Your conditional requirement
Read out the conditional requirement you found. Then say, in your own words: when does it apply, and when does it not?
Four ways to attach a condition
From codes you already work with
Burial depth shall be provided where applicable per CEC Table 300.5.
A retaining wall over four feet in height requires engineering, unless it is a segmental gravity wall within the manufacturer’s published tables.
Work may proceed provided that the approved plans are on site and available for inspection.
Where a wall retains a surcharge, the design shall account for the additional load.
Each of those four does a different job, and swapping them changes what the requirement means.
Conditional obligation
Four connectors, four meanings
| Connector | Means | Effect on the requirement |
|---|---|---|
| where | in cases in which | Requirement applies only in that circumstance |
| where applicable | in whichever cases the rule reaches | Same, but leaves the judgement to the reader — vaguer |
| unless | except if | Requirement applies by default; the clause creates an escape |
| provided that | on condition that | Permission is granted only if the condition holds |
The two that get confused. Unless and provided that point in opposite directions:
- Engineering is required unless the wall is under four feet. → Default is required. Short walls escape.
- Engineering is waived provided that the wall is under four feet. → Default is waived. Only short walls qualify.
Those describe the same outcome, but they place the burden differently — and in a dispute about a wall of uncertain height, the burden is the whole argument.
The Portuguese pull. A menos que maps to unless and takes the subjunctive; English unless takes a plain present tense. unless the wall be under four feet → unless the wall is under four feet. And desde que covers both provided that and since, which are unrelated in English.
Attach the condition
Complete each requirement with where, unless, provided or applicable.
Burial depth shall be provided where per CEC Table 300.5. Engineering is required for any retaining wall over four feet, the wall is a segmental gravity wall within the manufacturer’s published tables. Work may proceed that the approved plans are available on site. a wall retains a surcharge, the design shall account for the additional load.
Each requirement has one error in its conditional. Rewrite it correctly.
1. Engineering is required unless the wall be under four feet in height.
2. Work may proceed provided the approved plans are on site.
3. Where applicable of CEC Table 300.5, burial depth shall be provided.
4. The design shall account for surcharge, unless a wall retains additional load.
When does it apply?
Task card
Your teacher describes five site situations
For each, say whether the conditional requirement applies — and quote the connector that decides it.
- Answer in full: “It applies, because the wall retains a surcharge, and the rule says where a wall retains a surcharge…”
- At least one situation should be genuinely ambiguous. Say so rather than guessing.
- Saying “this is ambiguous and I would ask the plan checker” is a correct answer, not a failure.
Burden direction
Without looking: which connector makes the requirement the default, and which makes the exemption the default? Say both sentences aloud.
Before the next lesson
Homework. Bring your Silverwood Drive impervious surface tables — both the existing and the proposed. You will be arguing from them for the rest of the unit.