About the author  ⁄ Thomas Sputo, Ph.D., P.E., S.E.

Thomas Sputo, Ph. D., P. E., S. E., is Vice-President of Sputo and Lammert Engineering, LLC in Gainesville, FL, and the Technical Director of the Steel Deck Institute. Additionally, he is a Senior Lecturer Emeritus at the University of Florida, where he taught structural design for over 20 years. He has over 35 years of experience in varied areas of structural design, including specialty engineering of manufactured components. He is a licensed Professional Engineer or Structural Engineer in 13 states and a Special (Threshold) Inspector in Florida. Tom may be reached at (tsputo50@gmail.com).

Creating quality in steel deck construction using familiar practices.

The Steel Deck Institute (SDI) has recently published a new 2023 Edition of the SDI Code of Standard Practice for Steel Deck. This edition is unique because it is a completely revised edition, and this is the first version developed as a consensus standard under ANSI guidelines. The SDI Code of Standard Practice for Steel Deck, ANSI/SDI COSP-2023, is an American National Standard that codifies generally accepted industry practices for designing, selling, purchasing, manufacturing, and installing steel deck.

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Membrane roof systems installed on steel roof decks traditionally result in a uniform transfer of wind (uplift) loads from the roof membrane to the steel roof deck and underlying supporting structure (e.g., steel joists). For example, in a built-up membrane roof system – which has been used commonly in the U.S. roofing industry for more than 125 years – the built-up membrane is continuously adhered to rigid board insulation.
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The Steel Deck Institute (SDI) has released the new and long awaited 4th Edition of the Diaphragm Design Manual (DDM04). This new edition complies with the requirements of the new ANSI/AISI S310-13 North American Standard for the Design of Profiled Steel Diaphragm Panels. At 408 pages, the 4th Edition is larger than its predecessor and will be an invaluable resource to structural designers.
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Steel deck is often installed using arc spot welds, either with or without weld washers. Arc spot welds, often referred to as “puddle welds”, are similar to plug welds except that the thin top sheet does not require a hole to be pre-punched prior to welding. This article will focus on what an arc spot weld is, how the weld is made, and how to ensure quality welds are produced.
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