Send an email to Ralph Hilton with your contact information, the Utah county and city (if incorporated), with the design CAD files attached in .pdf or .dxf file format. We will examine the files and verbally quote the engineering before engineering work is commenced. When the verbal quote is approved, then it is assigned a job number (JB-XXXXX) and the work begins. Large or contract by the hour jobs have further written documentation to protect all parties.
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Please check your files for accuracy before submitting them. Often, substantial time is lost due to inaccurate design files or desired changes after engineering calculations have been completed. Pay particular attention to the exterior walls and window/door perforations. Most often the shear walls are located on the exterior walls of the home.
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The quickest turn around time is about 4 working days if an accurate CAD layout is available of a simple single story gable roof using a slab on grade design. Usual quote time for most homes is 2 weeks.
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Depending on the government agency, 1 set of stamped calculations for code compliance to wind and seismic requirements in the specific Utah locality where the building is to be constructed. The stamped calculations and structural drawings are generally sent via email in a protected Adobe .pdf format for customer printing.
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Hilton Engineering emails the official stamped documents with invoice. The client sends payment via electronic money transfer, PayPal, Credit Card, or mails check. Often, COD in person arrangements are made also. Large jobs often require a 25% down payment.
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A type of construction whose vertical (walls) and horizontal structural elements (diaphrams) are primarily formed by a system of repetitive wood or light gage steel framing members.
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Dead loads are the weight of all materials of construction used in the building, including walls, floors, roofs, ceilings, stairways, built-in partitions, cladding, and other fixed service equipment.
Live loads are produced by the use and occupancy of the building. They do not include construction or environmental loads such as wind load, snow load, rain load, earthquake load, flood load or dead load. For a roof, the live loads are the those loads produced (1) during maintenance by workers, equipment and materials; and (2) during the life of the structure by movable objects such as planters and people.
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It generally is defined as 1/2 the transverse distance or area between two adjacient structural resisting columns, walls, and/or girder trusses.
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Holdowns are a class of concrete embedded anchors sometimes required at edges of shear walls depending on the calculated net overturning moment acting on the wall. "Retro holdowns" refer to another class of holdowns that perform a similar function, but are installed after the concrete cures. Their locations are shown on the structural engineering drawings.
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A shear wall is a general term for walls that are designed and constructed to resist racking from seismic and wind by use of specially constructed wood framing. Other materials can be used, but often are not due to economic reasons.
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The ratio of the height to width (h/w) of a shear wall. The shear wall height is the maximum clear height from top of foundation or diaphragm to bottom of diaphragm framing above and the shear wall width is the sheathed dimension in the direction of applied force on the shear wall. The ratio must not exceed 3.5 using typical wood shear wall construction methods.
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An individual who is registered or licensed to practice their respective design profession as defined by the statutory requirements of the professional registration laws of the state or jurisdiction in which the project is to be constructed.
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