Inconsistency in structural engineer's plans, what next?!

soomagoo

Hi all,


We have clocked up 11 hours+ with a structural engineer who has given us a steel beam design plan and a cross section of the lower ground floor of our house that we want to open plan.


We have found what we consider to be errors in his plans (differences in beam depths, incorrect measuring of ceiling height, a beam drawn under another beam that could be tied in etc)


This, along with a three week wait between emails have caused us to lose faith in his work. The question is, where do we go from here? We don't fancy paying £1100+ for plans that contain errors and we certainly don't want to pay for this work to be remedied (or even have him do it at his own cost given the length of time he's taking) but is there any benefit to going elsewhere? Will they start from scratch and will we end up paying double?!


Help!


Any advice appreciated
Thanks
Sue.

Furts

He has done a job and he is entitled to payment. If you believe there are errors then you should politely inform him of these, and then they will be taken on board. Be diplomatic here, because you are saying your design judgement on tieing in beams is better than his. If this is a clear alteration to your agreed design then you may have to pay extra, but I suspect everything would be dealt with in the original quote.

The engineer may not be competent, or qualified, but only you can judge this. You chose this person, you researched their professional qualifications and accreditations, you researched their Professional Indemnity Insurance, you sought recommendations from previous clients...hence only you know the answers here.

If you go elsewhere you start again, and still have the issue of resolving the invoice from your chosen engineer. Hence you could well be "paying double".

Hope this helps.

System

it depends a lot on the purpose of the drawings, we all occasionally miss a note on a drawing. You should point out the inconsistency and they will correct them, there's likely a note on the drawings somewhere to say that too.

MisterBaxter

I'm not a structural engineer but I do remember from my structures module at Uni that there were a number of ways to solve a structural engineering problem and they could all be correct. You may disagree with the solution provided but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's not a valid solution.

If you are not happy with the proposals or have concerns over the drawings and calcs provided I suggest having a conversation with your SE and see what they have to say on the matter. There may be a good reason for them putting forward an option.

The above comments are made on the assumption that you checked credentials before appointing. If not there are no guarantees they are qualified or competent in any way.

arbrighton

I would politely point out that you noticed a and b don't match and could they please clarify so you can ensure that any investment in beams etc is correct.