Building New Homes: 2 Ways a Structural Engineer Can Help

If you're a construction contractor, you will no doubt want to understand the ways in which a structural engineer can help you. This article explains two reasons construction contractors need a structural engineer on their projects. The structural designing procedures carried out by the structural engineers include calculating the loads and the stresses acting on the building and the analysis for the loads.

Analysis of loading and stresses

The analysis of loading of a structure includes calculating the loads acting on it and determining those loads that could potentially cause some damage to it. Some of these include snow load, wind load and rain load. The structural engineer checks whether these loads are causing more stress on certain parts of the structure than others. For example, stress is created when a force is put on an object like bending a piece of metal, placing an object on top of a surface or tightening with a spanner on nuts and bolts. The amount of stress is determined by multiplying load with distance. The analysis of the stresses on the structure helps to determine what parts of the structure to reinforce or strengthen so that it can sustain its load. Besides, engineers also consider the tolerable stress levels of each material used in the structure depending on how much force it could take before it would break or distort.

Soil and drainage assessments

While the structural designing is underway, the site investigations are also carried out by the engineer to establish whether there are enough supporting factors like soils to hold the foundation of the structure against adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain and flood during construction. Engineers carry out tests on samples of soil from the site to check if it is strong enough to hold heavy loads. Besides, they may also perform environmental inspections in order to prevent possible damage that may be caused in the case of poor environmental conditions. Poor environmental conditions such as water-logged soil or sand-filled ground could cause issues such as subsidence. Subsidence is a serious issue that could massively affect the stability and safety of a building. If these issues are identified, a structural engineer will be able to work to implement solutions such as improved drainage systems.

If you would like to find out more, you should contact a structural engineer. They will be happy to discuss your project and the ways in which they can assist you.