Structural Inspection:
Many engineering firms do not offer residential services. At WAM, Inc., we understand the residential market, the contractor and the homeowner. We value their business and our team is proud to service this community. Most of the work that we perform for residential homeowners begins with an onsite engineering assessment. Our licensed, consulting engineers make a site visit to the property. Our professionals survey the structure and assess the severity of any of the areas of concern or problems in question.
After the site investigation is conducted, our engineers prepare a structural engineering report outlining onsite findings, identifying probable cause of the structural issue and recommendations for replacement or repair of any structural deficiencies un-covered. We provide our clients with a photograph log documenting existing conditions at the time of the site visit.
When should I hire a structural engineer?
Buying/Selling Of A Home:
It is very common that we are called in to evaluate a potential problem revealed after an independent home inspection. After a general home inspection is complete, sometimes a structural engineering inspection is also warranted. If this is the case, the home inspector will include this recommendation in his or her final home inspection report. Home inspectors are not qualified to assess and diagnose structural problems. Only a licensed, professional engineer can provide accurate assessments and solutions for a home buyer or seller.
Proposed Renovation Projects:
If you are planning on renovating your home and it involves removing or cutting into load-bearing walls, adding a 2nd story renovation or addition with great rooms containing wide open spaces (no supports), searching out the services of a professional engineer is a great first step. For the purposes of construction you will require design and engineering for permit documents. Your local building department will require a licensed, professional engineer stamp any new construction or major renovation.
Complicated structures or projects involving older homes, very common to the State of Massachusetts, may also require early input from a structural engineer. Antique homes and structures before 1960s-70s were built without prescriptive building methods. Today, state and local building codes exist to ensure contractors and home builders follow a set of pre-determined guidelines for building a home. A licensed, structural engineer is the best professional to assess the feasibility of any major home renovation project. A site visit can be conducted to evaluate potential, structural issues.
What other residential home issues require a licensed, professional engineer?
- In the event of a natural disaster which caused damage to your home
- Foundation wall cracks, settlement or movement
- Interior cracking and framing movement
- Sagging or bowing floors or walls
- Termite, carpenter ant or rot damage
- Undersized and damaged framing members
- Roof failure
- Building collapse
- Flood, fire, water or high wind damage
New Construction:
Walter A. McKinnon Associates employs structural engineering consultants who specialize in new house construction design. We will meet with our clients to gain an understanding of their goals and objectives with regards to aesthetics, budget, size, building functionality and schedule. We will develop a customized, engineered solution for each project.
We have the ability to guide our customers; albeit architects, designers or homeowners through the entire custom home design process. Learn more about that process below.
Our Custom Home Design Process:
Concept Sketches: During this first phase, we will work with the client to develop a building concept that will streamline the construction process and avoid any building code hurdles. These initial drawings will help to plan dimensions, structural framing and constructability.
Pre-Design: During the pre-design phase, sometimes identified as the “schematic design phase,” we will consider the possible building structure problems, existing conditions, site issues, planning issues, etc. We will attempt to gather information about the potential project and identify any possible road blocks. This will ensure a smooth delivery of our next steps, engineering development and construction documents.
Design Development: At this phase, the project begins to take shape. Structural systems are finalized and coordination with the architectural design to make sure our structural members are not prohibitive. At this point we are on our way to construction documents. We have now identified potential construction costs and material specifications for the owner (client) and estimators to evaluate.
Construction Documents: At this phase, we are ready to present our client with working, permit-ready drawings. This phase represents 75% completion of the total project. Technical specifications are finalized in this phase, and we, as consultants to the building owner, present our customized solution.
Construction Administration: During this final phase, we can assist the building owner in executing our final structural plans. We can perform the due diligence necessary to select the appropriate contractor for completion of the work. We can also perform weekly building inspections to ensure that the structure is being constructed per our specifications.
We will provide our custom home design clients with:
- Working drawings
- Specifications & Tables
- Cross sections
- Full Structural Drawings that include; Foundation, Framing, Wall Bracing Plan, Details & Specifications
Quality Control of New House Construction:
A periodic residential construction inspection can be provided to insure your home is constructed to the highest standard and according to the plans and specifications.
