Guides
Answering Your Questions
Practical guidance on the questions builders, architects and homeowners ask us most often. General information, not advice for a specific site.
The Questions People Actually Ask
Straight answers on when you need an engineer, South Australian approval thresholds, site classification, wind, fees and turnaround.
Read the answers →FeesWhat Residential Structural Design Costs in Adelaide
What decides a structural engineering fee in Adelaide, and which guide gives the typical range for footings, new homes, retaining walls, pools and sheds.
Read the guide →Prices · New homesWhat Engineering a New Home Costs
Soil test, survey, S&D plan, footing design, framing or steel certification and trench inspection, in the order they happen.
Read the guide →Prices · RenovationsWhat Renovation Engineering Costs
Beam design for wall removals, portal frames, extensions, soil tests, structural reports and inspections.
Read the guide →Prices · OutdoorRetaining Wall, Pool, Carport and Shed Costs
Sleeper and blockwork retaining walls, wall elevations, pools, carports, pergolas and sheds, and when council approval usually comes into it.
Read the guide →New build processPlanning Consent, Building Consent, and What to Bring an Engineer
The order that works in South Australia, step by step: planning drawings for civil work, working drawings for footings and structure, and where people lose a month.
Read the guide →Footings and costWhy Two Identical Houses Get Two Different Footings
Site classification, clay against sand, raft against waffle pod, trees, fill and piers, the misconceptions that cost money, and where a specific design saves it.
Read the guide →Retaining wallsThe Footing You Cannot Go Back and Change
Why a rule of thumb is not a footing, the 2.1 metre boundary rule, reactive soils, surcharge and wind, and why a footing cannot be fixed later.
Read the guide →Adelaide soilsReactive Clay: Risks, Prevention, and What to Do If Damage Occurs
What makes clay reactive, damage patterns, four preventable causes, and how good footing design accommodates ground movement.
Read the guide →New constructionIssues That Emerge During Building, Caught Early
Site conditions, waterproofing, structural inspections, common framing mistakes, and critical checkpoints during construction.
Read the guide →RenovationsDo I Need a Structural Engineer for My Renovation?
What triggers structural work, why load-bearing isn't the only question, and the older Adelaide housing issues that catch people out.
Read the guide →Site classificationWhat a Site Classification Actually Tells You
What AS 2870 measures, what classes A through P mean, and why the classification has to come before the footing design.
Read the guide →Load-bearing wallsRemoving a Load-Bearing Wall: What's Involved
Beam sizing, the load path down to the footing, bracing replacement, and why propping should be designed rather than improvised.
Read the guide →FeesWhat Structural Engineering Costs, and What Drives It
The variables that actually move a structural fee (site class, slope, complexity, scope), and how quotes are prepared.
Read the guide →Sheds & carportsWhen a Shed or Carport Needs an Engineer
Wind classification, tie-down, attached structures, and why a kit supplier's details don't always cover your site.
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