Beam and propping designs for wall removals, footings for extensions on reactive clay, second storey assessments and structural reports for older Adelaide homes, issued with a stated turnaround and answered by the engineer who designed them.
What Renovation Builders Need From an Engineer
A renovation or extension builder needs an engineer who designs around the house that is actually there, not the one on the original plans. Existing walls are rarely where the drawings say, loads have often been moved by earlier work, and the frame you open up on day three can change the job. What helps most is a design that states clearly what to prop, what to check once the lining is off, and who to call when something doesn't match.
Wall Removals, Beams and Propping
Removing a load-bearing wall needs a beam sized for the load above it, posts and footings sized for where that load lands, and temporary propping specified for the time in between. We design steel and timber beams, lintels, transfer beams and portal frames, and the drawing states the propping, the bearing length at each end and what the post sits on. A beam that is strong enough but lands on a floor joist or an unreinforced slab edge has only moved the problem.
Beam design is priced on the number of beams, the spans and the loads they carry; a scheme with several openings is priced as one design, not as several separate jobs. The turnaround is confirmed with your quote, once we know what the existing structure involves. For the homeowner side of this, point clients to removing a load-bearing wall.
Second Storey Additions
A second storey addition starts with whether the existing walls and footings can carry the new load, and that is checked before anything is designed. Older single storey homes were usually built with footings sized for one storey. The answer can be that they cope, that some walls need new footings or piers, or that the new floor should be carried on its own steel frame down to new footings. Timber framing beyond the span tables is designed in-house; roof truss design stays with your truss fabricator, and we design to the reactions they supply.
Older Adelaide Homes
Older Adelaide homes often need a structural inspection before the renovation is designed, because cracking, movement and earlier alterations change what the design can assume. Stone and brick villas and cottages commonly sit on shallow footings of their era, and on reactive clay those footings move with the seasons. A structural inspection records what is there, and a structural report sets out the cause of any movement and what to do about it, in plain terms you can hand to the owner. For background, see reactive soil risks in Adelaide.
Extensions on Reactive Clay
An extension on reactive clay needs its footing designed for the site classification, and for how it meets the existing house. Reactive clay is soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and the soil test under AS 2870 (the Australian Standard for residential footings) rates how much. A new footing beside an old one will not move the same way, so the junction needs to be detailed, either tied in or deliberately separated with an articulation joint. Trees, removed trees, leaking drains and fill all affect the answer. The soil test decides the classification, not the suburb. Read site classification explained for how it is set.
Inspections and Site Questions
Site questions on a renovation go to the engineer who designed it, because they already know what was assumed about the existing structure. Every request for information (RFI) is logged against the job. We also carry out site inspections, including trench and steel inspections before a pour.
We keep one file per address. When the owner comes back for the next stage, the survey, classification and earlier design are already held, and nothing is re-tested or re-charged. The portal shows every one of your jobs, its stage and its issued documents. Request portal access, or see how the client portal works and what it gives you.
What to Send for a Quote
To quote renovation work, send the address, the drawings showing the existing and proposed layout, and a short description of what is being removed, added or extended. It also helps to include:
- photos of the walls, ceiling space and roof framing around the change
- any soil report, survey or earlier engineering for the house
- the truss layout and reactions, if new trusses are involved
- the date the work needs to start on site
If the job needs council or certifier approval, confirm the requirements with them. For which renovations need an engineer at all, see do I need a structural engineer for a renovation.
Related Pages for Builders
These pages cover the other kinds of builder work we take on:
- Volume and project home builders
- Steel frame certification for suppliers and fabricators
- Pools, sheds, carports and retaining walls
- How we work with builders and the full list of services
This page is general information about structural engineering in South Australia, not advice for a specific site. Every job is priced for its own site and scope, and you get a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.