Structural engineer quote

stargazer001 · 13 February 2019 at 6:02PM

I've searched the forum but I couldn't find an answer.so I'm hoping someone with more experience might be able to help.

We're removing a 4 metre load bearing wall to knock through the kitchen and dining rooms.

The structural engineer has quoted £450 for the calculations and drawings for the builder and to satisfy building control.

Is this in the right ballpark for the South East?

somethingcorporate · 13 February 2019 at 10:29PM

I paid £250 for this 2 years ago in the north east.

I'd say you could possibly squeeze a tiny bit off if you shopped around.

yummydaddy · 14 February 2019 at 2:24AM

I know it’s a cliche, but I would suggest you get a couple of quotes. Our requirements were very different to yours and we found our highest quote was double the lowest.

Also check the engineer is with the institute of structural engineers :
on their site at istructe.org and click on 'finding-a-structural-engineer'

(Forum policy dictates that I can't post link yet)

Doozergirl · 14 February 2019 at 7:53AM

I would pay less than half that but I seem to have a bargainous structural engineer. That doesn't sound awful compared to most quotes that appear here or for the South East.

Dean000000 · 14 February 2019 at 8:15AM

You could spend some time to get it cheaper, or jut bite the bullet and go with him.

With professionals you get what you pay for.

Most important thing to do is ask for a copy of his PI insurance policy/certificate and ensure that you ‘trade’ with the correct business to get access to the policy in an event of a claim.

Structural engineers are basically and endurance policy. Builder could sling in a 203 x 203 steel ‘as that what he always does’ and it may or may not be fine.

What you are paying for is ensuring someone else has considered this and is willing to underwrite their claim.

So - in summary...buying a policy? Make sure the cover is good....

Check PI

somethingcorporate · 14 February 2019 at 2:42PM

Dean000000 wrote: »

With professionals you get what you pay for.

Not true. I got a brilliant service for around half the price and Doozer who is in the building professions suggests they get a great service too for a cheaper price.

What would you suggest they would be getting for the extra couple of hundred given that my SE did exactly required?

stargazer001 · 14 February 2019 at 6:36PM

Thanks all. I did contact all the structural engineers in our vicinity via the institute of structural engineers site. This quote is from the only one to reply so far and I will be chasing the other quotes. I'd budgeted £350-£450 so just glad to know I'm not too far out in my estimations. I'll see what the others come back with

Dean000000 · 14 February 2019 at 7:01PM

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Not true.

What would you suggest they would be getting for the extra couple of hundred given that my SE did exactly required?

Listen - I’m not saying this is a cast iron, live your life by, no exception rule. But generally....and I stand by it.

In answer to you question...

They are getting an engineer from the south east (rather than north west) wage expectation and overheads are lower up there.

And in doozers case the benefit of 2 years worth of service industry price increases....

The variables I cannot answer are for example; now much PI did the engineers carry? Those with 1 million have higher insurance than those with £500k.

How busy are they? The busy ones are generally doing repeat business (and therefore commanding of a higher fee)

I’m just defending in part my assertion - but to claim there is no correlation between fees charged and what you get in return is equally false.

I agree as a statement you don’t always get better for more you pay...but generally....

somethingcorporate · 14 February 2019 at 9:34PM

You didn't say "generally" you made a cast-iron assertion which was proven false by two examples on this very thread.

Just because a professional is more expensive doesn't mean it's better (Jose Mourinho is a good example!).

snowcat75 · 16 February 2019 at 9:28AM

Dean000000 wrote: »

With professionals you get what you pay for.

I would also say that's not true,

I'm a fabricator/ welder and self builder, The best structural engineers are the ones who want to do the job simply..... None of them can actually measure anything properly, they don't produce draft drawings that can be followed there simply there to do the calcs provide sizes and positions.... The rest of the headache is left to the poor fabricator to work out which is why I NEVER except my own do domestic work.

On a complex job an overzealous engineer can easily cost the job 5 figures by adding work that may not be necessary.

Interestingly on here iv heard numerous accounts of relevant qualifications, However never has anyone asked the question "is the steel work being produced to a standard of EN-1090" Its been a legal requirement for 3 years yet even the building inspectors seem to fail to know that.

Doozergirl · 17 February 2019 at 4:13PM

Dean000000 wrote: »

Listen - I’m not saying this is a cast iron, live your life by, no exception rule. But generally....and I stand by it.

In answer to you question...

They are getting an engineer from the south east (rather than north west) wage expectation and overheads are lower up there.

And in doozers case the benefit of 2 years worth of service industry price increases....

The variables I cannot answer are for example; now much PI did the engineers carry? Those with 1 million have higher insurance than those with £500k.

How busy are they? The busy ones are generally doing repeat business (and therefore commanding of a higher fee)

I’m just defending in part my assertion - but to claim there is no correlation between fees charged and what you get in return is equally false.

I agree as a statement you don’t always get better for more you pay...but generally....

What do you mean "And in doozers case the benefit of 2 years worth of service industry price increases...."?

That wasn't me. My latest bill was in January. It was for the design of a supporting steel for the removal of a wall and also for joist design for storage in a loft area.

£312 including VAT.

I'm not in the North West, our structural engineer is a rock to us, works all over the country and works for a decent sized enterprise who do all sorts of civil engineering. They must have massive PII.

I don't believe you always get what you pay for. I have a client who liked to use associated professionals he'd used on his commercial developments. I've seen the bills and I'm shocked. I've had plenty of experiences where I've had to do their work for them. Big companies, big overheads, poor recruitment.

Structural engineer quote

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