A primer on residential structural engineering. We explain how gravity loads travel through your home, how to calculate beam sizes, the importance of soil bearing capacity, and why Live Loads and Dead Loads dictate your design.

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structural

Staircase Geometry: Calculating Rise, Run, and Headroom Safety

Stairs are the most dangerous part of a home if built incorrectly. We break down the strict code requirements for Rise (7-3/4 max) and Run (10 min), explain stringer layout, and how to calculate headroom clearance.

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structural

Roof Framing: The Structural Trade-off between Trusses and Stick Framing

Building a roof? We compare pre-engineered Trusses (fast, cheap, no attic) vs. Traditional Stick Framing (rafters, usable attic, labor intensive). Learn about span tables, birdsmouth cuts, and ridge beams.

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How to Use This Calculator

Roof area.

Snow load (PSF).

Dead load.

Total weight.

Understanding Roof Load Calculations

Live vs Dead load.

Truss capacity.

Snow drift.

Deflection.

Formula & Calculations

Area x (Live + Dead PSF)

Key Factors to Consider

Pitch

Material weight

Local code

Age of roof

Frequently Asked Questions

1Standard snow load?

20-50 PSF.