Online Wall Engineering
By Peter Hildebrandt

A new basement wall-engineering program allows a user to go on to the Concrete Foundation Association’s (CFA) website and design a basement wall using either CABO95, IRC 2000, UBC, BOCA 97 or ACI-318-99 codes. This service is free for CFA members. For non-members the cost is $25.00 per visit.

With this system users are able to manipulate the wall design based on what their intentions are for height, thickness or required reinforcement. The user begins modifying a particular design based on a few basic parameters. When the design satisfies the selected model code, they are able to print out that design. This printout can be simply used as a worksheet or blue print, or for submission.

If engineering approval is required, the user has access to very economic engineering through a relationship with the company that designed this software. The design may be faxed to the company, where it will be reviewed and then within 24 hours it will be returned with an approved design and an engineering stamp on it. If the user is a member of the CFA, they may receive this service for $125. Online users who are not CFA members pay $250.

“What we are very close to unveiling at the present time, through final revisions to the format, is a similar application for retaining walls,” says Jim Baty, Technical Director of the Concrete Foundations Association, headquartered in Mount Vernon, Iowa. “Retaining walls would be designed exclusively to ACI-318, the general design code for the concrete construction industry.”

Since all retaining walls have reinforcement in them, the program just tells the user the degree to which reinforcement is required. It has parameters that indicate what the configuration of the retaining wall has to look like, what its footing design must look like and by nature of colorindicators the user will see which requirements have not been met.

The primary strength of either of these two programs is their ease of application. “Users are impressed with how easy it is to manipulate, design or investigate a multiplicity of designs to try to find economy or efficiency based on the condition,” says Baty.

The one responsibility it places on the user is that in order to be most accurate, they will need to have definite knowledge of their soil conditions through soil testing or soil classification. “If a user makes an incorrect assumption as to their soil conditions then it can grossly affect the performance of the wall,” says Baty.

The primary member benefit that the Association provides is a network of companies with a common interest in continually improving not only the quality of foundations, but also the quality of their businesses and the technology that is used in the industry. “Those tend to be the types of companies that become CFA members as they see the power of the network to improve their business,” says Baty. [ return to top ]