How to Prepare Residential Structural Calculations Deliverables?

About this event

If you feel like you’re overwhelmed by the approval process for residential house construction, you’re not alone.

Preparing structural design calculations, making sure your design complies with different building codes, and responding to requests for information from your city’s planning department can be a maze-like process that takes months to complete.

If you’re nodding along, we have a treat for you! Join ClearCalcs expert, Matt Ward, founder and Principal Engineer of California-based Ward Engineering at the next ClearCalcs Learn Hour on Wednesday, 16 November 2022, from 1 pm to 2 pm Eastern Time (ET) to learn more about how you can effectively prepare your residential structural calculations deliverables for permit review and approval.

Since founding Ward Engineering, LLC in 2016, Matt has grown his civil engineering business and delivered more than 100 residential and commercial projects in California. The company prides itself on its quality engineering services, often referred to externally by the building department due to its thorough structural calculations package.

“[in this project], we didn't get a single comment from the building department, which is pretty unheard of with other people.” - Matt’s own words during his recent case study interview with ClearCalcs.

Curious to learn Matt’s secrets to preparing a thorough structural design calculations package that has been designed, approved, and permitted, effectively and efficiently with the help of ClearCalcs? Register now!

In this webinar, we will cover:

• General overview of residential structural calculations deliverables such as structural calculations and braced wall plans
• Essential components of structural design calculations such as project background, loads information including wind and seismic, and beams & columns design with ClearCalcs.

Webinar Summary

The ClearCalcs webinar hosted by Connor Conzelman featured a presentation by Matt Ward, PE on how to prepare residential structural calculations deliverables. The presentation focused on the Juniper house, a single-family residence that Ward Engineering did the engineering for. The goal was to teach attendees how to prepare a structural calculations package and a braced wall plan within 45 minutes.

Ward explains his philosophy when doing structural calculations, which involves starting with templates and letting them guide the process, as well as the importance of being able to easily delete sections. He then shows examples of the Microsoft Word and Excel templates he uses, before running through the 30-page structural calculations package for the Juniper house, which includes lateral and gravity information, Bracewell panel design information, and analysis of beams.

Ward explains the four steps he uses to determine seismic design category and create a Bracewell plan for lateral design, including using an online tool to determine SDS value, referencing the California Residential Code to determine seismic design category, and following specific rules when creating the Bracewell plan. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the code and regulations for different categories and notes that the maximum spacing between brace wall lines cannot exceed 60 feet.

Ward continues to explain the four rules for creating a Bracewell plan, including maximum panel distance from the end of a braced wall and satisfying minimum bracing lengths. He then demonstrates how to create baseball calculations using an Excel template, which involves inputting required bracing and adjusting factors to determine the total required bracing length.

Ward then shows the Bracewell wall plan for the Juniper house, explaining how he met his bracing check and other requirements such as having a panel within 10 feet of the beginning and end, and no gaps of more than 20 feet. He emphasizes the benefits of using a Bracewell plan over a share wall plan, including easier calculations and lower costs. Ward then moves on to discussing gravity load design, starting with listing the loads and identifying the girder trusses, which he considers to be like "super trusses."

In this segment, Ward explains how to identify and analyze the girder trusses and beams in the Juniper house using an Excel spreadsheet and ClearCalcs. He emphasizes the importance of discretion when selecting which beams to analyze and recommends beginners use ClearCalcs to size posts and footings.

In this segment, Matt Ward explains that while officials do not require a calculation for every beam in a structure, every beam must be accounted for by default. He demonstrates how he uses ClearCalcs to analyze two beams that provide justification for the rest of the house and shows how he names each beam with detailed information to make it easier for the plant checker to understand.

Ward proceeds to demonstrate how to insert ClearCalcs beam reactions and post sizes into an Excel table, which will populate the footing size. He also mentions the importance of using consistent grades and sizes of beams to eliminate multiple calculations. Additionally, he agrees that a load linking feature in ClearCalcs would be useful for users.

Ward proceeds to demonstrate how to link the load reactions from the beam to the column and then to the footing in ClearCalcs, as well as inputting lateral distributed loads for the column. He also notes that ClearCalcs has preprogrammed criteria built-in based on how the column will be used, such as the deflection limit.

Ward then discusses the features of ClearCalcs, including the member selector and load manipulation tool, which allows for easy adjustment of loads to reflect real-life conditions. He also highlights the importance of using the California Residential Code's table 602.3.1 for connections and demonstrates how ClearCalcs can automatically calculate reactions from columns to footings.

In this segment, Matt Ward discusses the features he likes in ClearCalcs, including the ability to optimize beam designs and the simple traffic light indicators. He also explains the subcategories for beams and columns, which make it easier to select inputs specific to the application. Ward emphasizes the usefulness of load linking and auto-updating of load-linked items, which allows users to quickly see if something else will fail based on loading changes.

During the Q&A portion of the ClearCalcs webinar, a question was asked about the differences between the California Residential Code and the International Building Code. While they are derived from the same codes, it is important to use engineering judgment and compare them side by side to ensure compliance with regulations. The webinar also announced a "Built with ClearCalcs" photo challenge to showcase what users have been building with the software.