For clients who don’t work in the Construction Industry, we’ve tried to answer some of our most frequently asked questions below.
Hopefully this will be useful to anyone thinking of engaging our services. Please do call us with any questions that you have and we will be more than happy to discuss your project with you.
Whenever you make alterations to your property, it is essential that those alterations do not compromise the structural integrity of the building. Having an engineer design and detail the structure that you need will mean that it conforms to building regulations, gives you peace of mind and ensures that the property will be insurable in the future.
A structural engineer will form an essential part of the team of professionals, including builders, architects and others that you will employ to work for you. We work closely with hundreds of builders and architects in the area - usually an engineer is involved after the initial concept stage and we will be recommended to you once the scope of works has been decided on.
You may need a structural engineer if:
You want to remove or relocate a load-bearing wall in your property.
You want to widen an opening such as a door or window in a wall.
You want to build an extension to your property which requires structural elements such as foundations, openings. floor or roof structure to be designed.
Your property is showing signs of movement or cracking.
You are concerned that structural elements (usually in older properties) are failing (e.g.) lintels over windows or beams supporting structure above are warped or bowed.
Blackwell Structural Consultants can provide the following services to domestic clients:
Site visits and measured surveys where an architect is not employed.
Reports.
Structural reports / Party wall surveys and awards / Expert witness reports / Barn Surveys.
Design and specification of repair works to damaged properties.
Design of all structural elements.
Timber beams / steel beams / masonry designs.
Trial hole inspection and soil testing where trees are present on sites with clay soils.
Foundation design
Plan drawings and detail drawings for steelwork fabrication.
To employ an engineer from Blackwell Structural Consultants phone 01604 755000 or email info@blackwellconsultants.co.uk. You will be able to discuss your needs with an engineer over the phone or arrange for one to come out to site and meet you.
Structural Reports are often confused with Home Buyer's Surveys. A Home Buyer's Survey will cover every aspect of the property in superficial detail. A Structural Report focuses only on the structural elements of the property, but in great detail. The report aims to assess the overall stability of the property and answer the following questions:
What elements are in need of repair or replacement?
What work, if any, should be carried out (urgently)?
A Structural Report will not assess issues such as damp, asbestos removal, plumbing, heating, electrical works or cosmetic issues. If a surveyor, insurer, builder or buyer has highlighted a structural issue to you, we may be able to help.
To discuss what we might be able to provide for you call on 01604 755000 or email info@blackwellconsultants.co.uk
A Party Wall Award is a legal document, drawn up under the Party Wall Act, 1996. The government has general guidance on Party Wall Awards, which can be found here.
You must tell your neighbour if you want to:
Build on or at the boundary of your 2 properties.
Work on an existing party wall or party structure.
Dig below and near to the foundation level of their property.
Often your neighbour (or adjoining owner) might agree to works being carried out. If so, they should do this in writing. It is not unusual for an adjoining owner to insist that a Party Wall Award is made by two surveyors. You must pay for both your surveyor and the adjoining owner's if they want to have their own (it is possible for one surveyor to represent both properties).
Surveyors work on behalf of the Party Wall Act itself and not for the wishes of the clients. In this way, an award can be drawn up that ensures that the design of the works to be carried out is such that the works will not compromise either structure.
Often a condition survey is carried out on the adjoining owners property to assess any existing damage. This ensures that if damage occurs to the adjoining owners property as a result of the work, you will be liable to pay for their repairs. It also means that you can't be asked to pay for repairs for damage that existed before the work began.
To discuss what we might be able to provide for you call on 01604 755000 or email info@blackwellconsultants.co.uk
I have been told that I might need a raft foundation - what is that and why would I need it?
A raft foundation is a type of slab foundation which is reinforced, usually with steel mesh, to make it rigid. This means that the slab can "bridge" over soft spots in poor ground or move with and accommodate small movements in ground which might be vulnerable to shrinkage or heave.
Raft foundations can offer an effective solution in certain circumstances , for example if traditional trench foundations would need to be dug excessively deep. If became quite common to use reinforced slabs in the 1970s as a "cure-all" solution, however a raft foundation is not always the best option. Understanding what problems need to be overcome on site and designing the most cost-effective and job-specific foundation design to suit. is what we do. One of our engineers will be happy to review any plans you have and discuss with you and your builder what is required in order to provide a free quotation.
I think that my house has subsidence - what should I do?
Subsidence is downward movement of a building which is not caused by the weight of the building (settlement is where the weight of a structure causes the ground beneath it to settle for a short period of time after construction). The are several different causes of subsidence and diagnosing the cause is not always straightforward.
Cracks in the building do not necessarily mean that it is subsiding. Cracking can be caused by thermal shrinkage or expansion in masonry, failed lintels, water damage or impact damage amongst other things.
What makes you think that subsidence is taking place? What evidence do you see of movement? Is this movement recent or has it been continuing for a number of years? With these questions in mind, call one of our engineers who will be happy to discuss your concerns and arrange to visit your property if required.
My builder says that I need a rolled steel joist - do you design these and do you do small projects?
Yes and yes.
Nowadays, they are called Universal Beams but Rolled Steel Joists are designed to support elements of structures - walls, floors, roofs etc. where new openings are being made. For example, if you want to create a kitchen-dining room or add a window to your roof. It is essential that the beam be designed by an engineers so that your property remains insurable and mortgageable in the future.
Blackwell Structural Consultants has grown into a well-established practice; we work on multi-million pound projects for a wide portfolio of clients, however we value the domestic side of our business and pride ourselves on the personal and friendly service that we provide to domestic clients.