By John Whitcraft, P.E. | Whitcraft Engineering Solutions, Inc.

With summer approaching, many Californians will be enjoying late-night parties. For the safety of their guests, the party hosts need to keep their outdoor lights on while still respecting their neighbors’ need for minimizing glare. If these party-loving hosts live in a rural area such as Borrego Springs, they might be subjected to Dark Sky Laws, which are aimed at reducing light pollution (or in other words, minimizing glare) into the night sky. Lights that are dark-sky compliant have positive features like being fully shielded at the top so the light is directed downward.

The Dark […]

John Whitcraft, P.E., Whitcraft Engineering Solutions, Inc.

I recently attended a meeting of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and the AIA of Santa Clarita fea-turing guest speaker Michael Nearman, Deputy Executive Director of the California Building Standards Commission. Nearman discussed updates to the California Building Code, California Fire Code, California Mechanical code, California Plumbing Code, CALGreen, Title 24, and the code adoption process. The subject is timely be-cause the 2016 Intervening Code Adoption Cycle supplements are scheduled to take effect July 1, 2018.

Some of the “blue supplement” changes include the following:

• CBC — NFPA 13D […]

October 17, 2017

Designing the electrical plans for the Warrior Foundation Freedom Station was a chance to improve the safety and living conditions for our injured veterans. It was a volunteer project that not only enlightened me on the merits of this non-profit organization, but also allowed me to explore the underside and inner walls of a cluster of old buildings.

The Warrior Foundation offices and Freedom Station are on the old San Diego Electric Railway 2-Line going east on Broadway via ‘B’ Street to Golden Hill, per an historical railway map.

I was invited by the Foundation to work on the electrical plans. The complex has four apartments, […]