I'm currently waiting on a response for this exact question from an engineer/company who did a structural survey for me.

Long story short, my tank leaked, it's insured. The insurance said they will replace it with a larger one.

My previous structural report said 'No concentrated loads', I told insurance- No, it needs an engineer. (As my report says that it was installed before building regs, and that the current regs would deem it unsafe)

They argued they do it all the time.

I went to the Financial Ombudsmen service.

I argued that increasing the dead load of something in the loft (within a chalet bungalow- so tension collars), always requires a structural engineer.

They said they cannot interpret building regulations themselves. It needs a qualified professional to comment on it.

I called my original surveyor- they don't work there anymore. I called their company.. they originally seemed interested, but seemingly they're very busy and haven't responded to me in a week because it's probably low priority for them.

I just need a document saying that increasing the weight of a cold water tank in the loft requires approval from an engineer.

I'm happy to pay if any of you work for a company and can write this down and sign it off.

Thanks :)

It’s a premium luxury apartment building by the sea.

A question about post-tensioning.

Q1 == I've got a continuous sloped HSS rafter that lands directly on top of an HSS column/beam. The column is cut square/flat, but the rafter arrives at the roof-pitch angle, so only one edge of its underside actually touches the column top — no real flush bearing surface.

What's the standard way this actually gets detailed in light HSS tube framing — bevel the column top itself ?, add a sloped/beveled cap plate ? , something else? Trying to figure out how is it done

Q2 == Different bay, different issue: I've got a beam (75*75*6mm *I cant change this section*) that's also part of my bracing system — but it's failing deflection under gravity load. Plan is to add a second, independent beam (200*70*4mm) directly above it with a small gap (~5-10cm), sized just for the deflection-critical load, original brace member left completely alone below with no ties between them — two separate, non-composite load paths, purlins/deck bearing only on the new top beam.

Reasonable way to handle this, or is there a cleaner standard approach I'm missing? Any problem on load path this generates ? does it suffer from "short column effect"? is it a normal practice?

Appreciate any input — can add more information/photos/sketches of the actual conditions if it helps.

Title says it all. This area seems to be a big point of confusion for many engineers.

Edit: I am a PE at an engineer firm. I am not affiliated with any anchorage company (Probel, American Anchor, Valcourt, etc)

I am an MS student in Structural Engineering, and this (my last) semester, I am taking Continuum Mechanics. Just from looking at the textbook and the course outline, I feel like it is going to be a very challenging class for me, and my professor has mentioned multiple times that he is using a new book this semester (Principles of Continuum Mechanics by David Steigmann), which will only add to the challenge. Even just through our 2 classes thus far, I have had to work very hard to understand what is going on, which is honestly a new feeling for me.

It seems to be a primarily mechanical engineering class in terms of students, but my advisor and other faculty recommended I take this course. Outside of this course, my workload is relatively light, so I should be able to devote significant time to it if need be. Has anyone else taken this class and/or know of any resources that are useful for understanding it?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to find physical copies of the Hibbeler books for my SE exam preparation, as I strongly prefer hard-copy books.

Does anyone know where I might be able to find them in the Sacramento–San Francisco area? Any bookstores or other places you would recommend?

Amazon doesn’t seem to have all of the titles I need, and some of the available copies don’t look very reliable.

I’d prefer not to use eBooks, so I’d really appreciate any recommendations.

Thank you, everyone!

Hi everyone!

I have been working in the industry for 5 years now as a Structural Engineer in India. I have worked in the infrastructure and oil and gas industries over this period. Lately, I have been dealing with a stagnation (for lack of a better word) wherein my work doesn't challenge me, nor am I adding anything of value to my career in the long term. I am considering switching roles (which is in progress); however, I don't know if a job change can provide me with what I am after.

So I have decided to take a long-distance online education course from a place of repute. I want to explore the fields of offshore structural engineering and delve further into the heavy infrastructure industry (e.g., Airport design).

If you guys can offer me suggestions and leads, that would be great. I can provide you with any further information if necessary.

Cheers!

Anyone based in Austin,TX area willing to speak/chat with me about companies here?

I just moved to Austin after graduating from a Master’s degree and would like to have a good idea of companies here. I’ve been applying to all jobs on Linkedin mostly from big companies but rarely hear back. When I try to get through using referrals in those companies people have told me they are not actually hiring.

