Industrial structures

Pipe racks, heavy equipment, and the foundations that hold them.

Structural design and Professional Engineer-stamped calculations for pipe racks, equipment anchorage, machine foundations, and industrial support frames, built to the 2025 California Building Code and ASCE 7-22.

Submit a project Call 408-379-2068

What we design

Industrial scope

Structures that carry process piping, rotating and static equipment, and the people who maintain them.

Pipe racks and pipe bridges

Steel moment-frame and braced-frame racks, bents, longitudinal bracing, and anchor-bolt design for piping, cable tray, and conduit loads. Classified and designed as nonbuilding structures similar to buildings under ASCE 7-22 Chapter 15.

Heavy equipment anchorage

Seismic and wind anchorage for transformers, switchgear, generators, chillers, tanks, BESS enclosures, and skids. Anchor design to ACI 318-19 Chapter 17, component forces to ASCE 7-22 Chapter 13 or Chapter 15 as the equipment requires.

Machine foundations

Block and mat foundations for static and vibrating equipment: pumps, compressors, fans, crushers. Static equipment per ACI PRC-351.2; dynamic equipment checked for frequency separation and amplitude per ACI PRC-351.3-18.

Equipment platforms and access

Steel platforms, stairs, ladders, and handrail systems for equipment access and maintenance, with live loads and guard loads per the governing building code or OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subpart D.

Skids, sub-bases, and supports

Structural steel sub-bases, dunnage, housekeeping pads, and elevated equipment supports, including load paths from equipment feet through grout into the foundation.

Existing structures, new loads

Evaluation of existing slabs, footings, roofs, and steel for added equipment, and retrofit details where the existing structure falls short.

Code basis

Designed to the governing references

Every calculation package lists the code edition, load combinations, and design standard used for each element.

2025 California Building Code
Effective January 1, 2026; adopts ASCE 7-22 for seismic and wind loads.
ASCE/SEI 7-22, Chapter 13
Seismic design of nonstructural components, including equipment supported by a building structure.
ASCE/SEI 7-22, Chapter 15
Nonbuilding structures. Pipe racks are nonbuilding structures similar to buildings, with seismic coefficients from Table 15.4-1. Table footnotes permit steel ordinary braced frames, and ordinary and intermediate moment frames with bolted end-plate field joints, in pipe racks up to 65 ft.
ACI CODE-318-19, Chapter 17
Anchoring to concrete: cast-in and post-installed anchors in tension and shear.
AISC 360 and AISC 341
Structural steel design, and seismic provisions where the seismic force-resisting system requires them.
ACI PRC-351.2 and PRC-351.3-18
Reports on foundations for static and dynamic equipment.
ACI SPEC-351.4 and SPEC-351.5
Cementitious and epoxy grout between foundations and equipment bases.
ASCE Wind Loads for Petrochemical and Other Industrial Facilities
Wind on open frames, pipe racks, and vessels where ASCE 7 does not directly address the geometry.
PIP STC01015
Process Industry Practices structural design criteria, when the owner's specification calls for it.

Getting started

What to send

  1. Equipment dataManufacturer cut sheets: operating weight, center of gravity, footprint, anchor pattern, and any dynamic or thermal loads.
  2. Site dataProject address for seismic and wind parameters, and the geotechnical report if one exists.
  3. DrawingsPlans, piping or equipment layout, and existing structural drawings where new loads land on existing construction.
  4. DeliverableProfessional Engineer-stamped calculations and details, formatted for plan check.

Start a conversation

Have a rack, skid, or machine to support?

Send what you have. APEX will identify what's missing and give you a clear scope and fee.

Emailapex@thestructurals.com Phone408-379-2068

Office1484 Pollard Road #353
Los Gatos, California 95032