simplified wind design in asce 7-05 for bldgs with parapets

huangyhg

simplified wind design in asce 7-05 for bldgs with parapets?
see asce 7-05 section 6.4.1.1, note #7.
this says that the simplified method for wind design can be used for buildings with either a flat roof or gable roof.  does this mean that flat roof buildings with parapets can be analyzed using the simplified method?
some city reviewers are saying that method 2 (analytical procedure) must be used for all buildings with parapets, and i'm not sure if that was the intent of the code.
i think that you are going to have a real hard time finding a flat roof building with absolutely no parapets.  technically, anything extending afove the line of the roof is a parapet, regardless how small.   
mike mccann
mccann engineering
i agree.  i don't think i've ever seen a flat roof building without a parapet.  that's what's confusing about the code- it seems to be saying that the simplified method can be used, but i've had some city reviewers disagree, and the code isn't clear enough to argue with them.
rather than doing a whole new set of calcs, you may be able to do a comparison of parapet and no parapet to the detailed method just to show that it makes negligible difference.