Fabricated metal access hatches are essential yet easily overlooked components in modern construction. Designed to remain unobtrusive, they provide secure access to utilities, mechanical systems and maintenance areas while blending seamlessly into floors,…
Code Update: Reapproval of ASTM C1776 Sets the Bar for Manufacture of Precast Concrete Modular Retaining Wall Units
In May 2022, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) published the reapproved ASTM C1776: “Standard Specification for Wet-Cast Precast…
Code Update: Steel Bridge Design Specifications Revised in New AASHTO Edition
Interim revisions to AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (7th Edition) were published in 2016 with a few minor revisions to the steel bridge design…
Code Update: Guidance for Structural Fire Engineering Making Its Debut
The International Code Council (ICC) approved—as expected—the updated structural building-design standard, written by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), for inclusion in the 2018 edition of the ICC’s…
Code Update: Change the Oil to Avoid Paying More Later
I often ask audiences if they’ve read the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Code of Standard Practice. As I do so, I picture the oil-filter commercial Fram used to run, with one mechanic who changes oil and another who rebuilds engines. “You…
