structural engineer ? how much !

[The Badger]

OK so we are having an extension built and an attic conversion - structural engineer has quoted £600 for his part of the work ? sounds expensive to me anyone any ideas if this is expensive ? (what does a structural engineer actually do ?)
I thought the architect did all this kind of stuff ?

 

[PerryGunn]

AIUI Architects receive some training in structural design but prefer to turn over the actual structural calculations to someone who is properly trained in this field - as to what they do, they're the ones that ensure that the correct spec/dimensions of materials are used to ensure that the architect's design can actually be built and, once built, is stable

I couldn't say if £600 is a reasonable charge as so much will depend on the scope and complexity of the work but, by using a professional, at least you'll have coverage from their professional indemnity insurance if they get the calcs wrong and something nasty happens

 

[john-e89]

As an example of their job I've just finished taking a 5 Mt wide 2 foot thick internal structural wall out of a 17 th century building, the structural engineer had to calculate the supporting beams needed based on the remaining wall weight up to the roof apex, the size, material use, size of top supporting pad, depth and width of the footing pads for the supporting pillars, the size and strength of the connecting ground re-inforced concrete beam, the suitability of the ground to support the pillars etc, then it's all drawn out with all the information you need, along with several site visits. They study a long time as well at university so costs are always going to seem high, it's just something you have to accept for as perrygunn says they need to get it right. If you consider getting it right in the first place will pay dividends in the long run as you shouldn't get any problems so it really isn't a high cost. You need everything signed off for building regs and for if you come to sell the house, without everything signed off you'll have a problem.

Hope the extension goes smoothly.

 

[Zed Five]

Most professionals who have studied and trained to qualify will charge between 500 and 1500 per day. Sounds about right if he's assigned a day for the work. Indemity etc doesnt come cheap.

 

[Zed Five]

:wink: But everything is negotiable.

 

[original guvnor]

Sounds about right to me.

 

[The Badger]

Thanks everyone think I'm probably being a bit tight fisted here by everyone's comments ?
Think it was probably the shock of another bill...... we have already spent close on £4k ( including this) and we haven't started building yet - help !!

 

[Reedster]

Not a bad price.............. just for calcs. Hope you don't need site visits for any reason as well.............. up it goes.