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Structural requirements for accessory buildings

Aerco

Registered User
Joined
Jan 2, 2021
Messages
12
Location
Nevada
I would like to put up workshop building on my property in Pahrump NV. Zoning allows for this, up 10,000sq.ft. Mine is under 3,000, walls 8'.

I cannot find anything online as far as structural requirements goes. Building dept, says that they comply with IBC 2018. I tried finding something online that deals with the structural requirements for accessory buildings and find nothing relevant. I tried calling them and get nothing but conflicting answers that lead me to believe they don't have a clue what's actually in the IBC. Or even understand my questions. One said I need nothing unless walls are over 10'. One said I need "stamped engineering drawings, truss calculations, soil test etc". Clearly, they don't know their jobs and I don't want to go in there unless I know more than they do. Which isn't much.

Furthermore, I am designing this as lightweight steel framed structure and it seems most building departments can't seem to deal with anything that isn't made of 2x4s.

I would like to find the actual requirements for this in black and white so they cannot argue with my slightly unconventional design. I am not an architect or civil engineer but I know enough about engineering to do the relevant calcs given the actual requirements.
 
If you are building at your house???? ,,, seems it would fall under International residential code.

Will let the experts confirm that.
 
  • Nevada has a set of statewide building codes (except for residential, electrical, mechanical and plumbing).


 
Thanks for that.
But where do I find the specific structural requirements? What roof loads, wind load etc? Which specific code code applies sand where can it look it up so they can't BS me with non-existent requirements? Why would the head of the department tell me I don't need re-engineering calculations unless it's over 10' and his subordinate tells me in I do? How does anyone deal with this crap and not blow his top??
 
First you have to find out if you have to design to IBC or IRC.

That would be for the city to tell you.

Which should be a simple answer.

This is going at the property your house sets on???
 
= = + = =

Aerco,


Look in Ch. 16 of the `18 IBC for your structural info.
Even if the IRC applies, Ch. 16 provides you with a starting
point for requirements........Also, you can perform a search
on the internet and search for the Wind Loads, Snow
Loads, Seismic Loads. Bldg. Exposure Type, etc. for
Pahrump........Ex: What are the xxx Loads in Pahrump,

Nevada ?

FWIW, ...in my area of the galaxy we would require
engineered & stamped blueprints for metal bldgs., because
we apply the various Wind, Snow, Seismic, and even
Rain Loads, if the roof will hold water until it drains off.


= = + = =
 
The IBC not the IRC applies. I believe a close reading of the IRC makes that clear.

From a structural perspective it doesn't matter whether you call it an accessory building thus you will not find a explicit reference to structural provisions for an accessory building. Whether something is an accessory building is likely a zoning not a building code issue.

Chapter 16 of the IBC establishes the structural loading requirements. Chapter 16 further references ASCE 7. Requirements for the various materials are to be found in other chapters.

Unless there is something different with the water in Nevada whether the walls are 8' or 10' does not determine whether you need a professional engineer. Not all building department employees are knowledgeable about engineering structures. This is why you hire an engineer, who in many cases is more knowledgeable that the building department staff.

The IBC contains detailed provisions for the design of light gage steel framing as well as structural steel. The detailed structural provisions are included in reference standards. The engineer you hire should already have them.

If you do not already know this you are not ready to do the structural calculations on your own.

Imposition of non-existent requirements by plan checkers is a reoccurring problem. To deal with this the plan checker should always be required to reference the code section where the requirement occurs. A professional engineer familiar with this type of construction will be able to help you resolve these issues.
 
Thanks for the help so far. It reminds me of designing my own aircraft in Europe where you have to prove the design on paper before they let you build and fly it. (Not so in the US, if you're building an airplane of your own design for your own use). Obviously you want to engineer it to the degree required to produce something safe and sound. But it's one thing to satisfy yourself and another thing to produce the calculations in a format acceptable to a government entity. Especially if the government officials don't really know a darned thing about the requirements and you get ten different answers from ten different people.

Frankly, I'm a little shocked at the lack of knowledge displayed by the the building department here. I'm perfectly willing to comply with requirements if they show me black on white what I'm required to do. It's extremely frustrating.

But I'll carry on and see what happens...
 
Thanks for the help so far. It reminds me of designing my own aircraft in Europe where you have to prove the design on paper before they let you build and fly it. (Not so in the US, if you're building an airplane of your own design for your own use). Obviously you want to engineer it to the degree required to produce something safe and sound. But it's one thing to satisfy yourself and another thing to produce the calculations in a format acceptable to a government entity. Especially if the government officials don't really know a darned thing about the requirements and you get ten different answers from ten different people.

Frankly, I'm a little shocked at the lack of knowledge displayed by the the building department here. I'm perfectly willing to comply with requirements if they show me black on white what I'm required to do. It's extremely frustrating.

But I'll carry on and see what happens...


In a little defense of """" the government officials don't really know a darned thing about the requirements and you get ten different answers from ten different people. """""""

AHJ's are not supposed to design.

Yes they should be able to point you to the chapter or verse that applies.

Yes if you ask ten inspectors, you may get ten answers, but most will apply.

Anyway, don't give up on us government officials, we are only machines.
 
Save yourself some time and aggrevation and buy a design/build or manufactured steel building and let them get the permit.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Seismic loads will probably be the main consideration, especially if there are no interior shear walls.

