How to find a structural engineer?? (Edmonton, AB)
May 12, 2019 11:47 AM Subscribe
Recently, I had a contractor over to my mother's house to determine an estimate to repair a few small cracks in her stucco and replace some parging that had fallen off her house. The contractor recommended contacting a structural engineer after we noticed some of the concrete is separating from the house along an exterior wall. I have literally no idea where or how to find a structural engineer. Google isn't helping and I feel overwhelmed. How do I find a structural engineer?!
Am I looking for some sort of home inspector instead of a structural engineer? When I google for structural engineers in Edmonton, I only seem to find large engineering firms who focus on large residential projects (condos) and commercial projects, not single-family dwellings. Is there another term for a structural engineer who does this? I'm at a loss!
The wall the contractor was concerned with is *only* an exterior wall that is parallel with the front steps/front door of the house. The separation ends where the wall connects with the house and there are no other cracks along the foundation of the house, which is a relief. However, this wall supports the roof, so that's a bit disconcerting. Not sure if that description makes any sense, but the rest of the house looks fine. The contractors guessed that it might be just cosmetic, but the house is ~40 years old, so who knows. We have no leaks or any other issues, because that wall has nothing to do with the interior of the house.
Anyway, I'm trying not to panic about this, but I'm panicking. Do I contact a company that specializes in foundations, instead of a structural engineer? I cannot find any reviews of structural engineers, unlike the numerous reviews I find for other home improvement services on sites like homestars. I'm seriously confused!!
Am I looking for some sort of home inspector instead of a structural engineer? When I google for structural engineers in Edmonton, I only seem to find large engineering firms who focus on large residential projects (condos) and commercial projects, not single-family dwellings. Is there another term for a structural engineer who does this? I'm at a loss!
The wall the contractor was concerned with is *only* an exterior wall that is parallel with the front steps/front door of the house. The separation ends where the wall connects with the house and there are no other cracks along the foundation of the house, which is a relief. However, this wall supports the roof, so that's a bit disconcerting. Not sure if that description makes any sense, but the rest of the house looks fine. The contractors guessed that it might be just cosmetic, but the house is ~40 years old, so who knows. We have no leaks or any other issues, because that wall has nothing to do with the interior of the house.
Anyway, I'm trying not to panic about this, but I'm panicking. Do I contact a company that specializes in foundations, instead of a structural engineer? I cannot find any reviews of structural engineers, unlike the numerous reviews I find for other home improvement services on sites like homestars. I'm seriously confused!!
Those results you get when you google "structural engineer Edmonton" - I'd honestly just call these places and, even if they don't do what you need, they may be able to tell you who you should be looking for instead. You could also follow-up with the contractor and say you need more info on his/her recommendation for a structural engineer - maybe the contractor can recommend some places of who to call or provide a better explanation of what you're looking for. I'd explain you're having trouble figuring out who to call.
posted by AspirinPill at 12:14 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by AspirinPill at 12:14 PM on May 12, 2019
Response by poster: Not a dumb question, unfortunately he didn't have a list! I was hoping he would. He did mention that he'd forward the name of a structural engineer another client used for their house, however.
posted by VirginiaPlain at 12:14 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by VirginiaPlain at 12:14 PM on May 12, 2019
Home inspectors in the area and realtors in the area will have these names. But you should be googling structural engineer residential and then just calling around.
posted by edbles at 12:16 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by edbles at 12:16 PM on May 12, 2019
Yep, my Dad did this kind of thing as a sole proprietor, with no web presence or anything. He knew plenty of other engineers at larger firms though, and they would refer smaller jobs to him.
posted by rockindata at 12:22 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by rockindata at 12:22 PM on May 12, 2019
Ask a realtor who works in the local market. Most realtors will have a list of specialty contractors they have worked with, including structural engineers.
An experienced general contractor who does renovations might also know someone, since significant renovations of an existing structure may require an engineer's opinion.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:36 PM on May 12, 2019
An experienced general contractor who does renovations might also know someone, since significant renovations of an existing structure may require an engineer's opinion.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:36 PM on May 12, 2019
Response by poster: I'm confused about the suggestion to just call a realtor and asking for names... we're not selling the house, so how would I go about contacting a realtor? Why would they give us names of structural engineers if they're not going to be selling our house?
posted by VirginiaPlain at 12:45 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by VirginiaPlain at 12:45 PM on May 12, 2019
It's good PR for them if you do decide to sell your house.
