Hi Jane,
Your project and your communication is the best process for collaboration practice among architect and engineers.
1. Seismic evaluation, I think it is the necessity of the international building code comply evaluation, no matter building is not in specific zone.
2. The building is Federal or private property, owner for the people protection would be in safer side of humanity protection to assure the IBC apply for future complication.
3. I think in Canada or any place in the globe first rule of law is humane and living system safety. The architects, engineers, construction contractors, ....are responsible to design and build infrastructure facilities securing life of humane protection from any unknown man made or naturals disasters.
4. I do respect to your opinion, but I think in 21st century building of 150 years, can stand for another 50 years, is too far for assumption.
5. Best challenging project for discussion.
Please, ensure to verify soil engineers takes a sample for analysis for the environment impact. In the region. It seems that owner and client are able to have soil engineer on board.
I appreciate your attention, I will review your given information for further study.
Thank you
Soussan Bathaee M.ASCE-SEI
Sent from my iPad
Original Message------
Thank you everybody who responded. I was reading every mail with great interest.
The sketches were attached because the question was in general. Is wall-to-floor connections require by default?
The building is 3 stories high. Plan dimensions are 145'x63'. Height is 43'. Exterior walls are 2' to 3' thick stone masonry. Interior walls are wood structure. Floor slabs are wood structure. Floor slabs and roof structure have simple supports on the walls. Supports are spaced at approximately 10'. No anchorage at beam supports exists.
The scope of job did not include seismic evaluation of the building. The seismic activity in the region is low. Occupancy – offices.
There is no significant structural damage to any structural elements. Exterior walls deteriorated due to weather and aging.
No code existed at the time of the construction.
In Canada, we do not have any code on existing buildings. In USA, you have International Existing Building Code.
Our opinion on necessity of floor-to-wall and roof-to-wall connection was presented at each meeting with the client and owner. Our opinion was also included in the report.
The owner accepted exterior wall rebuilding. The owner refused to accept structural drawings showing slabs-to-wall connections.
On the owner request we prepared list of codes that require wall-to-slab connection. But all these codes are valid only for new construction.
According to IEBC 2015, the wall rebuilding shall be treated as "Repair". It means that no reinforcement of the structural members or connections are required.
We agreed to remove wall-to-slab connections but asked the owner to send us letter saying that the owner will accept full responsibility for this decision.
Discussion with authority is not the option. The building is federal property and the owner does not have obligation to follow national or provincial codes. The federal standards are focused mostly on preservation of historical value by means of minimal interventions.
The conclusion is that at this time in North America there is no official requirement to connect walls to floor and roof slabs for existing building if building does not have structural damage. I am talking about buildings where seismic evaluation is not required by owner.
It is our team opinion that wall-to-floor connection is a must for the buildings even if seismic evaluation is not required by the owner. In this case the only our tool is rhetoric.
The building survived for 150 years. Does it mean that the building will survive the next 50 years?
How predictable is behavior of the existing buildings where walls rely on their thickness and mass?
Best regards,
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Jane Krisanova Aff.M.ASCE
Senior Structural Engineer
Ojdrovic Engineering Inc
Toronto ON
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