Most building work that changes how a house carries its weight needs a structural engineer’s design before anyone picks up a tool. Knocking through to make an open-plan kitchen, adding a rear or side extension, converting a loft, widening a doorway or putting a new roof on all fall into that category. Building Control will ask for calculations, and your builder will need drawings they can actually work from.
That is the part we do.
What you get
A set of structural calculations showing how every new element has been sized, and clear drawings showing the beams, padstones, lintels, connections and foundations your builder will install. The calculations go to Building Control for approval; the drawings go to site. We write both so that a builder can price from them and a Building Control officer can approve them without a round of questions.
Typical projects
Removing a load-bearing wall. We confirm what the wall is carrying, size the steel beam (often called an RSJ) and the posts or padstones at each end, and specify the temporary propping needed while the wall comes out.
Extensions. Foundations suited to the ground and any nearby trees, the opening into the existing house, the roof structure, and how the new part ties into the old.
Loft conversions. New floor joists, steels to carry the altered roof, and checks on the walls and foundations that take the extra load. Read more in Loft conversions: can your roof actually take it?
Roof alterations and new builds. From a single dormer to a full new house.
How it works
- Send us the architect’s drawings, or photos and a description if you have not got that far.
- We visit where needed to understand the existing structure. Some jobs can be designed from good photographs and measurements.
- We produce the calculations and drawings, and answer Building Control’s queries if they have any.
- We stay available to your builder during construction.
We work alongside architects, builders and homeowners, and aim for designs that are economical to build, not just safe on paper.
Our offices are in Peterborough and London, covering the East of England, Hertfordshire, Greater London and the South East. Send us your drawings and we will tell you what is involved.