A2 Rules of Thumb and Things to Consider

Here are some things you might want to consider in your analysis of your building

 

Site - to Consider

• Zoning
• Setback
• Parking Requirements
• Height limitations
• Relationship to other buildings
• Shading issues
• More in other countries than US at the moment

 

Architecture

• SF/ Person - 200-400
• Circulation % of building 15%-50%
• Exiting requirements
• 2 separate exit paths (protected) with 20' of exit from room or suite
• Floor to Floor
• 9' in apartments/hotels
• 12-14+ in commercial

 

Structure

• Depth of Beam in 1/12 of Length
• Ie. Depth in inches = Length in Ft
• This is conservative - often 2/3 to 3/4 of this
• Studio Companion is great Resource
• Design Loads
• Live Loads
• Gravity
• 40#/SF residential
• 80-100#/SF commercial
• 250#/SF+ for storage and other special conditions
• Snow - up to 30#/SF
• Dead Loads
• Self-weight
• Lateral Loads
• Live
• Wind - 90mph ~ 28#/SF
• Seismic
• Blast

HVAC -

• Duct velocity - 800FPM to 3,000FPM
• Chiller Sizing - 200-400 SF/Ton
• Equest is great resource for first approximation

 

Electrical

• Typical feeds (in Philadelphia) 13.2KV 3-phase
• Typical in-Bldg voltages
• 480/277 - motors and lights
• 208/120 - Convenience, portable appliances, some lights
• Emergency System
• Range from corridor lights only (2fc -> battery packs)
• 100% backup
• Duplicate feeds from separate substations
• Emergency Generator
• Depends on purpose of building, client desires
• Increasingly will see tied to alternative energy &/or electrical storage (batteries mostly)

 

Other Systems

• What might they be?
• Fire Protection
• Stormwater
• Lighting
• Circulation
• Transportation
• Plumbing
• Security
• Telecom