Load paths
How to do a structural load takedown (step by step)
A load takedown traces gravity loads from the slabs down to the foundation. Here are the five steps, a worked column, and the checks that catch errors.
Elena Marchetti··5 min
Tag
Columns
15 posts tagged “Columns”.
Load paths
What is a transfer beam?
A transfer beam carries a column or wall that stops part-way down and redistributes its load to supports below. Here is what it does, why it is used, and how load flows through it.
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
Fundamentals
How tributary areas actually work (and where hand methods go wrong)
Tributary area is the single idea that turns a floor plan into column reactions. Here is the clean mental model, the midline method, and the cases where sketching it by hand quietly fails.
Elena Marchetti··7 min
Load paths
Multi-storey load takedown explained
In a multi-storey building, loads stack down the columns floor by floor. Here is how the top-down accumulation works, how transfers fit in, and a worked three-storey column.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Load paths
How to calculate column loads
A column's load is every floor it carries, added up. Here is how to find the axial load from tributary areas, stack it through floors, and factor it.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Workflow & tools
Column load schedule explained
A column load schedule lists every column with its loads, level by level, down to the foundation. Here is what it contains, how to build one, and how to read it.
Elena Marchetti··5 min
Load paths
How to calculate footing loads
A footing carries the column above it plus its own weight. Here is how to find the load for bearing and for footing strength, using service and factored values.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Load paths
Column load takedown by hand, step by step
How to take one column down by hand: tributary area per floor, load per floor, accumulate down the building, then factor. A full worked example with numbers.
Sam Rivera··5 min
Fundamentals
Tributary area: edge column vs corner column
An edge column carries about half a bay; a corner column about a quarter. Here is why, with the geometry, the load ratios, and a worked comparison.
Sam Rivera··5 min
Fundamentals
How to calculate tributary area for a column
A column's tributary area is the floor region nearest to it. Here is the half-bay method, the interior, edge and corner cases, and a worked example.
Sam Rivera··5 min
Load paths
Load takedown, floor by floor: a worked example
A column reaction is just every floor above it, added up in the right order. Here is a full three-storey gravity takedown worked by hand, from slab pressures to a factored foundation load.
Elena Marchetti··8 min
Load paths
Interior vs edge vs corner column loads
An interior column carries about twice an edge column and four times a corner. Here is why, the load ratios, and a worked comparison you can use as a sanity check.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Load paths
How to size a column from axial load
Once you have a column's factored axial load, a quick required-area estimate gives a trial size. Here is the preliminary method for steel and concrete, with worked numbers.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Codes & standards
ASCE 7 live load reduction, explained simply
A column carrying ten floors is not realistically loaded to the full design live load on every one at once. ASCE 7 lets you take credit for that. Here is the formula, the K_LL factors, and a worked reduction.
Sam Rivera··6 min