New Construction Pre-Planning Services:
Site Coordination: Working with your site surveyor or civil engineer we can coordinate how your new home interacts with the lot to minimize site costs and impacting any environmental issues in play.
Geotechnical Engineering: What is under a piece of property can be as important as what is on the surface. Geotechnical engineering characterizes the properties of earth materials and predicts the reaction to loading conditions.
Custom Renovations:
From an addition, to a deck design, to your dream kitchen, at WAM, Inc. we customize our services to meet your renovation needs. Unlike other home renovation companies, our engineering staff has the experience and expertise to guide our customers through the entire renovation engineering design process. We will meet with our clients to gain an understanding of their goals and objectives with regards to aesthetics, budget, size, functionality and schedule. We will then develop a customized, engineered solution for each project.
Our custom home renovation design process:
Concept Sketches: During this first phase, we will work with the client to develop a building concept that will streamline the construction process and avoid any building code hurdles. These initial drawings will help to plan dimensions, structural framing and constructability.
Pre-Design: During the pre-design phase, sometimes identified as the “schematic design phase,” we will consider the possible building structure problems, existing conditions, site issues, planning issues, etc. We will attempt to gather information about the potential project and identify any possible road blocks. This will ensure a smooth delivery of our next steps, engineering development and construction documents.
Design Development: At this phase, the project begins to take shape. Structural systems are finalized and coordination with the architectural design to make sure our structural members are not prohibitive. At this point we are on our way to construction documents. We have now identified potential construction costs and material specifications for the owner (client) and estimators to evaluate.
Construction Documents: At this phase, we are ready to present our client with working, permit-ready drawings. This phase represents 75% completion of the total project. Technical specifications are finalized in this phase, and we, as consultants to the building owner, present our customized solution.
Construction Administration: During this final phase, we can assist the building owner in executing our final structural plans. We can perform the due diligence necessary to select the appropriate contractor for completion of the work. We can also perform weekly building inspections to ensure that the structure is being constructed per our specifications.
We will provide our custom home design clients with:
- Working drawings
- Specifications & Tables
- Cross sections
- Full Structural Drawings that include; Foundation, Framing, Wall Bracing Plan, Details & Specifications
Quality control of home renovation services:
A periodic construction inspection can be provided to insure your project is constructed to the highest standard and according to the plans and specifications.
Specialty Services:
Here are Walter A. McKinnon Associates we are experienced in what may be deemed as specialty services for our residential clients that are not of typical scope. Examples of these specialty services are:
- Solar panel array and rack fastening and roof certification
- Fire Escape/Egress Inspection & Certification
- Concrete poured retaining walls for differential site conditions
- Segmented gravity retaining walls for landscaping
Forensic Engineering:
At Walter A. McKinnon Associates, we understand that forensic engineering is a combination of science, intuition and investigation. Forensic engineering requires detailed investigation and documentation to determine where the cause of current failure or what were unknown problems. Our forensic team determines origination of the problem in question. Once this is identified, our team of experts can recommend an optimal solution for those we serve.
Forensic engineering is unique and not suited for all engineers or engineering firms. It requires a distinct level of confidence, intuition and an out of the box approach. What we have found is that in many instances, a building or structure failure is not a result of one specific event.
In other words, our forensic building professionals must consider the whole picture. To understand all potential variables, our experts engage our clients in a dialogue to determine a timeline of events leading up to the failure. “Who, what, when, where” are just a couple of the unknown variables we must understand prior to completing our initial, structural assessment.
Typically, we provide our clients with a comprehensive report and photograph log after we perform our initial, structural evaluation. In some instances, reviewing the original construction documents is required to identify if there are differences between the permit specifications and what was built.
We serve both residential and commercial clients, and although each require differing degrees of assessment, we find common themes for every forensic building case we take on.
Most of the time, a new building or structure failure is the result of one of the following
- A natural disaster
- Compromised site conditions
- A design flaw within the building plans
- A construction defect as a result of:
- improper construction methods
- incorrect building materials
- substitution of specified construction materials
- in-sufficient construction oversight and construction monitoring