Use of Eurocodes not compulsory until 2013?

[Tony Bryer]

The January 2010 issue of New Steel Construction says (p.25)

"The Department of Communities and Local Government has decided to postpone amendments to Approved Document A - Structure until 2013. Consequently AD-A will continue to reference British Standards such as BS5950 as acceptable methods of complying with Building Regulations"

I have asked DCLG to confirm this.

Meanwhile work on EuroBeam is proceeding well with a view to a first release before Easter, though the more I do, the more questions are uncovered - the guidance on lateral torsional buckling is clear where you have a beam framed into columns at both ends, but when it comes to a typical loft conversion cross beam sitting on blocking at a hip end it's far from obvious how to treat it.

[Monobod]

If this is confirmed, then I think it will be a good thing for two main reasons. Firstly, it will give all busy engineers more time to become familiar with the new codes and it will also offset or reduce the possibility of any 'mistakes' that could come about from such unfamiliarity.

This announcement does not appear to have been widely publicised by some other companies keen to push the sale of new software and/or new design manuals. I wonder why that might be!

Thank you Tony for this little gem.

[Tony Bryer]

I tend to agree with you. TRADA says it would be better if the Approved Document A were immediately amended to specify the Eurocodes but also says Timber engineers who are grappling with limit state design and moving from the "design aid" style of BS 5268 to the heavy "number crunching" needed for EC5 may find the transition difficult. Which IMO is a reason for not being too quick to ditch the codes we use and more importantly understand (to some degree anyway).

http://www.trada.co.uk/news/view/A6A4A965-79A6-4628-931E-196FC2380B05/Grasp_Eurocode_5_nettle_TRADA_urges_members

As for the topic currently exercising me, lateral torsional buckling of steel beams (resolved in BS449 with nothing more than l/ryy and D/T), EC3 gives little guidance. The National Annexe doesn't help. Then there's a NCCI (non contradictory complementary information) paper that helps a bit, but doesn't give all the answers. For the definitive explanation I have been referred to (and have ordered) a document of 260 pages! This for a subject that is clearly covered by BS5950 in four pages. What is scary is that most checking engineers won't have time to get immersed in this level of detail and will assume that the person who wrote the software that produced what they are checking did.

I don't want to be selling a program that you and hundreds of others buy and use on trust, flattering though that might be. I want to be in a position where I can give authoritative sources for everything on the calculation sheets that are readily accessible by everyone using the program and/or checking the output. If the understanding behind what is in design codes is not there we move into dangerous territory.

[Tony Bryer]

The DCLG letter confirming that the current Part A Approved Document is expected to remain in place until 2013 can be read at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/1454859.pdf . It sets out the department's guidance wrt to the use of Eurocodes, effectively stating that they may (not must) be used in place of the BSs listed in the AD