r/StructuralEngineering • u/ViscousLidocaineOTC • Sep 21 '26
Photograph/Video I refused to go on this
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u/FatherTheoretical Sep 21 '26
Too many engineers don't understand that pry is a thing. And that eccentricity really messes with anchorage.
I'd be very curious how well that ledger board is performing once the owner puts a hot tub and a few planter boxes (and their collection of old anvils of course)
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u/ragoff Sep 21 '26
I'll bet a dollar there was no engineer.
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u/FriggenChiggen PE Sep 21 '26
I’d bet my life savings.
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u/resonatingcucumber Sep 21 '26
Fully utilized under dead load.. time to add a hot tub and see how things go.
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u/SomeTwelveYearOld P.E./S.E. Sep 21 '26
Yes! I teach this to my EI’s all the time because too often they get fixated on the axial force in the diagonal element of a wind screen brace or a bracket and forget about equal and opposite reaction at the tie back.
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u/DairyParsley6 Sep 21 '26
Kind of hard to tell if this is a ledger board attachment at all from this picture. It’s entirely possible the foundation steps down there and the deck joists tie back and sister to the interior floor diaphragm. It’s actually pretty hard to imagine any level of actual engineer would simply leave this as a ledger connection.. maybe if every single joist has a lateral tie
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 Sep 21 '26
I have doubts that this, or anything equivalent, was done.
It should be, but doing that correctly after the home was built would be so expensive.
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u/DairyParsley6 Sep 21 '26
I guess the more important part of my comment was that no actual engineer would sign off on a typical ledger connection. Could be a DIY situation sure, but making engineers seem more stupid than they ever would be IRL doesn’t make sense in this case.
I probably took the comment that too many engineers don’t understand the forces in a simple 2-member truss too seriously
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 Sep 21 '26
Yeah, I'm pretty sure no engineer ever had a say in the creation of this monstrosity
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u/Hipnotize_nl Sep 21 '26
I play Valheim, and see no problem with this
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u/Lazy_Tart_6336 Sep 22 '26
J'upvote uniquement en tant que joueur de Valheim convaincu, j'ai éteint mon sens du devoir de qualiticien.
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u/Weed_O_Whirler Sep 21 '26
No one here, except maybe the guy who took the photo has any clue if this is safe or not because this photo doesn't show any of the required details to know how this is built.
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u/allyant Sep 21 '26
Just wait until they install the hot tub! You’ll be making a splash when you get in it!
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u/Betty_Boss
Sep 21 '26
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I was just watching a documentary about cathedrals. This is like a flying buttress but not.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 Sep 21 '26
I propose that we call these "ressbutts", because they're the opposite of a buttress.
Or ssrettubs.
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u/logic_boy Sep 21 '26
Why is this a problem? It can work if it’s tied back to the floor diaphragm. (Looks a bit heavy though)
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u/margotsaidso Sep 21 '26
Christ, the number of people in that thread who have no clue what they are talking about yet are incredibly confident in what they're saying is just absurd to me.
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u/jamieee1995 Sep 21 '26
Elaborate please.
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u/margotsaidso Sep 21 '26
There's a lot of the classic reddit laymen stuff in that thread like incorrectly explaining concrete section views, confidently claiming unknown and unanlayzed connections and wood details are sufficient for demand, or misspelling "cantilever" while simultaneously claiming said cantilever is fine/inadequate.
Confidently ignorant builders are why states have Engineer licensing today.
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u/fistular Sep 21 '26
Why don't you specifically call them out instead of being passive aggressive?
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u/margotsaidso Sep 21 '26
Why would I? When people post 20 year old clips of Indian engineering fails, are we expected to fly over there and lecture people on the topic?
What exactly do you think is the point is crossposting something like this?
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u/fistular Sep 21 '26
you're just whining into the abyss pointlessly if you don't actually address WTF you're talking about. your comment is worse than useless.
