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TwiggyG8517 Jun 2019 14:16Hello everyone,
Since we bought a house, I have been reading a lot in this forum. Now I have reached a point where the search function no longer helps me, so I am actively asking my question.
Some background info: we are renovating our house completely and managing the contracts ourselves.
We want to remove an almost entire wall and have therefore hired a structural engineer to provide the necessary calculations for support. We provided detailed plans and clearly communicated our requirements. So far, so good. We received the report and privately ordered the steel beam accordingly.
When we were on site with our mason, it turned out that the beam was too short.
After carefully reviewing the report, it became clear that the dimensions used in it referred to the first floor instead of the ground floor. We confronted the structural engineer about this, and according to him, this is normal. This structural calculation is only a rough guideline, and the exact length of the beam must be checked on site during construction. A deviation of 40cm (16 inches) to 50cm (20 inches) is considered normal. The contractor responsible must verify this, and he finds it hard to understand how we, as private individuals, could order the beam ourselves. The fact that the dimensions match those of the first floor is just a coincidence. Furthermore, the calculations include positions where the beam’s own weight is taken into account. In my opinion, the whole calculation becomes invalid if the length is changed.
Finally, his opinion was that we can ask any architect we want, a report is just a guideline, and the contractor must order the beam with the appropriate length.
For me, this is a calculation error. The structural engineer is stubborn and sticks to his position. Before I take any further steps, I wanted to first consult the collective knowledge here.
Thank you and best regards
Since we bought a house, I have been reading a lot in this forum. Now I have reached a point where the search function no longer helps me, so I am actively asking my question.
Some background info: we are renovating our house completely and managing the contracts ourselves.
We want to remove an almost entire wall and have therefore hired a structural engineer to provide the necessary calculations for support. We provided detailed plans and clearly communicated our requirements. So far, so good. We received the report and privately ordered the steel beam accordingly.
When we were on site with our mason, it turned out that the beam was too short.
After carefully reviewing the report, it became clear that the dimensions used in it referred to the first floor instead of the ground floor. We confronted the structural engineer about this, and according to him, this is normal. This structural calculation is only a rough guideline, and the exact length of the beam must be checked on site during construction. A deviation of 40cm (16 inches) to 50cm (20 inches) is considered normal. The contractor responsible must verify this, and he finds it hard to understand how we, as private individuals, could order the beam ourselves. The fact that the dimensions match those of the first floor is just a coincidence. Furthermore, the calculations include positions where the beam’s own weight is taken into account. In my opinion, the whole calculation becomes invalid if the length is changed.
Finally, his opinion was that we can ask any architect we want, a report is just a guideline, and the contractor must order the beam with the appropriate length.
For me, this is a calculation error. The structural engineer is stubborn and sticks to his position. Before I take any further steps, I wanted to first consult the collective knowledge here.
Thank you and best regards
Basically, it is correct that the structural dimensions are not relevant for the on-site situation, neither in new construction nor in existing buildings. However, this should especially be noted in the structural calculations for private projects. If this clause is missing, you might be able to use it in court, but the effort probably isn’t worth it.
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HilfeHilfe17 Jun 2019 16:03How much does the steel beam cost? Is there no way to replace it with a different one? Basically, you could have also measured it with a tape measure.
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TwiggyG8517 Jun 2019 17:32Well, he was given a detailed construction drawing and all the necessary information. He did use it, but applied the measurements for the first floor instead of the ground floor. As a result, it’s now 50cm (20 inches) too short. In my opinion, that’s quite significant. It’s clear that he made a mistake as a structural engineer, but he’s just being stubborn and insists that the contractor responsible should double-check the report. We didn’t do that. We assumed everything was correct because, as laypeople, it’s hard to understand these details.
What really frustrates us isn’t even the mistake itself, but how it’s being handled. The beam will end up on eBay or, at worst, sold for scrap, but we’re met with an arrogance we’ve never experienced from any contractor before. He’d have to redo it anyway since it’s wrong.
I just want to know, preferably from someone familiar with the overall process, if the report is acceptable as is and if a 50cm (20 inches) tolerance is normal (in this case our fault for not verifying the measurements beforehand) or if it was definitely his error and he needs to produce a new report. (And yes, it’s also our fault for ordering blindly.) At least should he put in the effort to redo it :P
My view is that if a highly paid structural engineer receives an accurate plan and all related information, I expect a matching, precise report to be produced.
Regards
...I’m already getting worked up again.
What really frustrates us isn’t even the mistake itself, but how it’s being handled. The beam will end up on eBay or, at worst, sold for scrap, but we’re met with an arrogance we’ve never experienced from any contractor before. He’d have to redo it anyway since it’s wrong.
I just want to know, preferably from someone familiar with the overall process, if the report is acceptable as is and if a 50cm (20 inches) tolerance is normal (in this case our fault for not verifying the measurements beforehand) or if it was definitely his error and he needs to produce a new report. (And yes, it’s also our fault for ordering blindly.) At least should he put in the effort to redo it :P
My view is that if a highly paid structural engineer receives an accurate plan and all related information, I expect a matching, precise report to be produced.
Regards
...I’m already getting worked up again.
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