SWS Engineering has a wealth of experience in structural engineering. We are proficient in steel, reinforced concrete, masonry, and wood design and have proven this through our efficient and cost-effective designs on thousands of projects. See all of our projects for a full overview of what SWS Engineering is capable of designing.
With our experience in seismic and wind design, materials engineering, deep and shallow foundation design, value engineering, and much more, there are few structures outside our expertise. Over the past few decades, SWS Engineering has specialised in many areas and on many unique structures, including theatre design, hotel design, and seismic design, just to mention a few.
Please take some time and browse through our expertise below.
Building Codes & Regulations
Extensive understanding and knowledge of the intricacies and nuances of the National and Provincial building codes and regulations.
Material Design
Strong understanding of the material design codes and extensive experience of the materials for use in construction, including steel, concrete, masonry, and wood.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA S16 and S16S1 structural steel design codes. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural steel members, including columns, beams, braces, girts, moment frames, open web steel joists (OWSJ), metal deck, and piles.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA S136 and CSSBI S6 light steel framing design code and specification guide. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of load bearing and wind bearing LSF members, including columns, beams, braces, girts, moment frames, and joists.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA A23.1, A23.2, and A23.3 concrete design codes for reinforced concrete. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural concrete members, including columns, walls, beams, one-way and two-way slabs, moment frames, footings, piles and caissons, and retaining walls.
We have strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA A23.1, A23.2, and A23.3 concrete design codes for plain concrete. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural concrete members, including piers, walls, and footings.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA A23.4 precast concrete design code. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural members, including hollowcore and solid slabs, walls, columns, beams, and piles.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA S304.1 masonry design code. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural members, including walls, beams and lintels, and pilasters.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA O86 and O86S1 wood design codes. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural members, including walls, beams and lintels, columns, joists, trusses, and sheathing.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA O86 and O86S1 wood design codes. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural members, including walls, beams and lintels, columns, joists, trusses, and sheathing.
We have a strong grasp and thorough understanding of the CAN/CSA O86 and O86S1 wood design codes along with the CLT Handbook. We apply this knowledge to the design of all types of structural members, including walls and slabs.
Analysis & Modelling
Advanced understanding of building loading, element interaction, structural analyses, and building modelling.
We have extensive experience with seismic analysis and the building code requirements. Furthermore, the Engineers on staff have successfully completed additional courses on earthquake behaviour and design, including understanding capacity design. We implement FEM modelling software for more the complex projects and perform full dynamic analyses.
A large area of our expertise is in analysis of wind loading and building element interactions. The staff has a thorough understanding of the building codes and supplementary materials for the intricate and extensive knowledge of wind analysis. We implement FEM modelling software for more the complex projects and perform full dynamic analyses.
We have multiple Engineers that are well versed in the finite element method (FEM) from Bachelor’s and Master’s level courses and from real world experience on actual buildings. We are familiar with many FEM modelling programs, including ETABS, SAP2000, ANSYS, STAAD, and Robot.
With structures becoming lighter and lighter, vibration becomes a bigger issue. We have a strong understanding of vibration issues and have extensive experience analysing and solving them. Also, vibration from sound can be an issue for theatre projects so we have developed many details addressing these concerns.
Subgrade Structures
Considerable experience with shallow foundations, various deep foundation types, and underground structures.
The bulk of our projects use shallow foundations to support the main building structure. These shallow foundations typically include plain and/or reinforced concrete pad footings and strip footings. For more complex foundations, including for basements or underground parking directly beside the property line, implementation of reinforced concrete grade beams may be necessary.
While most of the projects across Canada use shallow foundations, there are many sites that have poor soils and require a stronger system. This is where our extensive knowledge in the use of deep foundations shines, including for the many types of piles listed below. This includes both end bearing and friction piles.
- Steel Driven Piles
- Precast Concrete Driven Piles
- Cast-in-Place Concrete Piles
- Caissons
- Helical Piles
We have extensive experience with basement structures for everything from small houses to large buildings, with some projects having very high basement ceiling heights. We also are seen by the local conservation authorities as one of the leading structural engineering firms for designing sound basements in floodplains, where loading from floods can have an immense impact on the structure.
Many of our residential projects, including condominiums, apartments, and seniors’ residences have one or more underground parking levels. We understand and appreciate the specific issues that arise when designing single and multi-level underground parking structures.
Special Structures & Projects
Specific experience with many unique and special structures and projects, including high-rise buildings, custom homes, renovations / retrofits, title insurance, and proprietary structural systems.
Construction
Effective design considerations based on decades of experience and understanding of construction and a strong ability to remediate construction issues.
- On-site problem solving
- Considerations for construction sequencing
- Efficient use of materials and construction principles
- Employing cost effective construction methods
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