It wouldn’t be a bad idea to specify on the drawings or in the design criteria that openings are presumed to be closed and list the design pressures that doors and windows are to be designed for. You might even require the owner to post a sign indicating that the doors are to be closed in a high wind event.
I think this is a case where a professional directive and disclosure of limitations will protect the engineer since the code appears to be silent on the issue.
Christopher Banbury, PE
President
Ark Engineering, Inc.
Phone: (352) 754-2424
Fax: (352) 754-2412
From: William.Sherman@CH2M.com [mailto:William.Sherman@CH2M.com]
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 2:31 PM
To:
Subject: RE: Is a garage partially open, open or closed?
I recently asked a similar question on the listserver regarding industrial buildings that have several large overhead doors along one wall. It does not appear that the codes clearly address the issue of open vs closed overhead doors/ garage doors.
It appears that this is left to the engineer's judgment and/or the project criteria. The written design criteria for some projects define a primary wind speed for consideration as an "enclosed structure" and a reduced wind speed for consideration as a "partially enclosed structure" (e.g., 90 mph for enclosed and 60 mph for partially enclosed). This assumes that the door can be open for some wind pressures but is likely to be closed during extreme wind events.
Bill Sherman
CH2M HILL / DEN
720-286-2792