Help me find a structural engineer in the Bay Area, please

March 7, 2018 7:27 AM

We have a few old-house issues that need a structural engineer to analyze for us. We have had difficulty finding any, but mostly because we've looked on Yelp.

#1 We need an engineer to analyse the foundation and drainage system and design a new one.

#2 When we had our roof redone two years ago, the roofer told us we needed a structural engineer to calculate the new load.

We're hoping there are some people who have had good experiences w/structural engineers who can recommend one.

posted by honey badger to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

It sounds like you might actually need two engineers. For issue 1, you'll want a soils engineer - they deal with soil drainage and foundation recommendations, but they may not want to actually design the foundation itself. Typically, they'll analyze the conditions and make recommendations to a more general structural engineer, and probably work with quite a few, so they can make an informed recommendation. Terms to look for in addition to "soils engineer" are "geotechnical" and maybe "testing".

For the roof, it's a bit concerning that you have this roof installed but don't know whether your framing can support it. Going from one kind of asphalt shingle to another isn't too bad, but going to something like tile would be scary. The product itself probably lists its weight on the package; you need an engineer to see if your roof can support that weight.
posted by LionIndex at 8:25 AM on March 7, 2018

My mom is a broker for a great, established practice in Berkeley that deals with this all the time and get you someone on a good rate. If you want to message me I will refer you.
posted by parmanparman at 11:28 AM on March 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

I didn't hire them but I got quotes from a couple structural engineers (after the quote I got sad and went into denial about our shitty foundation). I also talked to some basement contractors who aren't engineers (Jim Gardner and All Seasons seemed very professional and organized) but who do rebuild foundations. I believe All Seasons has an Engineer they work with? So I can't give you a first hand recommendation, but I do think going through the process of getting quotes from some contractors will give you some info about what engineers they like to work with.

Did you look at Berkeley Parents Network already?
posted by latkes at 8:26 PM on March 7, 2018