There are many cases when home owners or business owners are unsure of whether to call a building inspector or a structural engineer.
There may be times when a structural engineer is the person best suited to attend your needs, but these professionals aren’t typically the first ones you should call. A structural engineer is trained to look for fault only with load-bearing walls, foundations and other areas which can have a deleterious effect on the building’s structural integrity. An inspection conducted by a structural engineer generally will not cover things like faulty drainage, wiring or plumbing issues. In most cases, a structural engineer should only be called in when fault has been found with a building’s underlying structure, or there’s concern about potential problems. In fact, most structural engineers will only come to evaluate a property when a builder or professional building inspector has recommended their highly specialized service.
As a general rule, a professional building inspector is your first line of defense, and will take a broad view of the property overall to determine whether or not the attentions of a structural engineer are warranted. Occasionally, potential areas of fault discovered by a building inspector will be severe enough to fall outside of the acceptable limits for building codes. Should this be the case, working with a structural engineer will often be the next step.
Article Credit: Houspect