Standards · Design principles · Practical applications · Unpacking the Key Wind Design Changes in NBCC 2020

Another code cycle, another round of changes to get our heads around. Just when you think you’ve got your spreadsheets perfected, the new National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) lands on your desk. While the 2020 edition brought updates across the board, the wind load provisions in Subsection 4.1.7. have some particularly noteworthy changes that are already impacting our designs.

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Standards · Design principles · Practical applications · A Structural Engineer’s Guide to the Journey of Snow

The first heavy, wet snow of the season is plastering everything in sight, and you get that familiar call from an architect: “We’re looking at a large, flat roof on this new project. What kind of snow load do we need?”

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Standards · Design principles · Practical applications · Industry insights · A Practical Guide to NBCC 2020 Snow Loads on Modern Roofs

Solar panels, architectural sunshades, and complex multi-level rooflines are no longer the exception; they’re the norm in modern Canadian building design. While they score points for energy efficiency and visual appeal, they also create a minefield of unexpected snow and ice loads for structural engineers.

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Standards · Design principles · Practical applications · 5 Live Load Nuances in the NBCC Commentary

You’re finalizing a set of drawings, cross-checking load cases against the National Building Code, and wondering if you’ve caught every little detail. The NBCC is a dense document, and its companion, the Structural Commentaries, is packed with the “why” behind the rules. It’s in those commentaries that we find the nuances that can make or break a design, or at least save us a headache during a plan check.

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Practical applications · A Practical Guide to Seismic Flexible Retaining Wall Design

So, you’ve just been handed a project with a decently sized retaining wall, and it’s in a location with some seismic kick. Immediately, you know that your standard static analysis isn’t going to cut it. The response of a retaining wall to seismic loading is a complex soil-structure interaction problem, and figuring out the right approach can be daunting. This is a classic example of where we move beyond simplified prescriptive rules and into the world of engineered precision using Part 4 principles.

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Standards · Design principles · Materials · Industry insights · Professional development · Practical applications · Navigating Wind & Snow Loads in Part 4 vs. Part 9

Canadian projects see everything from heavy snowfalls to strong winds, so our designs constantly have to stand up to the elements. The National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) gives us the rulebook, but how we apply those rules can differ significantly, especially when we’re talking about Part 4 (Structural Design) versus Part 9 (Housing and Small Buildings).

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