Structural Engineer
One of the costs that always appears to seem an unnecessary expense is that of architects and structural engineers. It can prove to be so, and again it is getting the right person on side with you during a project.
I have been very lucky over the years to be working with several good structural engineers. For the past seven years John French from Glanville Consulting Engineers has been a source of support during a particularly difficult project requiring all sorts of drawings and solutions to a very old Manor house restoration. A lot of the problems we had to face were unusual for various reasons. We needed to make the building safe but within the remits of sympathy of the house and the costs involved.
To get a builder who wants to take the responsibility himself is a risky venture. I do not possess the knowledge for the calculations required to do the job properly. I and the team can easily put in place the drawings given but it is not something to take a guess at. We are after all talking hundreds of tonnes of building materials to be supported in a variety of ways. The danger to the occupants doesn’t bear thinking about and some of the problems we uncovered from the original build left us wondering how it had stood up for over three hundred years. I know that many stories will unfold from this project as I blog in days and weeks to come.
The council required the builders own insurance had back up from an engineer to ensure all is as should be. The house holder’s own insurance company should be informed and would normally require copies of work undertaken. There will be a separate blog regarding insurance to come.
I want to share with you a story from many years ago as to why we need expert help sometimes. I received a call at around midnight from a lady who I had done a bit of small works for. She had a sense of urgency in her voice and blurted down the phone could I get to her quickly. As a builder with a sense of concern I dashed over at midnight to see what was wrong. I was thinking flooding or fire as these are the two most common causes for panic to a house owner. When I arrived at 12.15 I could see the husband standing in the hallway covered in dust and rubble all over the place and down the stairs. I immediately wondered had a boiler blown up or the chimney had collapsed and fallen through the roof. What had actually happened was Bob the house holder (not Bob the builder!) had decided at 11.00 at night that he wanted a bathroom and toilet combined instead of two separate rooms and decided to knock the dividing wall down. His effort of precision had also excluded the covering or, better still, removal of any sanitary ware . There was rubble and dust throughout the house - the suite was covered with rubbish and had chips all over it and the ceilings were hanging down between the two rooms. Bob in his wisdom had not checked to see if the wall was actually supporting anything above, like roof beams. It was only his wife having a sudden smattering of concern that got her to call me in. They were lucky that it wasn’t a supporting wall.
When I was drinking my tea at now around 1.00 am They asked me for the phone number of Vic a painter who used to work with me. When I asked why the answer I got was “well he would be cheaper than you and we want to save the money you will charge” ! What a thank you to me for the efforts I had put in at the wee small hours. I left them to it, after having put them straight on the cheek of their requests!
If in doubt get a professional out.
Comments
One Comment on Structural Engineer
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john french on
Tue, 13th Jan 2009 5:42 pm
Paul, very kind of you to mention me. Your anecdote of the visit in the middle of the night just shows how the public dont value proper service and advise when it comes to building. They are all experts!! However they are happey to pay when it comes to their car or washing machine..
An interesting blog
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