The first thing you need to do before designing and verifying your structure and structural elements is always calculating the loads acting on your building.
The whole point of structural engineering is to make sure your structure doesn’t fail for the actions (=loads) acting on it.
So it’s crucial that you calculate the loads correctly and don’t forget one.
Any calculation mistake could lead to a collapse of the building.
The problem is – that we learn a lot about static systems, internal force calculation, reinforced concrete beam design, timber connection design, dynamics. But most universities don’t have a course about loads.
In design classes (concrete, steel and timber design classes) the loads are often given.
I had such a hard time understanding loads when I was still in uni. And I spent tens – maybe even hundreds of hours reading through the different Eurocodes to teach myself.
In uni, I saw many of my friends struggling to understand which load you have to apply in which direction and how to calculate it.
In the last years I designed many buildings and structures in my job as a structural engineer.
With this experience, I am very confident in my load calculation today and able to teach you.
That’s why I decided to write a book about it in the most practical way possible to share my knowledge because: