Ask A Scientist© Engineering Archive

Index Key:   ENG020
Author:      gary henry
Subject:     Weight-bearing structures.
What principles should we learn before we build a weight-bearing structure?

Response #:  1 of 1
Author:      david r munoz
This is not my area of expertise but I would think that the foundation may
be a place to start, including a soil analysis.  I know that the soil is an
important part of the overall foundation.  Next you could be concerned with
the compressive strength of the materials that you are planning to use for
the walls and if you live in an earthquake zone then a design which takes
into account the possibility of a horizontally acting oscillatory force
would be in order.  I would check a Civil Engineering Handbook, looking
under "construction" or foundations and earthquake design.