WHY YOU SHOULD CALL US NOW

Why Home Buyers/Sellers/Realtors should Call us:

We aim to accommodate your schedule promptly, often within 24 hours or one day. I personally make an effort to answer all calls, or if missed, return them promptly. Our goal is to thoroughly understand your needs and guide you to the next steps, whether that involves scheduling an on-site evaluation or providing recommendations for your situation.

We pride ourselves on being highly responsive to your inquiries, whether through phone calls, text messages, or emails.

When you choose us, a licensed and registered professional engineer will visit your property. During this visit, we will carefully assess and discuss your concerns. If desired, we can provide recommendations both verbally and in a formal report format. Our approach involves offering concise, professional opinions based on visual evidence, supported by code references where applicable, and informed engineering judgments. Our aim is to empower you with the information needed to make well-informed decisions.

We recognize that buying or selling a property can be a stressful process. Therefore, we are more than happy to address all your concerns during our visit to the property. We take pride in educating our customers about how their structure is designed to transfer loads from the roof down to the foundation. Additionally, when feasible, we point out areas where minor improvements or maintenance can potentially save you from future expenses, drawing from our wealth of experience.

As a locally owned and operated small business situated in the heart of Pittsburgh, we bring extensive experience in Structural Engineering since 2005. Our founder holds both a Bachelor's and Master's of Science in Civil/Structural Engineering.

Our services encompass a wide range of offerings, including structural repair drawings for your rehabilitation projects, evaluation and removal of load-bearing walls with stamped drawings upon request, foundation reinforcements, comprehensive evaluations, and more. Additionally, we provide site plans and permit drawings to fulfill your local zoning needs and permitting requirements.

We serve the entire state of Pennsylvania, and our rates are flexible to accommodate travel time. Feel free to reach out to us to inquire if we can expedite our visit to your property compared to your local engineering firm.

For further information or to get in touch:

Email: info@pittdes.com Phone: 724-949-0004

Written by Firas Abdelahad, P.E.

Firas Abdelahad has been a practicing structural engineer since 2005, collaborating with a diverse range of professionals, including consultants, architects, investors, homeowners, contractors, and subcontractors. Together, they tackle the various challenges that can arise during the design and construction phases of projects.

The information and statements in this document are for information purposes only and do not comprise the professional advice of the author or create a professional relationship between reader and author.

Snow loads on Roofs

With winter storm warning into effect for our region, it is important to bring to your attention the potential snow loads impact on roof structures.

Snow on Roof

Snow load on roof

Snow loads on roofs can vary by state, location (depends on topographic factors), elevations, ground snow load, insulation, roofing materials, pitch and many other directly or indirectly related factors like drifting, wind, etc.

Pictures below from FEMA document “snow load Safety Guide”

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/7d8c55d1c4f815edf3d7e7d1c120383f/FEMA957_Snowload_508.pdf

Figure 1a

Figure 1b

It is important for homeowners and/or property managers to develop a routine maintenance plan to inspect their roof structure after a heavy snow fall especially for older structures or If your structure was renovated or you know that it had structural elements upgraded, replaced and or changed with no permits or stamped drawings to document that the modification was reviewed by a licensed engineer.

Potential issue:

We have seen a fair share of modification to roof structure to convert a conventional roof structure (rafters and joists) to a cathedral ceiling style with no proper reinforcement to reduce the thrust on side walls. Heavy snow fall will put these kinds of modification to test when roof will experience heavier load, hence some cracks may start developing as a result of the improper modification to the roof structure.

Local Snow Requirement for City of Pittsburgh:

City of Pittsburgh modified/amended code requirement for ground snow load to be 30 pound per square foot.

When calculating flat roof snow load following ASCE7-10 formulas, tables to select exposure factor Ce, thermal factor Ct, importance factor Is:

Pf=0.7*Ce*Ct*Is*Pg= 0.7*1*1*1*30=21 psf (pound per square foot)

Snow load on sloped roof, Ps, will be a factor of the flat roof snow: Ps=Cs*Pf

Roof slope factor, Cs, values can be determined from Sections 7.4.1-7.4.4 (ASCE7-10) for warm, cold, curved and multiple roofs.

It is important to bring to your attention Partial Loading, unbalanced roof snow loads, drifts on lower roofs, roof projections and parapets, rain on snow surcharge as other effects as explained in ASCE7-10

Please consult with your structural engineer for more information and clarification. This document is not intended to summarize the section of the code/standard (IBC2015/ASCE7-10) nor it is sufficient to use to complete your own snow load calculations without referring to the referenced documents and having it reviewed a licensed engineer.

Pittsburgh Design & Engineering Services LLC can assist you with your snow load calculations or any other structural engineering needs at your request.

#structuralengineer #snowload #roofstructure #realestate #pittsburgh

Written by Firas Abdelahad, P.E.

Firas Abdelahad has been a practicing structural engineer since 2005, collaborating with a diverse range of professionals, including consultants, architects, investors, homeowners, contractors, and subcontractors. Together, they tackle the various challenges that can arise during the design and construction phases of projects.

The information and statements in this document are for information purposes only and do not comprise the professional advice of the author or create a professional relationship between reader and author.

Please note that as code changes some information may not be current on this post.

Structural Deficiencies (I)

This post is intended to show some of the deficiencies that I either experienced first hand or noticed on the social media when posted by others.

Improper splice & support:

In this picture below, unfortunately many elements were either not installed correctly or modified improperly; beam was spliced inches away from the support, also the post isn’t supported properly at its base. A post needs to be supported by a footer that is sized to its load and designed to meet code requirement.

Improperly supported post

Post/Temporary post supported on Slab:

In the pictures below, a perfect example of what would/could potentially happens when a post is supported on concrete slab without distributing the stress properly and/or when it isn't resting/supported by a footer that is designed for its load. I am certain that many of us have seen few of these posts (steel jack/telescopic posts) in their basement, a family or a friend basement at some point. They tend to be very tempting as quick solution for a floor sag but unfortunately many of these posts are not installed correctly also not supported correctly as you can see.

The high concentration in loads will cause the post base to punch through the Slab.

missing footing

Improperly supported post

Post punching thru floor

Post punching thru floor

Improperly support beam

Improperly reinforced foundation block wall:

In the picture below you will see how the I beam improperly attached at its upper end. which will lead to a question isn’t properly attached at the base ? The I beam is leaning as the wall is still pushing inward. a reinforcement that the home owner paid to do and unfortunately will have to pay again to correct.

Consulting with the right qualified structural engineer can save you a lot of money and more importantly time.

I beam- foundation reinforcement

I guess a garage door track was more important than the structural integrity of the steel beam and concrete floor:

In the picture below you will see what rust can do when left untreated, you will also see how an I beam was cut for a garage door track be installed.

More Structural issues

the 2 pictures below show how an improperly supported beam can react and essentially fail under design load. Load bearing beams need to be supported properly at splices also properly for their size, load and span.

Crawl space beam

Crawl space beam

Written by Firas Abdelahad, P.E.

Firas Abdelahad has been a practicing structural engineer since 2005, collaborating with a diverse range of professionals, including consultants, architects, investors, homeowners, contractors, and subcontractors. Together, they tackle the various challenges that can arise during the design and construction phases of projects.

The information and statements in this document are for information purposes only and do not comprise the professional advice of the author or create a professional relationship between reader and author.