Workflow & tools
How to check a load takedown
Four quick checks catch most load-takedown errors: area balance, reaction ratios, total load, and units. Here is how to run each one and what a failure tells you.
Elena Marchetti··5 min
Workflow & tools
Free structural engineering software for students
Students need tools that teach, not just compute. StructLoads is a free browser tool for load takedowns and tributary areas, with no install and a visible formula trace.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Workflow & tools
Manual vs software load takedown
A hand load takedown teaches the method and stays transparent; software is faster and exact on geometry. Here is an honest comparison and when each one is the right call.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Workflow & tools
How to do a load takedown fast (and check it)
Speed in a load takedown comes from drawing once and checking smart. Here is the fast workflow and the three checks that catch most errors.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Fundamentals
One-way vs two-way slabs: which tributary model to use
Whether a slab spans one way or two changes how load reaches the beams, and what shape the tributary areas take. Here is how to tell them apart and when the distinction actually changes your numbers.
Sam Rivera··6 min
Fundamentals
Triangular and trapezoidal loads on beams
A two-way slab loads its beams with triangles and trapezoids set out by the 45-degree rule. Here is where the shapes come from, the equivalent UDL, and a worked example.
Sam Rivera··4 min
Workflow & tools
How to export a load takedown report
A load takedown is only useful if you can hand it over. Here is how to export it as a PDF, Excel or CSV, what each format is for, and what a good report contains.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Workflow & tools
Best load takedown software, compared
Which tool should you use for a gravity load takedown? A fair comparison of StructLoads, dedicated tributary tools, calc platforms, full analysis suites and spreadsheets.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Fundamentals
The 45-degree rule for tributary area
The 45-degree rule sets tributary boundaries by bisecting the angles between supports. Here is what it is, how it relates to the midline method, and when it applies.
Sam Rivera··4 min
Fundamentals
Tributary width for a beam, explained
A beam's tributary width is half the spacing to the parallel member on each side. Multiply it by the floor load for the uniform load on the beam. Here is the method with numbers.
Sam Rivera··4 min
Fundamentals
What is a load path in a building?
A load path is the continuous route a load follows to the ground. Here is what it means, the gravity and lateral paths, and why continuity and redundancy matter.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Load paths
Fastest way to calculate column axial loads
The fastest way to get column axial loads is to draw the plan once and let the tributary areas and stacking resolve. Here is the workflow and why it beats sketching.
Elena Marchetti··4 min