Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 7: Model Construction Specification 7 - 10 4 ACTIONS ON STRUCTURES 4.1 Self-weight and imposed loads for buildings EN 1991-1-1 gives design guidance and actions for the structural design of buildings, including the following aspects:  Densities of construction materials and stored materials  Self-weight of construction elements  Imposed loads for buildings. National choice is allowed through clauses listed in the Foreword to EN 1991-1-1. Additional contract document requirements According to § 3.3.2(4) of EN 1991-1-1, the contract documents shall specify the imposed loads to be considered for serviceability limit state verifications, in accordance with the service conditions and the requirements concerning the performance of the structure. According to Clauses 4.1(1) and 4.1(2) of EN 1991-1-1, characteristic values of densities of construction and stored materials shall be specified in the contract documents, especially for materials which are not covered by the Tables in Appendix A. According to § 6.1(4) of EN 1991-1-1, loads for heavy equipment (e.g. in communal kitchens, radiology rooms, boiler rooms, etc.) shall be agreed between the Client and the relevant authority and specified in the contract documents. 4.2 Snow loads EN 1991-1-3 gives guidance to determine the values of loads due to snow, to be used for the structural design of buildings. National choice is allowed through clauses listed in the Foreword to EN 1991-1-3. Additional contract document requirements According to § 1.5 of EN 1991-1-3, in some circumstances tests and proven and/or properly validated numerical methods may be used to obtain snow loads on the construction works. These circumstances are those agreed with the Client and the relevant authority, and specified in the contract documents. According to § 4.1(1) of EN 1991-1-3, to cover unusual local conditions, the National Annex may additionally allow the Client and the relevant authority to agree upon different characteristic values of snow load which have to be specified in the contract documents.