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INSTRUCTOR: 
Alexander Newman, P.E., F.ASCE

Purpose and Background

Unlike elevated floors in enclosed buildings, roof structures are directly exposed to the forces of nature. They are also covered with roofing, which tends to leak if excessively stretched or damaged by structural movements underneath. This webinar examines common errors in the design of both flat and sloped roof structures, with a particular emphasis on the designs and details that invite claims and litigation. For example, ponding is not the only potential problem in flat or nearly-flat roofs that has resulted in failures. Lack of positive drainage of the structure deflected by heavy snow could be at least as troublesome. Sloped roof structures have their own complications, as member stability and diaphragm behavior in them might be difficult to achieve. The presentation covers many other practical questions, such as dealing with sloped and tilted open-web steel joists, framing cathedral ceilings, specifying scissors trusses, and assuring member stability in mansard and gambrel wood roofs. The instructor shares valuable insights gained during decades of design and forensic experience and discusses proven design solutions, as well as those that have been less than reliable.

Benefits and Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Recognize the challenges of designing structures for flat roofs
• Become familiar with practical design solutions for various sloped-roof systems

Benefits

• Examine the process of designing flat roofs to avoid ponding
• Explore the issue of specifying appropriate vertical deflection limits for roof purlins and rafters
• Learn about the best practices for dealing with long-span roof structures
• Become familiar with the intricacies of specifying tilted open-web steel joists
• Discover the framing options for gambrel, mansard and multiple-hip roofs
• Find out how to incorporate lateral-load diaphragms into complex sloped roofs
• Use an opportunity to ask the instructor questions

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Students' achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed via a short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).

Who Should Attend?

Structural and civil engineers seeking to increase their knowledge of roof structures and avoid common errors in their design will benefit from this webinar.

Outline

• Introduction: Flat vs. sloped roof structures
• Common errors in designing flat roofs
• Ponding issues
• Long-span precast tees
• Open-web steel joists near loadbearing walls
• Common errors in designing sloped roofs
• Slope issues in metal building systems
• Thrust in rigid frames
• Tilted open-web steel joists
• Wood rafters without ceiling ties
• Scissors trusses
• Framing at gambrel, mansard, multiple-hip and other complex roofs
• Diaphragms in sloped roofs
• Conclusion, final Q&A

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs

This online course is worth .2 CEUs /2 PDHs. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 30 days of the course.

How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?

1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]