The energy code will kick in if you're planning to heat or cool the workshop.
 
Aerco,
In the IBC the structural design is under Chapter 16. Figure 1608.2 shows the ground snow loads. For your area they list different values based upon the elevation (hope you are in the mountains and not the desert! Figures 1609 deal with the Wind Speed. Figures 1613 deal with the seismic.

All of which should be available in stated form from your local building department. The values may also be amended from the standard charts by that building departments adoption of the codes.
 
You mentioned that your building will be a "lightweight steel framed structure." This type of building construction would need an engineered design. Are you
working with a local engineer to help with the structural design?
The Nye County Buildings dept's web page lists the design requirements as:
Seismic DO
Snow Load 0
Live/Dead Load 20 / 10
Exposure C
Wind 115 mph - Residential
Wind Commercial : Category II - 95 mph; Category III - 100 mph; Category IV - 105 mph

Your engineer will need this information for the design.
 
Your engineer will know where the loads are defined in the code.

You will likely also need to hire a geotechnical engineer.
 
Save yourself some time and aggrevation and buy a design/build or manufactured steel building and let them get the permit.

Do you sell steel buildings or something? I jest, but why would I pay someone and let them make a profit out of me when I can do the work myself? I WANT to do the work myself. I just like to do things the hard way, I guess. I'd be paying someone about $10,000 more for a building that is no better than anything I can come up with just to save myself the hassle of dealing with an uncooperative bureaucracy. No. Not happening.
 
Your engineer will know where the loads are defined in the code.

You will likely also need to hire a geotechnical engineer.

I have finally found the requirements and gotten some real numbers to work with.

The Nye county application "checklist" does state I need soils test. I'm going to argue with them about that. Maybe somebody can explain to me why I need a soil test for a relatively light building that sits 30ft away from a house on a concrete slab, surrounded by hundreds of other houses within a few miles. There is no geological difference in my little patch of ground, but somebody needs to get paid to do useless work? Seriously, is it because there might be some undiscovered cave system in the back yard? Because of all the nukes they let off underground around here in the 50s? What?
 
I understand that hiring an engineer is easiest way to make progress here. But I seem to like to do things the hard way. Let me entertain you all with an analogy:

I work on airplanes; I restore and repair (mostly vintage) aircraft for a living and design and build airplanes for fun and my own use. I'd call myself an amateur engineer; I know enough to know how little I know, but I know enough to analyze simple structures and believe me, a big shed is a lot simpler than an airplane to do a stress analysis on. We're allowed to do this under the Experimental Amateur Aircraft category. About 35000 of these "homebuilt" aircraft are flying out there and flying safely and more are being built all the time, from sophisticated kits to a guy in a shed with a hacksaw and file and some plans. And believe it or not, there is no requirement to prove the structure or aerodynamics to any government authority. The only restriction is that you can't use it commercially. The paperwork is minimal and you need to test fly for a certain amount of time and after that you're free to use your airplane anywhere.

I wish the owner-builder-designer of houses was given the same consideration as the amateur airplane builder. Almost all the technical progress in the last 40 years of small aircraft design has come from amateurs and I would not be exaggerating to claim that building structures would benefit from some amateur experimenters. And to take the analogy further - the reason why there has been minimal progress with conventional certificated airplanes in the least 40 years is a similar intransient mindset and the bureaucratic nightmare involved in getting a new design FAA approved. I would claim that this is the reason that were still building these awful stick houses that, year after year, get destroyed due to wind, rot, water damage and fire. Despite these building codes that were forced to deal with and that are supposed to keep us safe!

End of rant....
 
In a little defense of """" the government officials don't really know a darned thing about the requirements and you get ten different answers from ten different people. """""""

AHJ's are not supposed to design.

Yes they should be able to point you to the chapter or verse that applies.

Yes if you ask ten inspectors, you may get ten answers, but most will apply.

Anyway, don't give up on us government officials, we are only machines.

I have found that on an individual basis most people that work in government institutions can be perfectly reasonable on a personal level. But that doesn't help you very much if you keep running to roadblocks and nobody can tell you the way forward, because they are just a small cog in a big machine.
 
Unless there is something different with the water in Nevada whether the walls are 8' or 10' does not determine whether you need a professional engineer. Not all building department employees are knowledgeable about engineering structures. This is why you hire an engineer, who in many cases is more knowledgeable that the building department staff.

I would expect the head of a county building department to be knowledgeable about these matters. He gave me this statement. It is not unreasonable to demand a certain level of competence of people in a position of authority.

I had a friend who had his workshop permit denied (in another part of the country) because the person in charge felt his walls "looked too tall". He pointed at the stack of calculations and asked if they had looked at them and was told they don't have any engineers in that department. This is the kind of thing I find so frustrating.
 
I understand that Nevada has areas with shrink/swell soils that can tear up a foundation. Subsoil types affect lateral loads from earthquakes.

It's kind of like the difference between normal and acrobatic category in aircraft design.
 
I understand that Nevada has areas with shrink/swell soils that can tear up a foundation. Subsoil types affect lateral loads from earthquakes.

It's kind of like the difference between normal and acrobatic category in aircraft design.
Understood. But I'm building right next to an existing house that's next to another house.. What are the chances that soil that has already been tested numerous times is going to be any different 50 ft away?
 
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