What does a Structural Engineer do?
I am informed that one should have a short description prepared
of what one does as, when accosted at a party by someone we
wish to impress, we has 9 seconds to get the message across.
My line is that, if a building were a human body, you would
use an Architect to design the sexy bits but you would need
a Structural Engineer to design the muscles and the skeleton
on to which the beauty is applied.
I spend a lot of time at parties alone!
In short a Structural Engineer designs all the parts of the
building that make it stand up but are spectacularly unglamourous.
I could go on but webspace is expensive and needed for other
things. But please do ring for a
more extensive lecture.
Do I need a Structural Engineer?
Probably.
Any alteration to any building that involves the removal
of apparently spare pieces of timber, knocking holes through
walls and floors or anything that involves a bit more than
painting probably needs an input from a Structural Engineer.
Are you sure?
No. In order to be sure we need to have a conversation
or, better still, a site visit.
How much does a Structural Engineer cost?
The initial conversation and/or the site visit will usually
cost nothing for the first hour - providing the site is
more or less in my vicinity at any given time. After that,
there will be a fee, but that can only be determined after
the initial visit - hence the buckshee 60 minutes. Occasionally
the fees are expressed as a percentage, but more often than
not it will be a lump sum agreed before any commitments
are made.
The best thing to do is contact me;
if an engineer is not necessary, I’ll say so and signpost
you to the right sort of person.
