Engineering / Construction Definitions

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Shear Wall – A wall designed to resist lateral forces parallel to the plane of the wall (sometimes referred to as a vertical diaphragm).

Special Inspection – Inspection as required by the code of the materials, installation, fabrication, erection or placement of components and connections requiring special expertise to ensure compliance with approved construction documents and referenced standards.

Steel Construction, Cold-Formed – That type of construction made up entirely or in part of steel structural members cold formed to shape from sheet or strip steel such as roof deck, floor and wall panels, studs, floor joists, roof joists and other structural elements.

Steel Member, Structural – Any steel structural member of a building or structure consisting of a rolled steel structural shape other than cold-formed steel, or steel joist members.

Structural Glued-Laminated Timber – An engineered, stress rated product of a timber laminating plant, comprising assemblies of specially selected and prepared wood laminations bonded together with adhesives. The grain of all laminations is approximately parallel longitudinally. The separate laminations shall not exceed 2” in net thickness and shall be of 1) one piece, or 2) comprised of pieces joined to form any length, or 3) pieces placed or glued edge-to-edge to make wider ones, or 4) pieces bent to curved-form during gluing.

Structural Observation – The visual observation of the structural system by a registered design professional for the general conformance to the approved construction documents at significant construction stages and at completion of the structural system. Structural observation does not include the inspections required by the code.

Structure – That which is built or constructed.