Basic Engineering for Builders

Here you'll find engineering principles explained in non-technical language and practical methods for applying them on the job.

Ever been trapped between an engineering problem at the job site and a budget that an engineer's consulting fee would blow out of the water? Then this is the book for you.

Engineering is as much a part of building today as steel girders or wood rafters. Basic Engineering for Builders explains, in non-technical language, the principles of construction engineering.

It's a readable, easy-to-follow reference for all the non-engineers in construction. Whether you're a home builder, remodeler, commercial construction specialist, a sub, an estimator or an apprentice builder, you need to understand basic engineering.

This book offers an easy, non-technical way to learn basic construction engineering principles.

The focus is solving a contractor's engineering problems:

• Codes and requirements
• Surveying
• Building permits
• Inspections and inspectors

Here you'll find engineering principles you can put to work on your next job. This handy manual follows the building process from the ground up, examining the engineering problems at each step of construction.

Many plans examiners insist on an engineer's stamp only if the plans look questionable. The examples and tables in this manual are based on design standards widely accepted in the building industry.

Follow the designs recommended here and you shouldn't need assistance from a licensed engineer:

• Concrete - Requirements for walls, beams, girders
• Wood - Grading, loads and stresses
• Steel - Connections, loads and stresses, preventing failure
• Masonry - Sizing footings, retaining and multi-story building walls
• Plumbing - Water and gas systems, calculating pressure requirements
• HVAC - Sizing duct and piping, calculating unit capacity

With the help of Basic Engineering For Builders you'll be able to understand engineering functions in the plans and how to meet the requirements, how to get permits issued without the help of an engineer, and anticipate requirements for concrete, steel, wood and masonry.

This is one of the very few books that actually illustrates how to perform calculations to custom design what you want or need or double-check the mechanical properties of what someone else has already built.

The author gives practical examples of every formula so you can easily get a feel for how the calculation is performed. Other "basic" books will give short tables or simply list generic values commonly used (this book also does that) but tables or generic values are ony useful for blindly slapping something together and limit you to only what is in the list/table.

If you want something unique to be done professionally, with high-quality, and built-to-last, this is the only book to use. It is easy-to-read and follow and doesn't limit you to elementary projects.

If you're ever faced an on-the-job engineering problem but don't want to call an engineer, this is your book!