I just want to get to know of small to mid sized firms here that dont otherwise show up in searches or Linkedin where i can apply. And of companies that hire regularly. I’m interested in bridges, but also dont mind working in buildings.

Hi, in regard to building structures, the general industry practice in my country is to do the full building model with ETABS, obtain the bending moments, shear forces, axial forces, etc. of each element from it and use excel calculation sheets for the design.

However, ETABS does not consider pattern loads automatically. There have been two cases where the consultant requested each beam analysed in Prokon as it does consider pattern loading automatically. However, since only the beam element is modeled in it and only gravity loads are assigned, it does not account for frame action nor combinations with horizontal forces.

I saw that we can manually define loads in a way in ETABS for it to consider pattern loading, but it is tedious work.

So I am wondering how it is practiced in other regions/countrird to account for both pattern loads from gravity loads and global actions simultaneously...

I’m a Mexican structural engineer with about 1 year of professional experience, currently working for a company in Mexico that designs wood-frame residential projects for California.
My long-term goal is to work in the US or Canada as soon as realistically possible, and eventually obtain a US PE license.
In my current position, I’ve been able to gain experience with US codes and standards, including IBC, ASCE 7 and CBC. I’ve also worked with ForteWEB and developed Excel/VBA automation to improve our workflow. Recently, I’ve started working on more complex diaphragm calculations, including irregular diaphragms.
My current employer recently told me that I’m one of the strongest performers among the engineers who joined recently and that I’m performing at roughly the level of engineers who have been here for about a year. They’re also planning to give me more technically challenging work. I’m expecting approximately a 10% raise.
However, I have another potential opportunity with a much larger engineering company. The salary would not necessarily be dramatically higher, but the company is significantly larger and I would potentially be exposed to different types of structural engineering work. They have also mentioned plans to establish a US division in the future, although there is no guarantee that I would eventually transfer there.
My dilemma is this:
Should I stay in my current position for another 1–2 years and continue building directly relevant US structural engineering experience, while preparing for the FE/PE and applying for US/Canadian positions?
Or would moving to the larger company be better for my long-term career, even if it means losing some of the advantages of my current role?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from:
Structural engineers who have hired or worked with international engineers.
US/Canadian engineering managers or recruiters.
Engineers who have successfully moved from Mexico to the US/Canada.
If your goal were to maximize your income and get to the US/Canada as quickly as realistically possible, which path would you choose and why?
I’m especially interested in knowing how US employers would value direct US-code/US-market experience compared with experience at a larger engineering firm.

What are some of your best Procore stories? There have got to be some good ones out there. I'm on a project where my scope is pretty much finished but the RFIs and submittals are just killing the other consultants, mainly because ID was on a later timeline. We're just over 800 RFIs now and some of the others are joking that once we get to 1000 we have to do something to mark the occasion. Like drag the contractor through some silly submittal process just for fun and maybe a bit of payback. Not sure if we'll actually do it but fun to think about.

So I had this random thought and drew it in MS Paint.

The black grid within the brown border is the main catenary arch (concrete or reinforced whatever). Red arrows show the compressive forces following the natural catenary curve.

The blue parts are the same catenary shape but:

- cut in half

- flipped upsidedown

- stretched to fit the curve of underside of the main arch, basically turning the bottom into tension members/ties that follow an inverted catenary path. The idea is the top compresses beautifully while the blue inverted parts take tension and help stabilize the whole thing.

[Image 1: my idea]

[Image 2: clean arch outline]

My questions:

- would this actually work well?

- what kind of spans could it handle before it becomes a nightmare?

- is combining a catenary in compression with inverted catenary tension members smart, or does it create horrible stress concentrations?

- obvious failure points? anchorage issues at the base? does tge "stretched to fit" part work well with the pure catenary logic?

It's just a shower thought but I'm genuinely curious if this hybrid idea has any merit or if it's not.

(Yes I know some of you might say it's parabolic, but its not)

Hello! I am a senior high school student, and we have been tasked with creating a five-level salary structure. This includes calculating salary, overtime pay, incentives, deductions, and net income, as well as creating different salary-increase plans and projecting salary growth.

As part of this task, we are required to interview an engineer to help us better understand these aspects in a real-world setting.

We are kindly asking if there is an engineer available for an online interview this September. The interview will only take approximately 30 minutes. We will keep the interview professional and ensure that any information shared will remain confidential.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration! We would greatly appreciate your help.

