Structural Engineers & Building Control

shadowseed

Hi,
I've done a home extension and hired Approved Inspectors to provide building control. They project finish months ago but ive had an odd question from my Approved Inspectors; they want to know what kind of qualifications my Structural Engineer has (who provided the structural calculations for the steels in my extension). Bare in mind that the structural cals were sent to them about six months before the start of the project as part of there "Design Review". No issues were raised with them.

I spoke to my Structural Engineer (a old guy) who said he does not have any formal qualifications and he has been doing this for 50 years. He said that there is no requirement by building control for a Structural Engineer to have any kind of certification.

Is this true??? Does a Structural Engineer need to have a certification of some kind for their structural calculations to meet building control regulations ?

Thanks in advance

tony6403

Have a look here
https://www.istructe.org/membership/types-of-membership/chartered-member
I would say that without being chartered he can't be accepted as a structural engineer.
Would you expect building control to accept electrical or gas work done by someone without qualifications?

EachPenny

shadowseed wrote: »

I've done a home extension and hired Approved Inspectors to provide building control. They project finish months ago but ive had an odd question from my Approved Inspectors; they want to know what kind of qualifications my Structural Engineer has (who provided the structural calculations for the steels in my extension). Bare in mind that the structural cals were sent to them about six months before the start of the project as part of there "Design Review". No issues were raised with them.

I spoke to my Structural Engineer (a old guy) who said he does not have any formal qualifications and he has been doing this for 50 years. He said that there is no requirement by building control for a Structural Engineer to have any kind of certification.

Is this true??? Does a Structural Engineer need to have a certification of some kind for their structural calculations to meet building control regulations ?

You don't need to have any professional qualifications to call yourself a 'structural engineer', but you do if you want to add 'chartered' to what you call yourself. This is why people can get away with calling themselves a 'washing machine engineer' when all they know is how to unblock a filter and change a heating element.

As far as I know your 'structural engineer' is correct, you don't need to have formal qualifications or certificates to carry out calculations for BC purposes. Part of the BC role is to confirm the submitted calculations are adequate (calculating the appropriate things, making the right assumptions, using the correct figures and that the maths is correct).

In theory a DIYer could carry out the structural calculations for most new domestic building work if they were willing to put in the time to learn what was required and how to do it. The advantage of employing a professional Structural Engineer is to (a) save that time and (b) take advantage of their experience and ability to achieve the most economic solution. (alterations to existing structures almost always require professional help as the issues are more complex).

The important issue for you is whether the structural engineer has claimed specific qualifications or to be chartered, and whether the Approved Inspectors now believe the calculations to be wrong.

teneighty

It depends how the Building Control company deal with the engineer's calculations.

If the calculations are prepared by a qualified engineer from a reputable firm with all necessary PI cover then they usually take the calculations on trust.

If they are prepared by an amateur with no formal qualifications then they will probably have to get them checked by a third party, unless they are something like a very simple beam calculation. They can charge the applicant an additional fee for the extra checking.

shadowseed

The guy i used has been doing structural engineering for 50 years, so dont think he is an amateur. He has done structural calcs for a friend of mine (in the same local authority) and they were never questioning his ability to do the job.
Also, my BC company did a "Design Review" which included the structural calculations, and no issues were raised, so im still trying to work out why they are being so persistent about this.

Andy_L

tony6403 wrote: »

Have a look here
https://www.istructe.org/membership/types-of-membership/chartered-member
I would say that without being chartered he can't be accepted as a structural engineer.
Would you expect building control to accept electrical or gas work done by someone without qualifications?

He could be Charted without having the, currently, required qualifications by the Technical report route which would judge his 50 years experience or (possibly) by having had Grandfather rights to be admitted "back in the day".

Either way, if he isn't a member of an appropriate engineering institution (at an appropriate level, not necessarily Chartered) & with suitable liability insurance I wouldn't use him