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Why
Do I Need An Engineer?
A
lender provides you with the financial means to fund your
building project. A building designer or an architect paint
you a picture of it. A good contractor makes the project a
reality. The building inspector helps to ensure it complies
with the approved plan set.
Where
does the engineer fit in the picture? What exactly do they
do? We all know they like to carry calculators, sit in front
of the computer all day and read Dilbert comic strips. There
must be more to their job than that.
The
Structural Engineers Association
International website provides the following definition
for us:
Structural engineering is the science and art
of designing and making, with economy
and
elegance, buildings, bridges, frameworks and other similar
structures so that
they can
safely resist the forces to which they may be subjected.
An
engineer provides the "backbone" for your building by calculating
and detailing the key structural components. Gravity forces
(i.e. snow on the roof, people walking on the floors, etc.)
and lateral forces (earthquakes
or wind) will act upon your building at some point during
the course of its life. It's the engineer's job to make sure
that it not only withstands these forces, but that it can
do this with a reasonable amount of "economy and elegance".
APA
- The Engineered Wood Association has published a document
entitled Introduction to Lateral Design.
This document is a good reference for becoming acquainted
with gravity and lateral forces, as well as the structural
components of a building that serve to resist these forces.
Adobe's freely available Acrobat Reader is required to view
this document.
Introduction
to Lateral Design
(download
now - 736 KB)
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