Services

Structural Calculations for Deferred Submittals

Stamped calculation packages for the fabricated items a building permit defers — guardrails, stairs, ladders, canopies, and equipment anchorage — prepared for fabricators, contractors, and installers and carried through plan check.

Request a quote Call (916) 835-3588

What I Provide

  • Guardrails and handrails, including glass guards and pool barriers
  • Steel stairs and landings, with their connections, base plates, and footings
  • Fixed, pit, and roof-hatch ladders
  • Canopies, steel framing (W-shapes and HSS), hoist beams, and monorails
  • Glulam beams and timber connections
  • Rooftop and ground-mounted equipment anchorage for seismic and wind loads
  • Cast-in and post-installed anchors, with the product evaluation reports cited
  • Welded and bolted connections, with a weld schedule

How It Works

  1. Send the drawings. The architectural sheets that show the deferred items, your fabrication or manufacturer details, and the project address.
  2. Confirm the design criteria. I confirm with the building department which code edition governs — the one the permit was issued under, which is not always the newest — and set the wind, seismic, and live loads for the site.
  3. Calculate detail by detail. Every member, connection, and anchor is checked and summarized with its demand-to-capacity ratio, so the plan reviewer can follow the package without hunting.
  4. Building design professional review. Deferred submittals go to the building’s engineer or architect of record first (CBC 107.3.4.1), then to the building department.
  5. Plan check and fabrication. I answer comments in writing, revise the package as needed, and issue substitution or field letters during fabrication and installation.

What to Send for a Quote

  • Architectural sheets and details for the deferred items
  • Your fabrication details or the manufacturer’s product data, including equipment weights
  • Project address and the reviewing city or county
  • The geotechnical report, if the item has its own footings
  • Your deadline

Clubhouse steel stair, ladders and canopy

Rocklin, CA2026

Design engineer: stamped calculations for a deferred submittal

Exterior steel stair, pit and roof-hatch ladders, a hoist beam, and canopy framing for a new apartment clubhouse, documented in a 68-page calculation package.

Codes
CBC 2019 · AISC 360-16 · ASCE 7-16
Outcome
Accepted by the building’s engineer of record and carried through two rounds of third-party plan check; steel erected.

Guardrails, handrails and pool barriers

Sacramento, CA2026

Design engineer: stamped calculations for a deferred submittal

Stair and balcony guardrails, handrails, a laminated-glass ramp guard, pool barriers, and fencing for a large apartment community.

Codes
CBC 2022 · ASCE 7-22 · ASTM E1300
Outcome
City structural and life-safety comments answered in the second plan-check cycle.

Rooftop HVAC seismic and wind anchorage

Sacramento, CA2026In review

Design engineer: stamped anchorage calculations and details

Anchorage of a replacement rooftop packaged unit to the existing curb and roof framing, with steel-curb and wood-curb options, in an 11-page calculation package and four detail sheets.

Codes
CBC 2025 · CEBC 2025 · ASCE 7-22 · AISI S100 · NDS 2024
Outcome
Stamped package issued October 2026 in response to a city plan-check comment.

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Common Questions

Which code edition applies to a deferred submittal?

Usually the edition the building permit was issued under. Projects permitted before January 1, 2026 often stay on the 2022 CBC — or earlier — even when the deferred items are submitted later, so I confirm the edition with the plan reviewer at the start.

Can you work from my fabrication details?

Yes. I design from your details or the architect’s, and where a member, anchor, or weld doesn’t work I tell you what will — a larger post, a different anchor, a revised weld — before the package goes to plan check.

Do you calculate rooftop equipment anchorage?

Yes. For replacement HVAC units and other rooftop equipment I calculate seismic and wind anchorage under ASCE 7-22, design the curb attachments, and check whether the existing roof framing needs evaluation under the California Existing Building Code.

What happens if plan check finds a problem?

I answer every comment in a written response letter, revise the calculations or details, and resubmit — and I stay with the package through fabrication if a substitution or field question comes up.