Pretty much all the suggestions here are good. Your contractor, an engineering firm (even if they're too big for you) and other professionals in the residential construction and real estate industry could help you, as could a residential architect.
posted by LionIndex at 1:01 PM on May 12, 2019
Pretty much all the suggestions here are good. Your contractor, an engineering firm (even if they're too big for you) and other professionals in the residential construction and real estate industry could help you, as could a residential architect.
posted by LionIndex at 1:01 PM on May 12, 2019
Ask your mom's neighbors to recommend contractors and structural engineers. (Consider getting a second opinion from another contractor.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:05 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:05 PM on May 12, 2019
In my area you can barely throw a rock without hitting a realtor, and I know several socially, so I just assumed that would be fairly easy. I'd ask around to neighbors etc. and I'd imagine (unless the RE market is really stagnant?) that you'll find a few just through personal connections.
A local forum like Nextdoor will, if your neighborhood is anything like mine, probably turn up several as well. (I feel like Nextdoor is about 50% realtors and 50% grumpy retired people complaining about kids on their lawn, so you'll just need to ignore the latter.) Most of the local realtors also have a pretty strong Facebook / social media game and you could almost certainly get a response by pinging them on FB / Twitter. As others have noted it's a marketing / relationship-building exercise for them.
I use my realtor friends as a first source for basically any emergency home-services need, because they generally know people who will show up when called. Generally their recommendations have been solid if not necessarily the cheapest (which makes sense, given their needs when a property is on the market and in need of electrical/plumbing/roofing/whatever work).
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:24 PM on May 12, 2019
A local forum like Nextdoor will, if your neighborhood is anything like mine, probably turn up several as well. (I feel like Nextdoor is about 50% realtors and 50% grumpy retired people complaining about kids on their lawn, so you'll just need to ignore the latter.) Most of the local realtors also have a pretty strong Facebook / social media game and you could almost certainly get a response by pinging them on FB / Twitter. As others have noted it's a marketing / relationship-building exercise for them.
I use my realtor friends as a first source for basically any emergency home-services need, because they generally know people who will show up when called. Generally their recommendations have been solid if not necessarily the cheapest (which makes sense, given their needs when a property is on the market and in need of electrical/plumbing/roofing/whatever work).
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:24 PM on May 12, 2019
Response by poster: I never thought of it as marketing for realtors. I'm not really in the homeowning demographic, despite helping my mother with these fixes, so I don't know any realtors besides the ones who advertise on bus stop benches. I didn't know you could reach out to them like that.
Maybe I'm going about these repairs wrong, as I don't have a "contractor" per se. By contractor in my post I was referring to the tradesman I had out who specializes in repairing stucco and parging. I have zero terminology for home repair stuff. Is it better to contact a general contractor about something like this then? I didn't realize the problem with the foundation (or whatever) was as big as it was, which is why I just contacted the tradesman and not real contractor or whatever.
posted by VirginiaPlain at 1:35 PM on May 12, 2019
Maybe I'm going about these repairs wrong, as I don't have a "contractor" per se. By contractor in my post I was referring to the tradesman I had out who specializes in repairing stucco and parging. I have zero terminology for home repair stuff. Is it better to contact a general contractor about something like this then? I didn't realize the problem with the foundation (or whatever) was as big as it was, which is why I just contacted the tradesman and not real contractor or whatever.
posted by VirginiaPlain at 1:35 PM on May 12, 2019
I would start out with a foundation company, they work with residential structural engineers and maybe even have one on staff. If concrete is separating from the wall the root cause may be a foundation problem anyway.
posted by Grumpy old geek at 2:29 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by Grumpy old geek at 2:29 PM on May 12, 2019
You're looking for residential structural engineering services, or a residential structural engineer. There are lots of them in Edmonton. Anyone who offers such services in Alberta must be an APEGA member, and any individual who does so must hold an APEGA permit to carry out structural engineering. This tends to favour corporate employees, as the professional liability insurance for an individual permit holder can be extremely high, so companies help to spread the risk.
posted by scruss at 5:59 PM on May 12, 2019
posted by scruss at 5:59 PM on May 12, 2019
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posted by clawsoon at 12:10 PM on May 12, 2019 [2 favorites]