While homeowners, property owners, and designers are likely to be able to visualise the outcome of a renovation, home improvement, or building work, very few have any idea what’s really going on structurally.
Increasing popularity of project investment/reality TV shows with fixer-upper properties has made renovation more prevalent than ever, with homeowners actively seeking out shell-condition properties ripe for renovation and building. Building doesn’t really happen without a residential structural engineer. In this article, we’re going to look at what a structural engineer does, their services that are most specific to residential projects, and how you can make a building site into your dream home.
In order to think about the functions of a structural engineer, especially in the residential field; you have to know that significant building/project work has huge health and safety connotations. Want to building an extension or do a loft conversion? The words ‘structural engineering’ mean changes to structure of the building.
A structural engineer’s job firstly is to come to your property and assess whether your plans are structurally sound. They will typically make calculations and offer design change suggestions where necessary.
A structural engineer would typically be engaged in home renovations – most commonly when you are converting an existing space to a new use or layout, remodelling the floor plan of a new build or adding house extensions to expand your property.
Similarly, removing or changing existing walls will require a full survey by a structural engineer in the beginning and substantial assistance in gathering all the required technical information to get the job underway.
To help determine if you need a structural engineer as part of your next residential project, a list of instances where such support may be needed has been compiled for you:
Dealing with health and safety regulations and building codes isn’t something you should handle alone either. Making sure things are structurally sound when you’re making changes or renovations to your home will prevent future issues, help keep your home in good condition, help it retain value, and keep you safe.
There are a few important things to consider when looking for a good structural engineer to work with you on your project – namely, their experience and, depending on your needs, their location (for practical reasons).
To focus specifically on residential structural engineering as a key part of the home remodeling industry, you will want to find an engineer who is residential-focused and who has worked on and completed similar projects involving the home and the layout of the structural framework of the home.
As part of your search, try to find an engineer who can guide you through the whole process of what it takes to submit planning permission, how to get an accurately measured blueprint to start with, how to estimate costs against a practical design, and how to bring your project together safely and within a budget.
Also, we would suggest that you request that any potential engineer could evidence their membership of either the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) or the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). This will prove their professionalism, as per their being fully qualified and accredited to perform residential structural engineering projects.
Structural engineering costs can fluctuate considerably based on the dimensions and intricacy of the project in question, how much you wish to modify your design, as well as how extensive the process is likely to be. For the most part, the work is going to commence with a consultation followed by a thorough inspection. This inspections is what will allow an engineer to understand the site as it stands and the work that you want.
Producing a full structural engineering report for the entirety of a small home should take only a few hours to evaluate, the cost of which averages at around £1,000, but if it was to just see a one or two small defects then it could be approximately £700 on average. There are also additional costs for services like extra site visits, additional reports and design changes, etc.
