about Quality Buildings Structural Engineer Service, contact Mason Brandt.