Technical Guidance Note (Level 2, No. 10): Design of reinforced concrete walls

This Technical Guidance Note covers the inspection of structural elements that are typically present within buildings during their construction and/or alteration phases.

This Technical Guidance Note describes the design and detailing of base plates – the primary means by which steel-framed structures transmit vertical loads into their foundations.

Thin panels of masonry in large buildings, or cavity wall skins, require additional horizontal support to make them stable. The element that provides this support is a vertical prop known as a ‘windpost’. Its principal role is to provide lateral support against destabilising horizontal forces that typically originate from wind pressure – hence, the name. Windposts are typically steel elements – either open sections, such as channels or angles, or closed sections, such as rolled hollow rectangular sections. This Technical Guidance Note provides guidance on the design and detailing of windposts relating to their incorporation into building structures.