New Additions To Your Home

If you are planning a second story to be added to your existing home, a structural engineer should be engaged to inspect and ensure that the existing foundation is adequate to support the new load. An excavation needs to be performed, by the homeowner, around the foundation to expose the footing for inspection. The structural engineer measures the size of the exposed footing and runs load calculations to determine its adequacy. If an addition is planned as an expansion to the first story, then the footing may not need structural inspection, unless part of the framing of the new addition will be supported by the existing wall of the home.

An Architect should be hired to prepare plans of the new addition. A licensed structural engineer should be hired to design the structural framing. The structural engineer's P.E. seal is required on structural frame drawings in order for a homeowner to get a building permit from the County.