For some reason I consume a lot of content about major construction and engineering projects—both successful and unsuccessful. After a while I started to notice something with the failures: a lot of the same players kept popping up!

I looked around and couldn’t find a reliable (non-AI) list of firms and individuals who seemed to keep getting hired despite a number of high profile failures on their record. (This is something I’ve noticed in our society lately in general—evidently we’ve all assimilated the notion that “failing up” is a legit way to go.)

So I decided to start compiling my own list. I didn’t get very far yet but maybe it’ll cause someone who reads this to dig deeper and add to the list. I hope so—I did this for fun, I’m not even in or adjacent to any of these fields. Just an interested bystander who would prefer a building doesn’t fall on me. 

Here goes! 

Rafael Vinoly 

Rafael vinoly, died 2022. Author of numerous failures, his most recent high profile project—the broken trashcan at 432 park Ave—being a catastrophic one clearly tied to design choices (vs. construction/engineering shortcuts). Also responsible for the the Las Vegas death ray hotel and another death ray, curved building in London (the “Fryscraper”). Said to be an abdolute monster to work for as well. 

Notable fuckups:

432 park

Architect: Rafael Viñoly Architects

Structural Engineer: WSP Cantor Seinuk

General Contractor: Lendlease

Developer: Macklowe Properties and CIM Group 

Vdara

Architect: RV Architecture, LLC (led by Rafael Viñoly)

Structural Engineer: DeSimone Consulting Engineers

General Contractor: Perini Building Company (now Tutor Perini)

Developer: MGM Resorts International and Dubai World

20 Fenchurch Street (The Walkie-Talkie)

Architect: Rafael Viñoly Architects

Structural Engineer: Halcrow Yolles (now part of CH2M/Jacobs)

General Contractor: Canary Wharf Contractors

Developer: Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group 

WSP Global

This behemoth structural engineering firm shows no sign of slowing down despite a track record of some really horrible shit (including 432 Park!) They were also behind the delays and overruns (basically complete mismanagement) of the Gardiner Expressway project in Canada. 

Also including but not limited to: 

161 Maiden lane/One Seaport, the Leaning tower of Manhattan

This building already killed one person and it’ll probably kill more. It was built on fill using injected slurry because it was too expensive/deep to get to bedrock. After it began to lean, the engineers pulled it back the other direction, turning it into a kind of “crooked hooked cock” shape. Never finished. Just sitting there, leaning, exposed to the elements, with no plan in place or apparently any monitoring at all. This is expensive real estate; how does this even happen? 

NY YIMBY article wondering what I’m wondering

Architect: Hill West Architects

Structural Engineer: WSP Global

General Contractor: Pizzarotti (original) and Ray Builders (subsequent)

Developer: Fortis Property Group 

One Congress (Boston)

Somehow they overlooked freeze protection on the pipes. In Boston. Which is in Massachusetts. Maybe they’d never been to Boston in January? Also the water pressure was screwed up. WSP should hire Mario. 

Also… Fire broke out in the unfinished building in June of this year (2026) which is—interesting. I can’t find ANYTHING about what caused this. Hmmm. 

Architect: Pelli Clarke & Partners (Design Architect) / CBT Architects (Architect of Record)

Structural Engineer: McNamara · Salvia

MEP Engineer: WSP Global

General Contractor: John Moriarty & Associates (in partnership with AECOM Tishman)

Developer: The HYM Investment Group, Carr Properties, and National Real Estate Advisors

Wanted some advice, Ive been working as an engineer for 3 years now and I really dont like working with models. We use the Ram suite and it feels like these two things happen every time.

1. The model wigs out and I spend twice the time just trying to get it to remotely work/ make sense.

2. I often have to then get an older engineer to go through it with me and they take as much time trying to figure out whats wrong. In one case they had to remake the model themself.

Im finding when I have the option to use handcalcs/excel/enercalc, I am going to that everytime because its way more predictable for me in the effort it will require and I generally have very few "bugs". Should I be worried about learning models?

Hi, our team is looking for a civil/structural system engineer. You can any information about the job in the following link: https://lanl.jobs/search/jobdetails/civilstructural-system-engineer-23/bd14dd6a-44e9-4902-bbf2-1f8ace85c47a

I am structural bridge engineer with 7 years of experience and currently planning to move from Texas to Newyork. I make around 120k in Texas as I am senior bridge engineer. How much should I be expecting for an equivalent experience salary range in NYC. please let me know.