Date: May 12th, 2021, 8:00 am – 9:30 am Pacific

Description: In under a minute of looking at the 2021 IRC deck beam design table, you’ll probably think you have it all figured out, but you probably don’t.  The footnotes give you clues that there is much more to it, but don’t let the fine print fool you.  There are some huge implications to them, and ones designers and builders should want to hear.  They apply the same to the 2018 edition…but that edition failed to mention them.  As with all prescriptive design, there are load and design assumptions that limit the design choices provided.  However, with an understanding of what’s happening behind the scenes, building authorities can gain comfort in using a few tricks to maximize the use of the code for prescriptive design for their communities.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, attendees will…

• Understand the load assumptions used to derive the maximum beam spans and adjustments the 2021 IRC allows.
• Learn how to use the IRC in an alternative manner to design beams loaded from both sides.
• Understand the difficulty of providing pre-engineered beam design in the IRC due to variables in the load path.
• Realize the IRC provides methods to fine tune prescriptive design.

Length: 90 minutes.

Approved Continuing Education Units:
0.15 Preferred Provider CEU from The International Code Council (ICC)
1.5 HSW LU from The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Course Instructor: Glenn Mathewson, MCP

Code Edition(s): 2021 International Residential Code