The only proper way for me to demonstrate an existing structure is structurally adequate is to physically test it to destruction. Can you afford to rebuild the structure after I have tested it?
Much engineering design is dependent upon tradition and custom, that is there are certain structural configurations and minimum sizes of members that are adopted because history has demonstrated them to be robust. Engineering calculations to demonstrate smaller sizes are adequate are typically vastly more complex and more unreliable, than those used for the systems engineers adopt. Engineers also design systems based on what scientific knowledge is available to prove suitability. If knowledge is not available in the literature then they design things on the basis of what prototypes and physical testing they can conduct to obtain the necessary knowledge. Most owner/builders and builders for that matter have little understanding of the limitations of engineering design. We cannot prove everything by engineering calculation, we require physical evidence, and that can only come from experiments and testing. 4) Just because what you have built is visually similar to what you know has been c
