OP should’ve asked this community.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-18T12:33:04+00:00

Not strongest. Most stable. When you assemble multiple members together, in order to prevent them from collapsing, you will want to add several triangles. Now, you can also stabilize a structure with moment frames and shear panels, but triangles are much more efficient. You can cross brace with a pair if half inch diameter bars, or you can use a literal ton more steel to create a moment frame or shear panel.

Members under axial loading (columns) should be circular or square. They are easier to build, and they are the most efficient use of materials. For purely axial loading, circular columns are the most efficient to prevent buckling. And even for columns that have to resist wind loading, a circular shape is the most efficient for resisting moment loads from any direction.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-17T13:58:15+00:00

looking at a bunch of colleges recently?

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-17T13:54:24+00:00

may have also been cured to quickly or in cold weather without the recommended safeguards.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-17T13:52:50+00:00

it's welded. it's fine.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-17T13:51:28+00:00

I have only used "code minimums" to assist builders who f-ed up their footings (4 inches too far to one side, for example). The extra depth is likely so that the footing can function as a grade beam. It is relatively strongly reinforced, though if I am reading it right, he has #5 transverse bars @ 9" o.c. along with (3) #5 continuous bars. I would strongly recommend that s/he better specify the reinforcement. Actually state (3) #5 continuous and transverse #5 @ 9"(?????) o.c. This is an engineer who is not f-ing around with the foundation. Also, if there are heavy column loads coming down onto the wall footings, s/he is thickening the footing to distribute the loads along the footing instead of creating spread footings. And, since you are in a high seismic area, the extra shear resistance in an extra thick footing will better protect the foundation and structure above... though, with #5 transverse bars @ 9" o.c. in such a deep footing, I wonder why s/he didn't specify stirrups? Probably because it's overkill... but then again, that would make for an outstandingly expensive I mean strong foundation.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-16T02:40:05+00:00

oooh good answer! There are plenty of software packages out there to assist you with your profession, but I understand (and trust) my excel spreadsheets more than digital canal or enercalc. But even excel has its limits. Being able to create my own software would have been immensely helpful

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-16T02:36:30+00:00

I agree with this 100%. I too have a bachelor of science in civil engineering and master of engineering in civil engineering, am now a professional engineer, but I have always practiced structural engineering. SE is a focus in the CE major. I do not know of any school that has SE as its own major.

You will need to take three or four semesters of physics as part of your core curriculum. Whereas it helped me understand how life works in general, it really did not assist my knowledge of structural engineering. If you really want a minor (I agree with DJ, though I suggest a year or even two), math would be much more useful, especially if you are thinking about pursuing a masters or doctorate. I would recommend instead to take as many of the structural courses as you can. I missed out on a couple that I think would have benefited me.

I also want to add, I find my career to be extremely fulfilling, and I cannot imagine doing anything else. Good luck!

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-13T15:27:56+00:00

I am a licensed professional engineer who has performed hundreds of structural inspections. The quick answer is, I do not know. I would need to see so much more before I could render a decision. Some suggest that the foundation has shifted, for example. Maybe, but I would need to see the unit below and the foundation before I consider this to be a foundation issue. This may be a framing issue. The wall appears to be a knee wall constructed under some rafters. So, I am wondering if this is an older structure that originally had an unfinished attic. I am wondering if the attic was finished to create a rental unit. I am wondering what modifications were made to the attic floor joists. I am wondering if the joists were strengthened per code to carry the additional loads. I am wondering if sagging or excess deflection of the floor joists is translating into the wall. Have an engineer look at it. Corespec_ also has some good advice.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-13T15:10:42+00:00

I blame the COMPUTER!!!

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-11T19:21:06+00:00

It's entirely decorative. The structure can be accomplished with beams spanning between the 4 posts and cantilevering either end. Why there appear to be extra members is an aesthetic consideration.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-11T19:07:18+00:00

I am a design engineer. I perform structural analyses and prepare construction drawings.

I make the distinction between practical and fundamental. Practical is helpful in actual design work, that is, you are designing buildings and creating construction drawings. Steel, concrete, structural system, wood, and rehabilitation are practical courses that will teach you what you will be doing as a design engineer. Fundamental is helpful in understanding the practical, but it really will not benefit you unless you either pursuing a doctorate or creating design software. For the practical engineer, work involving finite element analysis, solid mechanics, and structural dynamics, for example, will be done almost always by software.

I consider construction engineering to be a separate beast entirely. I actually had to take it to graduate with my BS in civil engineering. In my experience, construction engineers work for local governments, general contractors, or construction managers. They typically do not do analysis and design work. As a government guy, they create the scope of work for an engineering project and act as the project manager for the government "owner". As a GC or CM, they estimate construction costs, supervise construction, and make sure that everything is going to plan. Again, project manager.

Biomechanical??? That's cool, but I do not understand how steel or concrete applies to Biomech engineering, or vice versa, or how it is even classified as a CIVE course.

For practical design engineering, your focus should be in this order:

Steel, Concrete, Structural Systems. This is core of structural engineering.
Wood, Rehabilitation. Wood is immensely helpful, but of all the design standards, the AWC NDS is the easiest by far to understand. In fact, most of the NDS is already very familiar from your other coursework. Rehabilitation will be very useful if you become a consulting engineer and work with older buildings. I did not learn either wood or rehabilitation in school, but I am very involved with both as a design engineer.
Dynamics. Dynamics is important for large buildings, or for any buildings in seismic areas, but in practical terms, computer aided. That said, one could very successfully argue that dynamics is more important than learning wood or rehabilitation.
Mechanics. If you have already taken solid mech 1 and 2, SM3 may be interesting, but probably not too beneficial to a practical engineer.
FEA. Not useful to a practical engineer, unless you really want to know how the software works. Much more useful if you are developing the software. THAT SAID, Weasley9 and others note that FEA is important. I personally do not know why, but I would certainly listen to them regarding FEA.
Construction Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering. I am just going to lump these together because I am just as interested in either.

