Arthur Wilson
If you’re about to undergo a brand-new construction project, finding the right professionals for the job can be tough, particularly since there are so many specialised roles to choose from.
A structural engineer often plays an integral part in countless varieties of construction projects. Their responsibility is essentially to assess the safety and provide valuable suggestions, calculations, drawings, and oversee general progress.
If you’re unsure as to whether or not you need one for your own project, here are some situations in which they might prove invaluable.
If you hope to build an extension on your property, it is certainly worth consulting a structural engineer before you go ahead with any construction, especially if you live in an older house.
A structural engineer can conduct a safety assessment and even suggest the best materials to use for the job.
The relevancy of a structural engineer’s role will vary based on the job itself, and you may not even need one in the first place. However, if you’re planning a large extension, like a conservatory, a loft conversion, or generally any type of extension that requires structural manipulation.
If you’ve finally decided to go green and install some solar panels, you may need to consult a structural engineer.
They can be extremely tricky to install, and there is no guarantee that the company you bought them from can provide you with contractors that have knowledge of roofing or wall structure. In this case, a structural engineer would be a necessity.
If you’re at all unsure as to the overall safety of your existing property, reaching out to a structural engineer is probably the best way to give yourself some peace of mind.
Plus, it could save you a great deal of money by preventing you from going ahead with a doomed project.
If you hope to buy a new property as a fixer-upper of sorts, it is well worth consulting a structural engineer before you part with any money.
A thorough property assessment could be in order if you aim to make any big changes, or possibly even some seemingly smaller ones, like knocking through a wall, for example.
Obtaining approval for renovations or extensions of any kind can be difficult (and take a long time) without the right help.
If you need to make changes to your property, you should check to see if it falls under the building regulations legislations on the government’s website.
A structural engineer can help you with this, and they will likely be an essential part of the application process in some cases.
Sometimes, a construction project might require the strengthening of a property’s foundations, otherwise known as underpinning.
There are plenty of reasons an existing structure might need underpinning, like when a building has grown old and needs upgrading, or it’s unsafe and needs securing.
