From the swelling soil below the foundation to the heavy snow loads on the roof, Structural Engineers in Denver, Colorado must design for many extreme conditions. I spend a lot of time searching the internet learning about different structural engineering challenges and new concepts.
One place I really enjoy reading about other engineers challenges and recommendations from other engineers is at Eng-Tips Forums. You can read about failures, difficult design problems, spreadsheet problems, CAD standards and questions about the codes, just about anything you can think of. I try to help whenever possible, but there are several well educated and VERY dedicated individuals that usually provide an answer within a few hours of a new post on the forum.
But I have realized something else while reading the posts, many of the difficult design questions come from engineers in Colorado. Anything from expansive soil, high winds along the Front Range, heavy snow and steep grades in the mountains, high sulfates in the soil, severe weathering from freeze thaw cycles, and tall basement walls with structural floors, Colorado engineers must deal with a wide range of design challenges.
The one thing I’m glad we don’t have to deal with in Colorado is large earthquakes.