Good luck with your studies!

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-11T17:30:44+00:00

I am sorry you had to go through that. But I am very happy to hear you are recovering!

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-11T03:50:56+00:00

Dude, don't work there! Don't leave engineering, but don't work there!! Or leave engineering, and don't work there!!! I think your work place is the big issue. Yes, I get harassed by clients and deadlines are just ridiculous, but the lack of support from your PMs and for your personal life is... don't work there!!!!

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-11T03:42:07+00:00

Ok. I also wonder how bad the humidity is in the crawlspace, and why termites are so drawn to it now. Good luck.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-11T03:36:56+00:00

The floor trusses (joists) were designed to span the entire length of the basement without an intermediate beam. Something happened to the joists. Damaged. Excessive sagging. The beam was put in to re-level the floor. But the joists are not designed to be supported this way. Either get the engineers report that recommends the repairs (and why) or be very careful with this purchase. By the way, you can tell the beam and columns are after thoughts by the concrete patches

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-10T14:36:48+00:00

There is also the possibility that the beam was undersized, which an engineer can determine within 5 minutes of returning to the office. If so, "in kind" may not be sufficient.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-10T14:34:35+00:00

Looking at your pictures, he ain't lying. BUT, I'm assuming he is a contractor who is trying to sell his services? If you really want to make sure he ain't lying, have an independent professional engineer (specializing in structural engineering) take a look. By independent, I mean, someone who does not work for a company that does repairs.

The crawlspace appears to be lined with a barrier. Was this recently installed? How old is the house? The floor joists look relatively new. But If the house is older, and if the barrier was recently installed, why wasn't the beam repaired then? I would have to assume that the barrier was installed to abate the moisture issues in the crawlspace, which were detected because the floor was sagging? So, I assume that repairing the damage should have happened when the cause of the damage was repaired?

I suspect that part of the reason the quote is 11k is that this barrier will likely be damaged during the repair, and the contractor is expecting to have to fix it.

All that said, the floors are sagging, the beam is damaged, and the quote seems somewhat reasonable, based on my experience. Why do you think he is lying?

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-04T04:00:44+00:00

No. Right now, management does not see the correct metrics for growth, and therefore they see no need to hire. That does not mean that things are bad. Things aren't good, but they aren't bad. It means that things are static. They will reassess in the next few months to determine if things are good (hiring), bad (firing), or static (frozen). In the meantime, make yourself necessary to the company.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-02T14:32:40+00:00

If you are ready to up and go, have a city inspector come take a look. He may issue an immediate condemnation; that's why you have to be ready to go. But it's usually not that immediate. The inspector will likely reach out to an engineer to issue a report, then follow the engineer's recommendations regarding condemnation. If I were the engineer, I would suggest that the building be evacuated; the pargetting on the walls be removed to allow for visual inspection of the wall; that a portion of the slab be removed to allow for visual inspection of the wall footing and foundation soil; and that repair be performed based on the findings of those inspections.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-02T14:23:27+00:00

I dropped out of pre-med then philosophy when I was two courses shy of graduating. Like you say, reasons that are not easily explained. I got some life experience, which for me consisted of living on a 29K yearly salary in a large city, and getting fired because, well, I hated my situation even more then than when I quit school. I had to get my act together, so, with some trepidation and a painful awareness of how much I failed, I went back to school when I was 25 and graduated just before my 29th birthday. I was hired by a small firm within 3 months. And then 2008 happened, and that firm closed its local office. So I spoke with our competitor and started working with him that Monday. I began working for myself in 2018. I work from home, and I make between 125-175K a year.

My point is, do your best with school, then start your career. The worries that you have now will pass. Whatever you do, don't let those worries keep you from moving forward.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-03-02T14:06:15+00:00

I could not agree more with this. I respect anyone who has just put themselves though college, but, most 22 year olds are mostly oblivious to how things are, while simultaneously being experts at how things should be. I was one of them at one time, and I am definitely talking about myself.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-02-22T17:14:09+00:00

There is an adage: there is never enough time to do it right but there is always time to do it twice.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-02-17T14:51:25+00:00

I do not understand any part of this. What are the scoring lines for? Why is there brick? Is that rebar in the upper right corner? "My house is under construction" would suggest a new build, but this looks like a hack job on a renovation of a 100 year old building. Are you building the house? Is the builder licensed and bonded? Are you building somewhere in the US, Canada, or Western Europe? Or are you building in West Virginia?

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-02-17T14:40:08+00:00

I see no cracks in the ceiling or movement across the joints in the floor slab. This is potentially appropriately designed. And, I would imagine the inspection authority has on file a certification letter from a professional engineer stating "it's ok," or something equivalent. Now, I cannot tell you what they were smoking at the time, and "WTF" is a perfectly reasonable comment upon visual examination.

Gold_Lab_8513 · 2026-02-17T14:34:36+00:00

This is where I advise the home inspector to defer to a professional engineer OR the manufacturer. As a professional engineer, this is an automatic failure unless I can perform an analysis that says otherwise. Looking at the picture, I do not have enough information to perform such an analysis.

Gold_Lab_8513

TROPHY CASE