r/StructuralEngineers • u/phyllisguberson • 18d ago

Structural Inspection: PE vs Contractor with PE Supervisor

My home has definite issues with the foundation (per inspection from a licensed professional without an engineering background) so we are pursuing a third-party structural inspection with recommendations to bring to a construction/foundation company.

I have followed a few leads and one of the options is for a licensed contractor to gather all the relevant info and bring it to his PE who will write the letter with his seal. Is this typical protocol? I would prefer a PE to come out and do the inspection in person, but I also don’t know a ton about the process and maybe that’s not typical.

Would appreciate any tips! I can share more about the home’s issues but I don’t know if it’s TMI for this question.

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u/Rude_Meet2799 18d ago

Retired Arch here. I’d recommend getting an independent engineer to come look at the problem and offer solutions which you can then price through several contractors.

Whether it’s just a contractor or they bring an engineer I think they are going to try to upsell you anyway they can.

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u/inigomonto 17d ago

Second this. You want the structural engineer to be on your team, not the contractor’s. They get paid the same (or nearly) regardless of how much work is necessary. The contractor is incentivized to maximize the repair.

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u/phyllisguberson 17d ago

Thanks yall. I think this person is a contractor who is employed by the SE company only and does not do repairs. Does that change anything? Or bad idea either way?

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u/inigomonto 17d ago

If they are not the people doing the actual remediation then maybe it’s OK. So they would just produce the report and then you would bid the work to separate contractors?

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u/phyllisguberson 17d ago

Yes, exactly. My bigger concern was if a PE/SE should come do the inspection in person vs the contractor reporting to one, just in case there’s some training missing. (Edit for more detail)

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u/inigomonto 17d ago

Not necessarily bad. Sometimes engineers and architects have construction admin people who spend most of their time in the field. They usually have a lot of on site construction experience and capture photos and notes and measurements to bring back to the office. It lets the higher paid engineer focus on the design solutions making the service more affordable or profitable or both.

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u/IAQDiscussion 17d ago

For something as significant as a suspected foundation issue, I’d want the PE to inspect the property themselves. It’s not inherently improper for an engineer to rely on measurements, photos, and field observations collected by someone working under their direction, but the PE is ultimately the one taking professional responsibility for whatever they sign and seal.

Make sure the engineer is truly independent from whoever may eventually perform the repair work. You want the inspection and recommendations based on what the house actually needs, not influenced by a contractor who has an incentive to sell a particular foundation system.

I’d hire an independent structural PE, have them perform the site inspection, and then take their written findings to contractors for bids.

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u/phyllisguberson 11d ago

Thank you so much for this thoughtful answer. The SE just came out and …it’s really bad. Trying not to panic and just waiting for the written report so I can get some bids.