steel manual for construction depth

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ketanco

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Hello,

i saw steel among the design standards needed for construction depth. but when i checked the exam scope i didnt see anything relevant to it

it costs 229 dollars

Similarly for NDS Wood and design package, it is only listed under VI - I in NCESS exam specification for construction. That one also costs almost $200

It looks like only one question will come from this section so if i buy these 2 books for $400, i can only do (may be) 1 question correct?. do i need these two books somewhere else too in the exam?

NOTE: for convenience i copy the section V here taken directly from NCEES exam format specification

The other 3 book slisted on that section, which are American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE 37), American Concrete Institute (ACI 347) Masonry Wall Bracing Standard

seem more relevant to other things and cheaper anyway so i have no problem of buying these.

but please tell me if i really need the steel manual and the wood design manual. i mean as far as i can see they "may" only help me for just one question, but totally cost over $400... am i correct?

*******

VI. Temporary Structures 12.5%
A. Construction loads
B. Formwork
C. Falsework and scaffolding
D. Shoring and reshoring
E. Concrete maturity and early strength evaluation
F. Bracing
G. Anchorage
H. Cofferdams (systems for temporary excavation support)
I. Codes and standards [e.g., American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE 37), American Concrete Institute (ACI 347), American Forest and Paper Association-NDS, Masonry Wall Bracing Standard]

 
If you are taking the Construction Depth in the afternoon, you may use the books in the morning for the breadth portion of the exam. When I took it, I used the steel manual 3 or 4 times and the NDS once from what I remember.

If you can borrow the books from a local office, or your employer (if they have them); then you'll be better off than buying them on your own.

 
so did you have to use the steel manual in the morning session 3-4 times? or afternoon?

 
I used it in both because I took the structural afternoon; but I can recall using it as a reference at least once in the morning.

 
Ketanco, I know I hated buying these book too. However, I did and I used them for a few questions on the morning and afternoon. A important thing to know is that the steel manual has good information on welding too. You really should bring in all the books that NCEES suggest, you can sell them back after the exam.

 
also I noticed that on the latest exam specification NCEES provides for construction, dated May 6th of this year, they are saying 13th edition. But the latest one is 14th edition. i bought the 14th. Do you think there is a reason they specifically kept 13th there? or they just didnt update?

 
The reason the 14th is not yet listed by NCEES is due to the fact that it has yet to be adopted. This adoption will occur once the IBC 2012 goes into affect and is adopted by NCEES as a reference manual. Until then, they're utilizing IBC 2009, which references AISC 13th edition. There are some subtle changes between the 13th and 14th edition, but I believe the information you need to reference won't have changed enough to make a substantial difference in your answers.

You *should* be fine with utilizing a 14th edition manual.

Good luck with your studies.

 
I used the 14th edition for Civil/Structural in April.

There are a few checklists you can print off online that will explain the differences, but for morning problems, the only difference you'd be likely to encounter (if that) would be that the 14th gives a little bit of extra bolt strength -- so if you were between two answers, you might round up rather than down on the number of bolts needed for some connection.

(Depending on the wording of the problem, you may not want to round down anyway, in order to specify an adequate connection. Check if they're asking for the number of bolts to be specified versus "the number required is most nearly x")

In general, it won't be a problem.

 
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