Retaining Engineeers

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Retaining Home Inspectors and Engineers 

What is the difference between a real estate inspection report and an engineering performance evaluation?  What should a home buyer look for when retaining a Professional Engineer?     What is the most important criteria for selecting a Professional Structural Engineer? 

 

What is the difference between a real estate inspection report and an engineering performance evaluation? 

From a practical perspective, the difference between what a real estate inspection report and an engineering evaluation comes down to what they report if the foundation performance is judged to be inadequate.

bullet The Real Estate Inspection Approach: Under the rules licensed real estate inspectors are required to follow, if they judge the performance of the foundation to be inadequate, the inspector is required to report the foundation as in need of repair.
bullet The Engineering Approach: An example of an engineering approach can be found in a publication of Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.  The guidelines state that if the foundation performance is judged to be inadequate, the engineer should report to his client the options that are available to improve the performance.  Those options do include structural foundation repair but also can include non-structural options such as landscaping changes, more or less aggressive watering of the foundation making cosmetic repairs and/or changes to the house and, if appropriate, doing nothing.  
bullet Why the Engineering Approach is a More Comprehensive  Approach: According to the US Army Corps of Engineers publication Foundations in Expansive Soils, the fact that a foundation is not performing "adequately" does not mean that foundation repair is either necessary or desirable.  Nor does it mean that foundation repair will actually improve the performance of the foundation.  An engineer has both the training and duty to exercise his engineering and analytical judgment in judging both the adequacy of the performance of the foundation and in reporting what options are applicable for improving inadequate foundation performance.  The real estate inspection approach frequently results in a repair  recommendation that is both unnecessary and counterproductive.  Many real estate inspectors know this.  They usually follow the rules by reporting a house that shows signs of damage due to foundation movement as in need of foundation repair but then also recommend a second opinion from a structural engineer.

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What should a homebuyer look for when retaining a Professional Engineer? 

When engaging an engineer, your first choice should be an engineer who specializes in foundation performance evaluations for purposes of a real estate transaction.  These engineers will usually have an advertisement in the Greater Houston Area Yellow pages under “real estate inspectors”.  There are a very limited number of engineers who specialize in this area of practice.

 

bullet Select an engineer who uses an engineering approach that you can understand and are comfortable with.  Some engineers use a damage evaluation approach based mainly on visible cracks, especially on how many there are and how wide they are.  Another approach is what I call a levelness evaluation which focuses on how level the finish floor surface is.  Either approach, if done by a skilled and experienced engineer who exercises good engineering judgment, is acceptable.  But the approach should make sense to you.
bullet Obtain a sample report.  Most engineers will provide you with a sample report if you ask.  It can be E-mailed to you in a few hours.  Most engineers do not maintain websites but that is likely to change soon.  If an engineer has a website visit it and you may find you can download a sample report.
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Select an engineer who has no relation to any foundation repair company.   Do  not assume that an engineer has no relation to a foundation repair company.  If you want an unbiased report, make sure the engineer you retain is not related in any way to a foundation repair contractor.  Be especially wary of companies like Knight Engineering Services Corporation who advertise themselves as engineers but who in reality is a foundation repair contractor owned and operated by a mechanical engineer who, in my opinion,  knows little or nothing about structural engineering..

 

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What is the most important criteria for selecting a Professional Structural Engineer? 

When you retain an engineer, you are paying for his judgment.  That is true of any professional you retain whether it is an engineer, a doctor or an accountant.  When you talk to the engineer on the phone ask yourself the following questions:

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Does the engineer sound as if he or she know what they are talking about?

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Does the engineer answer your questions in a manner that you find understandable?

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Does the engineer sound as if they are a reasonable person?

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© 2004 R. Michael Gray, P.E. and Matthew T. Gray.  This material may be reprinted for personal and educational non-commercial use only.  This material is based on generally accepted engineering principles and practices; it is for general information only.  The information contained herein should not be used without first securing competent professional advice with respect to its suitability for a general or specific application.  Anyone using this information assumes all liability for such use.