eandg Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 Hi, should you instruct structural engineers at the outset (i.e. before agreeing a design) or after a design has been agreed and their job is then to spec founds etc. from there? And what information will they need to quote for the work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 Get the engineer on board ASAP ..!! I’ve known designers come up with stuff that cannot be built (shortage of skyhooks due to Brexit...) and also people look at comparatively simple sites that end up with significant engineering in the foundations due to ground conditions. If you find a good responsive and reliable engineer, hold on to them for dear life ..!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K78 Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 Be careful with engineers. I’ve spent money on designs that were so over engineered they cost 10 times more than the final solution I went with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 I'm going through this at the moment and questioning everything including rebar that would stick out the roof. Diabolic when they are the so called professionals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandg Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 So the next question is how do you spot a good one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 million dollar question, mine was recommended so that didn't count for much. I guess all you can do is chat to some and go with gut feeling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandg Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 4 minutes ago, Vijay said: million dollar question, mine was recommended so that didn't count for much. I guess all you can do is chat to some and go with gut feeling Thanks. It strikes me that cost of procuring the service might not necessarily be a good guide either as the cheap guys might be more risk averse and spec more expensive solutions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K78 Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 29 minutes ago, eandg said: Thanks. It strikes me that cost of procuring the service might not necessarily be a good guide either as the cheap guys might be more risk averse and spec more expensive solutions? 100% as I found out. In the end I found a local guy who spoke sense with very reasonable rates. If your house design and build method are conventional I wouldn’t worry about it. If you are using ICF, sips or timber-frame they will have their own SE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandg Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 27 minutes ago, K78 said: 100% as I found out. In the end I found a local guy who spoke sense with very reasonable rates. If your house design and build method are conventional I wouldn’t worry about it. If you are using ICF, sips or timber-frame they will have their own SE. We will be one of the latter (mostly likely timber frame) but I've not yet came across any of the companies offering SE services. Would be quite happy for someone to wrap it all up and do it all under a supply and erect contract and take some of the risk out even if I pay a wee premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K78 Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 38 minutes ago, eandg said: We will be one of the latter (mostly likely timber frame) but I've not yet came across any of the companies offering SE services. Would be quite happy for someone to wrap it all up and do it all under a supply and erect contract and take some of the risk out even if I pay a wee premium. All the sip and timberframe companies I spoke to offered this. What type of foundation are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandg Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 1 hour ago, K78 said: All the sip and timberframe companies I spoke to offered this. What type of foundation are you using? I'll enquire with them - at a show this weekend so will hopefully get round most of them. And we've not got structural engineers on board yet but it's likely to be piled foundations due to ground conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 @eandg seriously consider an insulated raft as these seem to get round a multitude of ground issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandg Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 1 hour ago, PeterW said: @eandg seriously consider an insulated raft as these seem to get round a multitude of ground issues. Thanks - it's top of our list but will need to see if the kit manufacturer we go with will be able to work with it. I know that there's little tolerance with foundations for timber/SIPs frames and I'm wary of being out! If we could somehow marry an ICF shell (founds and walls) with timber partitions and all erected within 1-2 weeks I'd be all for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K78 Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 1 hour ago, eandg said: I'll enquire with them - at a show this weekend so will hopefully get round most of them. And we've not got structural engineers on board yet but it's likely to be piled foundations due to ground conditions. As mentioned above a insulated raft will be cheaper. You won’t need to worry about it not being accurate either. Se is included in the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 18 hours ago, eandg said: [...] And what information will they need to quote for the work? The relevant information. For us the sources of that information were[ the architect, the ground condition report a few photos a quick annotated sketch the technical details of the build method The initial design needed input from the architect, the ICF producer and the ground condition report. During the build a few hiccups occured so he needed a sensibly produced relevant brief. We learned that SEs that specialise don't over-design, and so save you money. In one sentence in a letter one SE saved us £16000: in another instance later in the build he over-specified , and so would have cost us several thousand pounds: the eventual solution (supplied by a specialist ICFSE ) cost a few hundred. There's a moral there.... find a specialist. Good luck Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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