Projects / Design verification
Rooftop equipment check on existing buildings
Revised MEP equipment on two existing roofs, followed from slab to columns to footings to soil, with ETABS and SAFE.
- Type
- Design verification
- Location and year
- Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2025
- Software
- ETABS, SAFE
- Role
- Verification reports, prepared as structural engineer with a UAE contractor
The project
On two existing reinforced concrete buildings, the MEP and electrical equipment layout on the roof was revised after the structure was designed, adding load the roof was not originally checked for.
What made it difficult
This is verification, not design. Member sizes and reinforcement are already fixed, so the question is whether they still work, and where they do not, exactly where extra capacity is needed.
How it was designed
- Converted each equipment item from the MEP load data into an area load at its actual position on the roof.
- Kept the equipment as a separate load pattern beside superimposed dead and roof live load, so it stays visible in every combination.
- Checked columns and frames in ETABS and extracted dead and live reactions at the base.
- Checked the roof slab reinforcement and long-term deflection in SAFE, and the footings for bearing pressure and reinforcement.
Key figures
As stated in the issued calculations.
| Structures | Two existing RC buildings |
|---|---|
| Elements checked | Roof slab, beams, columns, isolated footings |
| Loads | Equipment, superimposed dead, roof live and MEP live load |
| Slab checks | Reinforcement and long-term deflection |
| Footing checks | Bearing pressure and reinforcement |
| Outcome | All frame members passed the ETABS design check |
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