Steel Calculations

naughtyjo

Help please
I have had steel calculations done as I am taking down 2 internal walls one which is basically the corner of the house.
I have had them done by a consulting structural engineer and his paperwork says that his appointment is in accordance with the ACE short form agreement of 2002. I have tried to look on the web for info on this but am at a loss.
What does this mean?
If he has done the calcs wrong and something happens as a result is he liable?
Does this act cover me as a consumer or do I need to get something from him like proof of insurance etc?
Its me been over cautious I guess but this is a major structural job so I need to know I'm covered etc if something does go wrong as house insurance does not cover you for structural alterations etc
Should not have watched homes from hell last night!!
Any help/advice would be appreciated
Thank you

macka0

you`ll submit your calcs to building control and they will check them

Tucker

Structural Engineers calcs normally come with indemnity in that if the calc is wrong, you are able to pursue the SE under his public liability cover.

But I would ask him to confirm it in any event.

Tucker

macka0 wrote: »

you`ll submit your calcs to building control and they will check them

I very much doubt it. They aren't there to check the work of individual specialists.

If the SE says it needs XYZ then a Building Control Officer won't be taking issue with it or challenging it. They aren't qualified for that. They know the regs. They don't check individual calcs.

naughtyjo

Thankyou for that I have submitted drawings and calcs etc through building control
Just wanted to make sure I was ok if the worse did happen

macka0

I`m a bricklayer and have been for over 25 years and every inspector i have dealt with have always had the calcs checked once submitted

Tucker

They will need to see them, but how can they check the calc?

On my extension and knock through, Buidling control inspected the groundwork, but he didn't inspect the existing roof lay out, weights, stresses or even know the spec brick and blockwork, or the roof tiles or loft timbers. That's what the SE uses to calc the steel, so how can BC check if they aren't armed with the facts needed to check it? My internal block were 125mm as oppose to 100mm. Only he went to the trouble of checking that.

In any event, you won't get far suing building control if the calc is wrong and it goes belly up.

macka0

Believe me they get checked ,not by the site inspectors but they do get passed on.... it very easy to write something on a piece of paper

iamcornholio

naughtyjo wrote: »

his paperwork says that his appointment is in accordance with the ACE short form agreement of 2002.

What does this mean?

The ACE agreement is just really the contractual agreement between you - things like what he is engaged to do, payments, what is expected etc.

Although there are some liability clauses within this agreement, it has little to do with the actual calculations, as if he messes those up then you have a claim in negligence in any case

For domestic work, the engineer would really have to be incompetent to get things wrong.

The building control officer is typically not qualified to check or even argue with a structural engineer. There may be an engineer back in the office or a consultant used to check calculations, but its normally just a formality

Amphion

Hello,

ACE =Association of Consultancy and Engineering

Short form agreement 2002 is a type of contract/agreement formalising the relationship between engineer and client.
Basically the engineer is saying what he will do for the price you will pay. I haven’t used this so don’t know what it covers to be honest but at the end of the day if the structural engineer has made a mistake then he is liable and should carry professional indemnity insurance to cover. However, unlike in the USA there are no laws stating he needs insurance to trade and this should have been checked before appointing him.

As for the calculations…. when calculations are submitted to the local building control they ARE checked by a qualified engineer, either in house or by a third party.

Mistral001

The engineer will be totally responsible to his/her client for any economic loss as a result of making mistakes so it is sensible to check out the engineer and the contract with him/her.

Despite what some posters above have said, some Building Control areas will only sometimes get the calculations checked, but even if they do get them checked, they have no responsibility for economic loss to applicants, which means if they do not spot a mistake in the calculations they will be embarrassed, but will not pay out any money.

To give you peace of mind I would do two things:

1. Ask to see proof of the engineers Professional Indemnity insurance which most established engineers will have.

2. Check whether they are qualified. They should preferably have chartered engineer status (CEng after name along with MIStructE -member of Institution of Structural Engineers or MICE - member of Institution of Civil Engineers).