Liability Issues With Lvl Beams
Question:
We have been specifying laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams for some time now. The plans usually state, “Beam to be engineered and supplied by truss manufacturer.” What kind of liability issues do I need to watch out for?
Answer:
You are acting as the engineer of record any time you engineer something and there is no building designer on the job. Your placement plans should contain a disclaimer that the LVL beam has been sized using information design guides or software provided by the LVL manufacturer and the given loads from the builder or specifier. You are only taking the given engineering data and sizing the beam in accordance with it.
Make certain that you are using a disclaimer. Otherwise, a professional engineering review board might take a close look at this and say that non-engineers are doing engineering.