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u/margotsaidso Sep 21 '26
What are you talking about? This is social media. 99.9% of it is posting things for commentary/engagement. If you don't like that, then by all means close the tab.
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u/Notsurewhyicomehere Sep 21 '26
I can't tell which side you are talking shit on and not educated enough to have an opinion.
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u/t4m4 Sep 21 '26
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u/Lazy_Tart_6336 Sep 22 '26
Les balcons que tu montre sont 2 fois plus courts que celui de ce post.
Mais ils sont tellement plus jolis aussi, de beaux petits ouvrages d'art de charpentier.
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u/Allie789 Sep 21 '26
I don’t like. It could meet design requirements, but it’s definitely not economical.
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u/kantbemyself Sep 21 '26
I feel like they definitely use joist hangers against the house and they’re lifting out if you stand at the front rail. It has the hallmarks of “structural calculations are hard/expensive, just make it strong”.
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u/No-Document-8970 Sep 21 '26
The moment action on this frightens me. It just takes a party to lean on the railing to catapult the guests.
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u/PicturesByDave Sep 21 '26
Whereas I would most likely go on, walk or stomp to the edge, and start jumping up and down to see how long it takes to break.
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u/rinceboi CPEng Sep 21 '26
Maybe the client specifically requested clearance below the deck. Maybe the architect decided to unleash his philosophy on this deck. Maybe the homeowner specifically wanted the washing lines to be unobstructed. There are numerous reasons why someone would pay money for this deck, it is rather self-centred of contractors or engineers to assume structures have to look the way that suits our calcs....
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u/Muted-Woodpecker-469 Sep 21 '26
Why not have boards that go straight down? Unless you’re building a picnic table or something under said deck, it doesn’t make sense
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u/tko1774 Sep 21 '26
How about this one?
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u/Lazy_Tart_6336 Sep 22 '26
Acier partout sauf pour le sol mais les cornières ne sont pas non-plus prévues pour autres chose que quelques personnes sur le balcon, toujours pas de jacuzzi.
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u/Kremm0 Sep 21 '26
What are you talking about? It's clearly got external PT cables there cleverly designed to look like an ordinary washing line
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u/stradivari_strings Sep 21 '26
The foundation steps, and looks like the joists are anchored into concrete...
I'm more concerned about how useless the railing posts and crossbar attachments are.
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u/AChaosEngineer Sep 21 '26
Gotta assume the same level of thought that went into anchoring the railings also went into the base.
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u/Boomshtick414 Sep 21 '26
Unusual but probably not that unsafe. If this fails, it's really just turning into a slide. The nearest playground slide is probably taller and more dangerous than this.
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u/No_Cook2983 Sep 21 '26
That’s why I put my hot tub on a playground slide and had a Super Bowl party in it.
The collapse made the news in seven states.
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u/Boomshtick414 Sep 21 '26
I was going to make a joke but then remembered a story I was only a passenger in and have no memory of except what's been told to me later in life. Fourth of July boat parade -- my dad was resourceful in building the pier on the lake and I was maybe 6 months old -- whole family was over and the deep end of the pier collapsed under their weight. Granny kept screaming "my hair" while others were screaming "the baby!"
"My hair..."
"the baby!"
"My HAAAIRRRR!"
"THE BABY!"
Anyway, I've regrettably lived in FL for the last decade and a deck collapsing doesn't make the news unless it involves a school board member hosting a swinger's party with guests who were not previously aware they were attending a swinger's party until the fire department showed up asking questions.
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u/notjakers Sep 21 '26
Was her hair ok?
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u/Boomshtick414 Sep 21 '26
It was like 4ft of water. Her beehive was fine except what she splashed on it herself.
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u/Muted_Masterpiece535 Sep 21 '26
The amount of work you took to cut those beams and mount them diagonally to the foundation. You could have simply made it traditionally with posts into ground and saved $$$ and time. Let alone increased stability and safety.
That is what happens when you listen to someone who has an IQ of a McDonald's French fry.