Front matter for Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings

Guideline for Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings (11-99), by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE/SEI 2000). Standard ASCE/SEI 11-99 establishes guidelines for assessing the structural condition of existing buildings constructed of various combinations of materials. (ISBN 978-0-7844-0432-4)

Guideline for Condition Assessment of the Building Envelope (30-14), by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE/SEI 2014). Standard ASCE/SEI 30-14 provides a guideline and methodology for assessing the condition and performance of existing building envelope systems and components. (ISBN 978-0-7844-1325-8)

Structural Safety and Its Quality Assurance, edited by Bruce R. Ellingwood and Jun Kanda (ASCE/SEI 2005). This report uses an international perspective to look at structural safety problems from basic concept to design and construction. (ISBN 978-0-7844-0816-2)

Residential Building Loads: Review and Roadmap for the Future, edited by Jay H. Crandell, Thomas M. Kenney, and David Rosowsky (ASCE/SEI 2006). This report identifies current knowledge and areas for additional research with regard to structural design loads for residential building applications. (ISBN 978-0-7844-0852-0)

Seismic Evaluation and Design of Petrochemical and Other Industrial Facilities, Third Edition, by the Task Committee on Seismic Evaluation and Design of Petrochemical Facilities (ASCE/Energy Division 2020). This report offers practical recommendations regarding the design and safety of new and existing petrochemical facilities during and following an earthquake. (ISBN 978-0-7844-1548-1)

(As developed by the ASCE Technical Procedures Committee, July 1930, and revised March 1935, February 1962, and April 1982)

A manual or report in this series consists of an orderly presentation of facts on a particular subject, supplemented by an analysis of limitations and applications of these facts. It contains information useful to the average engineer in his or her everyday work, rather than findings that may be useful only occasionally or rarely. It is not in any sense a “standard,” however, nor is it so elementary or so conclusive as to provide a “rule of thumb” for nonengineers.

Furthermore, material in this series, in distinction from a paper (which expresses only one person's observations or opinions), is the work of a committee or group selected to assemble and express information on a specific topic. As often as practicable, the committee is under the direction of one or more of the Technical Divisions and Councils, and the product evolved has been subjected to review by the Executive Committee of the Division or Council. As a step in the process of this review, proposed manuscripts are often brought before the members of the Technical Divisions and Councils for comment, which may serve as the basis for improvement. When published, each manual shows the names of the committees by which it was compiled and indicates clearly the several processes through which it has passed in review, so that its merit may be definitely understood.

In February 1962 (and revised in April 1982), the Board of Direction voted to establish a series titled “Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice,” to include the manuals published and authorized to date, future Manuals of Professional Practice, and Reports on Engineering Practice. All such manual or report material of the Society would have been refereed in a manner approved by the Board Committee on Publications and would be bound, with applicable discussion, in books similar to past manuals. Numbering would be consecutive and would be a continuation of present manual numbers. In some cases of joint committee reports, bypassing of journal publications may be authorized.

All the authors involved with this Manual of Practice would like to dedicate this edition to the memory of Carl A. Baumert Jr., who passed away in April 2018. We would like to thank Carl for his dedication and commitment to the revision of this publication and for his tutelage of its committee members throughout the years. Carl was the past chairman of the main and both structural assessment subcommittees. During his chairmanship, the second edition of the ASCE Standard Guideline for Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings was published, and the revisions to the third edition were commenced. Carl's creative contributions regarding historic structures and materials are present throughout this book.

It is with great pleasure that we dedicate this Manual of Practice to the memory of Carl A. Baumert Jr.

The Subcommittee on Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings of the Structural Condition Assessment and Rehabilitation of Buildings Committee of the SEI Codes and Standards Activities Division of ASCE's Structural Engineering Institute prepared this manual. The Task Committee Member authors were

Additional contributions were made by ASCE members who were not on the subcommittee, and their names are listed subsequently.

We thank the following members of the Blue Ribbon Panel for their careful review of the document and excellent recommendations for improvements.

Changing economic conditions, concern for historic preservation, emphasis on fully utilizing conveniently located structures, space shortages, and increasing cost of materials and products used in the construction of new buildings have resulted in a need to evaluate and more fully utilize the existing building inventory. In addition, because replacing existing buildings with new construction releases additional greenhouse gases and heat energy into the environment, there are environmental benefits to reusing rather than replacing existing structures. Particularly in older cities, emphasis has shifted from replacement to preservation, rehabilitation, and strengthening of existing buildings. Equally important is the need to evaluate the existing structure relative to its remaining service life, which must also be considered to ensure that an existing building assessment addresses the overall health of the building, including but not limited to initial design parameters, lateral and vertical load path continuity, construction quality, age, material deterioration, repairability, cycle of repairs, and future use parameters. Such considerations are independent of owner, client, and municipality interests.

New processes resulting in changes of building systems and business equipment frequently impose greater loads on an existing building structure and may also require additional openings and restructuring. More stringent building code provisions for design load requirements, improved seismic resistance, accessibility, or fire protection may also demand retrofitting or structural reinforcement. Also, any known site conditions should be reviewed to determine whether modifications to structural systems are required or even possible.

Adaptive reuse, rehabilitation, and improvement of existing buildings all require a thorough assessment of present building performance and capability for use by owners, designers, building officials, and contractors. Current data for assessment are dispersed and not readily available to many of those making technical decisions. Such information has been compiled and subjected to a consensus review by this committee. The intent of this Manual of Practice is to provide the design community with suggested guidelines on building condition assessments for selected materials and for other areas related to the structural performance of buildings. To that end, this publication has been prepared for use by qualified professional engineers and regulatory officials.

This publication has been adapted from ASCE 11-99, Guideline for Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings. This reimagined adaptation, as a Manual of Practice, has been reformatted to make this manual more user-friendly. The major change has been to organize the document by material type and not by test or assessment type. We hope this change will make the use of this document more efficient. This publication also serves as an updated resource to be utilized prior to any future revisions of ASCE 11-99.

These suggested guidelines are not intended to be all-inclusive or prescriptive. Methods and procedures are presented as a reference resource. Other rational methods and procedures are not only permissible but also encouraged so long as they are deemed reliable by the authority having jurisdiction and sufficient comparisons are available with recognized methods.

Inasmuch as interpretation of the results of the evaluation must be based on the professional experience and judgment of the practitioner, it is not addressed as a part of this Manual of Practice.

People performing the evaluation may be exposed to hazardous materials, operations, and equipment during structural condition assessments. This manual does not purport to address all safety issues associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the manual user to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

The material presented in this publication has been prepared in accordance with recognized engineering principles. This manual should not be used without first securing the services of a qualified design professional to provide advice with respect to its suitability for any given application. The publication of the material contained herein is not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of ASCE or of any other person named herein that this information is suitable for any general or particular use or promises freedom from infringement of any patent or patents. Anyone making use of this information assumes all liability for such use.

These acknowledgments are made to honor the contributions of the following individuals to the creation of this Manual of Practice: