How does one go about finding a structural engineer?
I have a whole house design, drafted by myself, and I would like to ahve a consultation with a structural engineer. I think 90% of my issues are probably hand holding and a discussion of best building practices, but I might have a few issues requiring engineering.
By most standards must be a pretty small job for an “ENGINEERING FIRM” althouught I know people go to engineers and ask for the specs for a garage door header (very small job).
Most engineering firms seem to be rather larger and advertise about all their commerial construction. That jsut does not seem like the right firm for my project. Or is it? How do I find that right type of guy or firm for this project? What am I looking for … P.E. license?
I know of the name of one engineer who does or did do specs for a local lumber yard. And I have a name from a truss designer. These are just names not really recommendations …. so …. not sure what to think.
??
Replies
Just a thought.
If you've already drafted some plans consider taking some drawings and questions to your local code enforcement office. They probably wont draw anything out for you but they are certainly qualified to advise in matters of engineering, They have to give it the final okay anyway. Experiences diffef as far as the extent of cooperation but I think people need to remember that the 'code cops' and inspectors don't exist just to bust bad builders,
The real problem is not the inspector, it is the intake clerk and the plans examiner. In Florida they won't even talk to you until you have stamped plans. I got lucky that I knew a guy who knew a guy but finding an engineer who wants to work with your plan isn't easy. It wasn't easy and I had an "in". In the end the guy put my plan over his template with all the applicable details for the state approved beam sizes etc and stamped it, just to get rid of me.
I had already stolen the details off of other plans of houses my wife was building but I didn't have all I needed.
I would just start calling around, working with the one man shops first.
Structural
Try contacting a local contractor, a small one. They have probably been in the same predicament and could very well know of someone that could look/stamp for a small fee. The truss designer also could have the correct credentials to verify sizes, etc. I believe a PE is what you are looking for.
agree again
I'd call one of the couple architects I am familiar with-they have engineers in house-and pass along the structure to them.
If a one man firm-they'd have the contact also.
Your provided layout may or may not be enough for them...............
Yes at least a PE
Legally a P.E. could do the review if the building isn't too tall.
But what you really want is a S.E. or Structural Engineer. Most of the PEs work with civil infrastructure such as roads, water sewer, retaining walls, flood studies, etc. And, while they have the basic knowledge necessary to do structural, they don't do it often enough to be efficient at it. I can still do structural calcs, but since it isn't what I do on an onging basis, I have to look up equations, code references, and strength values that a Structural Engineer just knows because htey use them frequently.
The Structural Engineer does nothing but structures, so they are far more practiced in doing structural calcs, and they have thousands of dollars of software on their computers dedicated to doing the calcs, that the nonstructurals have to do by hand.
Most states have a Board of Professional Engineers or something similar that is charged with licensing and monitoring the Professional Engineers in the state. They can give you a list of Structural Engineers, and if you ask will tell you if any of them have had disciplinary actions against them.
Typically they are listed in the yellow pages. Don't be afraid of dealing with the largers firms. Typically they will have an EIT, (Engineer In Training, they have a degree and have passed the first 8-hour exam, and are getting the 4-years experience needed to sit for the next 8-hour exam) on staff that will actually do most of your work at a much lower rate, and then have a senior Engineer do a short review and sign the documents. With building picking up they aren't quite as hungry for work as they were a month ago, but most firms are still pretty hungry.
The vast majority of structural engineers are P.E.s. Many of them specialize in structural engineering. In some states like CA, etc. there are many licensed SE.s, but not so in many other states.
You generally are looking for a small firm for this type of work. I do some of this and I am a one-man operation. Try the internet. Thats were many oif my requests come from. Ask the local building department also. They may give you the name of someone who's work they have approved in the past.
To clarify earlier comments, a PE is short for Professional Engineer. Most states do not license based on discipline so just having a PE after your name might mean you are/aren' t qualified to do the work-their speciality might be mechanical, civil, electircal, etc. Ethically, engineers are supposed to only practice in their field of expertise. A few states also license structural engineers seperately from professional engineers and require a PE prior to obtaining an SE-CA, OR, WA, NV among others are this way. HI and IL license SEs seperately from PEs so in those states, a PE wouldn't actuallly be qualified to do the work. In short, each state is different. You didn't state where this project is located so it isn't clear what license a qualified engineer would need although a PE would almost universally be required. I might suggest the best way to find a qualified individual would be to contact a local structural engineers association. http://www.seaint.org/ will provide links to state/region specific associations who could put you in touch with qualified individuals.
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If you are looking for best practices and basic structural help I don't think an engineer should be your first stop. In the grand scheme of things you have three other options that I'd suggest first.
Many architects, especially the older guys who have been around a while and are one man shops, are very familar with normal structural issues and practices. They not only understand what you're going through, they will be cheaper by the hour than an engineer. As a contractor I get a free half hour of time as I need it, but expect to pay $50 to $100 an hour for him to sit down and go over things with you.
Engineering firms make their money on larger projects, so when something like your project comes up guess who they will send out -- the least experienced guy probably not long out of college and definitely not as up on best practices as he could be. There's nothing wrong with this, you get what you pay for and during the normal construction season you probably don't want to pay for the more experienced engineer. Calling an engineering firm that will accept seeing you for a consultation, expect to pay $100 an hour for an inexperienced guy to answer general questions and $500 for anything requiring a calculation and engineer's stamp. Even with the guy I normally use and I know exactly how I want to build it, I expect to pay $500 for him to sketch the issue by hand, do his calculations and stamp the sheet that gets submitted to the building department.
A source of structural engineering that I've used a number of times with great results are the guys who work for truss companies. When I talked with one guy about a single steel beam I wanted to modify or replace, he perked up and it was obvious that he needed a change from whatever he was working on at the time because he jumped in his truck and drove right over. We chatted and after taking a picture and a few measurements he went back to work. Later that day when he had time to make a few calculations we chatted about my options and I chose to leave the beam as is. I asked how much it ws going to cost me for his time and he simply said to come back when I needed trusses.
Another time I needed a small engineering opinion I called an engineering firm that was a subsidiary of a truss plant and had great luck with an engineer that was as well versed in residential construction. His plan was reasonable as was his fee.
I've also used engineers who work for large builders but are allowed to moonlight on their own for small projects. One was young and could not look at a situation and have a gut feeling for what the issues were. He was less helpful than a code book.
Another engineer with good experience, but who goes out of his way to lessen his liability figures out what is required based on 150% of actual conditions so everything that gets built with his blessing is overbuilt by a pretty good margin. I'm a fan of over building most things, but sometimes it's rediculous. I still like working with the guy....as long as it's within reason.
The third person, and what I recommend, is to find a small GC with framing experience or framing contractor with good reputation for high quality work and best practices. They can walk you through your issues and be an advisor throughout your project for about what a low-paid architect would charge, but you also get access to his favorite engineer and architect if he likes you. For an hour of his time expect to pay between nothing and $100. For $50 an hour cash most of the best framers and small GC's I've known would be happy to help you.
Ok, I said three types of help, but I have to say a fourth has to be your local building officals. Ask for a pre-submition plan consultation and if your building department is set up for it they will sit down with you and answer general questions. They may require you to have things in a certain formate with plans written to scale, but at least in one building department they didn't charge anything for this. How good the advise is completely depends on the individual. One guy is so good with structural issues that his opinions and calculations are usable in place of an engineer for beams in situations not covered in the code book....having him on staff not only saves a lot of money for those of us who need small issues solved, but he is great at getting a multitude of things sorted out prior to offical plans being submitted. Inspectors are often available for consultation as well - check and you might find a structural inspector that will walk you through everything you need for nothing. If you're lucky you'll find a good one, but there are plenty of guys who can't even interpret the code book very well so it's a crap shoot.
Cheers
IdahoDon
Thank you so much for taking so much of your time to answer my question.
I recently spoke to an Engineerr who would only do my job to the Nth degree. I then talk to another engineer who looked at my design and consulted on the phone, and basically refered me to an "designer". I worked with the designer and for the most part confirmed most of my researched calculations and produced drawings which would pass the buildign deparments in adjacent counties (my county requires NOTHING). He was not able to handle two items so it is off to find an engineer for those items. Moving forward.
Thanks again.
IdahoDon
Thank you so much for taking so much of your time to answer my question.
I recently spoke to an Engineerr who would only do my job to the Nth degree. I then talk to another engineer who looked at my design and consulted on the phone, and basically refered me to an "designer". I worked with the designer and for the most part confirmed most of my researched calculations and produced drawings which would pass the buildign deparments in adjacent counties (my county requires NOTHING). He was not able to handle two items so it is off to find an engineer for those items. Moving forward.
Thanks again.