Structural Engineer screwup - who is liable and how?

jc808

Situation:

House refurb - walls knocked down for Thru lounge (Ground) and Thru basement (cellar)

Builder puts in large steel in the basement, smaller steel in the ground floor as per the plans.

Heres the rub: Theyre supposed to be the other way around (Structural Engineers fault as he produced the plans and submitted to Council with the steels the wrong way round), and the council have picked up on it

Myself, my builder, the council and SE are having a site meeting Monday. The steels have arguably been overspecced, we may be OK (Will see what SE/ council say on Monday) but if it isnt there are two remedial actions:

1) Remove steels that have been installed and swap them. This involves unwelding, unbolting from the pillars on which they stand an all assiocated joist carpentry where the basement joists are built into the basement steel.

2) Remove the masonry wall above the gd floor through lounge steel, and put more pillars in and another steel, propping up the roof in the interim.

Both options will cost me £££ - how do I get this back from the SE if they happen? Will he pay me from his indemnity insurance, or will I have to sue him?

Any advice appreciated ta

iamcornholio

The SE is liable

You ask him for the costs. He either agrees to pay out of his own pocket, or he asks you to make a formal claim which his insurers will deal with

If he has a high policy excess, it may be in his interests to just pay the builders invoice for the work

Tr1pp

I would have thought you would get your builder to quote for the cost of rectifying the problem.

You then take this quote to the SE and get him to pay, the method of payment is not your concern as long as you get it before you have to pay the builders

alternatively - you could with hold the sum from the payment owed to the SE. This of course is dependent on whether the engineer has already been paid or not

anotherbaldrick

Your structural engineer (If he is legitimate) will carry Professional Indemnity insurance , ask for details of his policy.

jc808

Tr1pp wrote: »

I would have thought you would get your builder to quote for the cost of rectifying the problem.

You then take this quote to the SE and get him to pay, the method of payment is not your concern as long as you get it before you have to pay the builders

alternatively - you could with hold the sum from the payment owed to the SE. This of course is dependent on whether the engineer has already been paid or not

SE has already been paid
We will see what happens on Monday and take it from there

keystone

jc808 wrote: »

We will see what happens on Monday and take it from there

Thats the only sensible way forward.

Too much talk of fault and liability on this thread and not enough about responsibility. From what you've said:

1. The SE is responsbile for the calculations leading to the specification of the steels.

2. The SE is responsible for the plans showing the two steels locations.

3. The builder is responsbile for checking what is hes doing before he does it.

4. The council is responsbile for saying that the steels are the wrong way round

5. The builder is responsible for fitting the steels as they currently are.

If the steels are the right way round and the council is wrong who is liable for wasted time?

If steels are overspec'd anyway and the smaller one is actually large enough for the loads in the location where it current resides who is responsbile for what and what liability is there?

If the steels are drawn the wrong way round and obviously so but were still fitted that way by the builder who is liable?

Yep - see what turns up tomorrow!

Cheers

Canucklehead

Hi,

I'm curious.

How is the steel fitted 'the wrong way round?'


GSR.

keystone

Big one fitted in place of small one and vice versa because the plan is apparently wrong.

Cheers

jc808

Yes - the reason there is a larger steel on the ground floor is ,in addition to imposed load, there is a dead load of a masonry wall above

keystone

So what happened then? Don't keep us all in suspense!

Cheers

jc808

SE insists revised plans were sent - despite BC and I being in posession of wrong ones.

Have agreed to insert steel on first floor and remove masonrry wall, which will cost me more £££
Will not confront SE until BC sign off job in case he becomes unresposive to queries and BC cannot ok job