For clients
Questions, answered the way we would on the phone
Do you build, or just design?
We design, assess and certify; we do not build. Your contractor builds to our drawings, and on a retainer we can inspect that they did. Keeping the designer separate from the builder is exactly what protects you.
Can you stamp drawings for a building permit?
Yes. Every structural drawing is signed and stamped by an engineer registered with the Professional Engineers Registration Board, which is what the parish council requires before it will approve a permit.
Can you tell me if I can add a floor?
That is a structural assessment: we survey what is there, calculate what it can carry, and tell you plainly whether the addition is safe as is, needs the foundations or frame strengthened first, or should not happen. Then, if it can, we design it.
Do you do the geotechnical and the boreholes?
We do the geotechnical engineering — the interpretation and the foundation recommendation. The drilling itself we subcontract to a named contractor and say so; the recommendation you build on is ours.
What is a structural certificate for a mortgage or insurer?
A signed, stamped letter from a registered engineer that a structure is sound. A bank before a loan, or an insurer before cover, usually asks for one; we inspect properly and turn most round in a few days.
How are your fees set?
Inspections and certificates are a fixed fee, printed on the services page. Design work is a fee scale against the value of the works, agreed in writing before we start. Nothing is billed by a surprise hour.
Do you supervise construction?
On a retainer, yes: an engineer on site at the stages that matter, certifying each is right before the next proceeds. It is the cheapest insurance a project buys and the reason a structure gets built the way it was drawn.
A structure of mine has cracked — can you help?
That is a forensic investigation: we find why it moved, cracked or failed, tell you at once whether anyone is at risk, and set out what it needs. If anyone could be in danger, call us before you email.
Longer
Notes from the firm
- 2026-09-13How to read a structural report
The four things worth checking before you act on one. - 2026-09-01Why we stamp what we sign
A drawing carries an engineer's registration and their liability. We do not put that stamp on work we did not check o... - 2026-08-07You don't need us to build — you need us to certify
The commonest call we get is from someone who thinks an engineer builds.