This month, we’re excited to introduce a new Concrete Wall Calculator to AS 3600:2018, helping you streamline reinforced concrete wall design, plus a new design guide for timber nail connections, comparing manual calculations to ClearCalcs for more efficient results.

Wall Design

New: Concrete Wall Calculator to AS 3600:2018

Reinforced concrete walls play a crucial role in load-bearing structures, shear resistance, and fire separation. Ensuring compliance with AS 3600:2018 manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors, especially when balancing axial, shear, and bending loads.

The ClearCalcs Concrete Wall Calculator automates key design checks, reducing the need for manual calculations and helping you design faster with full transparency.

How the calculator helps you:

• The calculator automatically determines whether to use the simplified method or column design method per AS 3600:2018 Section 10.
• You can quickly define bar sizes, spacing, and mesh layouts while ensuring compliance with AS 3600’s minimum steel areas and detailing rules.
• Automate compliance with Clause 11.6, checking in-plane shear capacity against code limits.

This calculator is built for load-bearing walls in multi-story buildings, ensuring vertical loads are safely transferred to the foundation. It’s ideal for shear walls in high-wind and seismic zones, preventing excessive movement and structural failure. Engineers can also use it for retaining walls in basements and sloped sites, ensuring stability against soil pressure.

🎥 Watch the walkthrough

Connection Design

Timber Nail Connection Design: Manual vs. Automated Approach

Timber nail connections are a simple but essential part of structural engineering. While hand calculations work, they can be time-consuming and may lead to overdesign or inefficiencies. Our latest design guide compares manual calculations vs. the ClearCalcs Timber Nail Calculator, showing how automation can improve efficiency, accuracy, and cost savings.

What you’ll learn:

• How manual calculations determine nail capacity and spacing under AS 1720.1.
• How ClearCalcs automates the process, making it easier to explore multiple design options in minutes.
• Why automation leads to better results, reducing material costs and improving design efficiency.

📖 Read the full guide

Take Action

Engineered Wood Products in Australian Projects

📅 Monday, March 24, 2025 | 1:00 PM AEST

Choosing the right engineered wood products (EWP) can be a challenge—what span tables should you use? How do you factor in durability?

Join Tom Rickerby, National Technical Manager at Wesbeam, as he breaks down when and how to specify LVL and other EWP in Australian structural projects.

📌 Save your spot

That’s all for this month! Have feedback on these updates or ideas for new features? Join the conversation in the Blueprint forum—we’d love to hear from you.