About

 

SpanMan is the only design tool that can design in timber, steel and cold formed sections. It has been developed by structural engineers with over 25 years collective experience and is the most rapid and accurate design tool you will find. 

SpanMan is web based software for the design of timber and steel framed buildings that are constructed from elements such as rafters, joists and beams. It can be used for all types of buildings from domestic houses to schools, offices etc.

SpanMan can be used for buildings throughout Australia by selecting the appropriate wind classification, or entering the wind criteria manually.

The Floor live loads are automatically set upon selection of the appropriate building types and floor uses.

Based on our customer feedback we built the web version with roof and floor members. We are committed to ongoing development and will be continually adding features and materials.

NOTES

Wind

(a) Wind Classifications N1 to N6 and C1 to C4

These are based on AS4055-2006 "Wind Loads for Housing" with geometric limitations as follows:

(b) Manual input to AS1170.2-2011

SpanMan will calculate wind speeds in accordance AS1170.2:2011 based on the input parameters.

Manual input is limited to buildings of 15m maximum height, so as to qualify as low rise buildings.

Upon selection of the Building type, an importance factor in accordance with AS1170.0 is assigned. After the Wind Region is selected SpanMan will determine the Regional Wind speed associated with the building's appropriate annual probability of exceedance.

The user then inputs building height, selects Region, Terrain Category, Shiellding and Topographic criteria.

SpanMan will then calculate

Vdes (ultimate) = VRegion (ult) x Md x Mzcat x Ms x Mt and

Vdes (serviceability) = VRegion (serv) x Md x Mzcat x Ms x Mt

Note SpanMan adopts a wind directional multiplier Md = 1

(c) General

Specialist advice from an experienced qualified structural engineer should be obtained with regards to the following:

(a) Alpine regions which require consideration of snow loadings. SpanMan does not consider snow loading.

(b) Floor systems required to support spas, hot tubs, waterbeds, billiard tables etc.

(c) Support of Girder Trusses.

(d) Members supporting glazing or tiling which may require stricter deflection criteria than has been adopted in SpanMan.

(e) Members subjected to vibration by machines.

(f) Structural elements not included in SpanMan, such as footings, connections, tiedowns etc.

(g) SpanMan provides a range of design materials. However it is the responsibility of the user to ensure that the materials selected are appropriate and/or treatments are selected to suit the design life and durability requirements of the member's use.

(h) Floor vibrations: For floor joists and Floor beams that do not support walls over SpanMan adopts the criteria in AS3623 Domestic Metal Framing for both Steel and Timber members. This code was adopted also for timber members as AS1684 does not provide clear criteria for floor dynamics. SpanMan also adopts a minimum required floor frequency of 8Hz. This may be conservative for some floor use applications. Specialist advice should be obtained.

SpanMan has been created by experienced structural engineers in accordance with the latest Australian Standards and building industry practices. It is designed to streamline the structural design process. It does not supecede the BCA, Australian Standards or appropriate manufacturers requirements. Any discrepancy is to be referred to SpanWare Pty Lts for clarification.

(d) Codes and References

The following publications have been referred to in the design of SpanMan.

1. AS 4100-1998 Australian Standard, Steel Structures, Standards Australia.

2. AS 1720.1-1997 SAA Timber Structures Code, Part 1 - Design Methods, Standards Association of Australia.

3. NASH Standard Residential and Low-rise Steel Framing Part 1: Design Criteria 2005

4. Low-Rise Domestic and Similar Framed Structures, Part 1. Design Criteria, CSIRO, Division Of Building Research - Special Report 1978.

5. Worked Examples For Timber Structures, H R Milner, G W Smith, The National Association Of Forest Industries Limited, 1993.

6. Timber Framing Manual (Victoria) Timber Promotion Council, November 1994.

7. Timber Framing Manual Supplementary Tables (Victoria) Timber Promotion Council, April 1995.

8. New South Wales Timber Framing Manual, Fifth Edition, State Forests NSW February 1996.

9. Timber Framing Manual (Western Australia), Timber Advisory Centre WA, January 1995.

10. Tradac W33N-W41N, Timber Framing Manual, Second Edition, Tradac September 1992.

11. Tradac W41C Timber Framing Manual, Tradac July 1993.

12. Tradac W50C, Timber Framing Manual, Tradac June 1991.

13. Tradac W60C, Timber Framing Manual, Second Edition, Tradac June 1992

14 AISC, STEEL CONSTRUCTION, Volume 30 Number 2, June 1996

Costing of Steelwork from Feasibility through to completion

15. BHP Structural Steel in Housing, First Edition

16. AS 4600, Cold formed steel code

17. AS 1684.1-1999, Residential timber-framed construction. Part 1 Design criteria

18. AS 1684.1-1999, Residential timber-framed construction. Part 2 Non-cyclonic areas

19. AS 4055 - 2006 Wind Loads for housing

20. AS/NZS 1170.0: 2002 Structural design actions Part 0: General principles

21. AS/NZS 1170.1:2002 Structural design actions Part 1: Permanent, imposed and other actions

22. AS/NZS 1170.2:2011 Structural design actions Part 2: Wind actions

(e) SpanMan AUTHORS

The creators of the SpanMan software are:

Peter Felicetti BE(Civil) BArch(Hons) NPER CpEng RPEQ 
Registered Building Practioner VIC Regsitered Building Practitioner TAS
 
Petras Surna BE(Hons) Civil, Software Engineer
Petras is the owner of the digital technology company Yart

The creators have over 25 years experience of designing building structures for all scale of buildings from houses to multi-storey and 20 years experience creating software