Structural calculations, steel beams and the engineer behind them
Every open-plan ground floor and every loft conversion in London rests on a beam somebody calculated. This is who, and how it is checked.
Who produces the calculations
An independent chartered structural engineer produces the calculations for every job that needs them. We coordinate that work, carry it into the building control application, and build to it — we do not produce it ourselves, and we would not want to.
That is worth being direct about, because some contractors advertise in-house structural engineering as an advantage. On a domestic job it is the opposite of one: the engineer's job includes checking the builder, and a check the builder can lean on is not a check. An independent set of calculations is the version that protects you.
Steel in a terraced house
Most London structural work is steel into an existing masonry wall in a terrace, which means the difficult part is never the beam. It is the temporary works: how the load is held while the wall it sits on is taken out, and what the party wall on either side does while that happens.
Propping is designed, not improvised. Padstone bearings are specified and their bearing pressures checked. Where the wall is shared, the party wall process runs before the propping goes in, not alongside it.
- Independent chartered engineer's calculations on every structural job
- Temporary works and propping designed before the wall is touched
- Padstone and bearing detail specified, not decided on site
- Fire protection to the steel specified and inspected before closing up
Fire protection and sign-off
Exposed structural steel needs its fire protection, and it is one of the most commonly missed items on domestic jobs because it is covered up immediately after it is done.
It is inspected and photographed before it is boarded, and it forms part of the building control record. The complete certificate pack — structural calculations, inspections, sign-offs — is handed over at completion rather than chased by you a year later when you come to sell.
Where each of these is evidenced
- Steel, propping and fire protection, in detailBlog →
- Building control, and who deals with itBuilding control →
- Party wall agreements and what they costBlog →
Do you employ a structural engineer in-house?
No, and it is deliberate. Calculations for every job come from an independent chartered structural engineer, because part of an engineer's job is checking the contractor and an in-house check is a weaker one for you.
Is the engineer's fee inside your quote?
It appears as its own line in the bill of quantities, so you can see what it is rather than finding it inside a rate.
Who books the building control inspections for structural work?
We do. We submit the application, book and attend every notifiable inspection, and hand over the complete certificate pack at completion.
See the range before you speak to anyone.
The estimator gives you a band in a couple of minutes, and tells you how wide it is and why. If you would rather talk it through, that works too.