DESIGN
Appointing your Structural Engineer
The majority of projects undertaken by Moon DESIGN require the services of a Structural Engineer.
Structural Engineers design and size structural elements such as foundations, steel beams and columns, Glulam and timber beams, sometimes designing more complex padstone and connection details. They will assess the safety, strength, and durability of the structure. They also provide the calculations for Building Control.
You appoint the Structural Engineer directly, this creates a sound contractual relationship between you and them and allows you to have an on-going relationship with them if needed as your project progresses through the construction phase. Moon do not leave you to search the internet to find a suitable company, we have done this for you. They will invoice you directly for their services.
We have built good working relationships with several different tried and tested Structural Engineering companies. Sometimes we ask two or three to provide a fee quote for their services, but on some occasions we choose who we think is best suited to the type of project and its structural complexity, and who will find the most appropriate solution. Who can best conform to the time scale, and geographical location also play a part in the choice.
Moon’s design and construction knowledge means that we can establish the principals of the design solution and structural member sizes, this allows our brief to the Structural Engineer to often resolve most of the issues thus making the Engineers work easier and more cost effective.
We periodically check our pool of engineers for good value against the marketplace, and they have proven they are good value and provide the right level of service. They are not the cheapest, as we believe the cheapest doesn’t represent good value in either time or energy. Cheap fees tend to result in a clumsy and more expensive design solution that ends up impacting the architecture of the scheme. We don’t consider this to be a sensible area to try and save money.
It is worth noting that the Engineer may need to visit site either during design stage or during construction, it is the industry norm that this is charged on an hourly basis, as forecasting what is required is very difficult. Also, certain assumptions about ground conditions, wall and/or floor construction and condition are made in the design phase. The start of the construction process can reveal differences in these assumptions, and can mean a change in the design solution, or additional works for the Engineer and/or your builder.
