Structural and civil engineering for permit drawings

Structural drawings and calculations

Structural work we review includes wood and cold-formed framing, steel, concrete, masonry, foundations and footings, decks, and lateral systems for wind and seismic. Building departments usually want the calculations sealed with the drawings. Member sizes on the sheet and in the calc package have to match. That mismatch is one of the first comments a structural plan checker writes.

Some states and some building types require a Structural Engineer (SE) license rather than a PE, including essential facilities and certain schools and hospitals. Tell us the occupancy at intake and the job is routed to the license that jurisdiction requires. Typical houses and commercial buildings in most states are sealed by a PE.

Site civil: grading, drainage, and utilities

Civil sheets are a different permit problem from the building frame. Site plans, grading, drainage, paving, and utility connections are reviewed against the authority’s stormwater and right-of-way rules, not only the building code. A building can be structurally fine and still get held because the grading plan does not show where the water goes.

Upload the survey or existing-conditions plan with the proposed grading. Note if a separate civil consultant already sealed part of the set. We review and seal the civil scope that is still open, and we do not reseal another engineer’s work.

Foundations and retaining walls

Foundations and retaining walls sit on both lists. The structural engineer sizes the footing or the wall. The civil drawings show how that wall meets grade, drainage, and the property line. Plan check sends these back when the wall height on the architectural elevation does not match the structural detail, or when a wall over the jurisdiction’s unpermitted height has no engineer on it at all.

Send the geotechnical report when one exists. Footing sizes and retaining-wall design that ignore the soils report are rejected even when the arithmetic in the calculations is correct. Where a report is required and you do not have one, we say so before anyone seals a guess.

Review and seal, and when calculations are produced

This is engineered review of structural and civil packages, not a rubber stamp. We review drawings your team prepared, mark what is missing, and produce calculations where the scope allows so the sealed calc package matches the sheets. Private buildings, site work, retaining walls, and small bridge or culvert packages that are part of a building permit are in scope. A state highway contract is a different job, and we will say so at intake if the set sits outside building-department review.

Already have complete structural drawings and calculations and only need the seal? Use structural PE stamping. That page is the stamp-only path. Use this page when the set still needs civil scope, a calculation package, or a check that the structural and site drawings agree.

FAQ

What is the difference between this and structural PE stamping?

Structural PE stamping is for drawings and calculations that already exist and need a licensed seal. This page covers structural and civil review together: framing, foundations, retaining walls, grading, and drainage, including calculations produced where scope allows.

Do you engineer retaining walls?

Yes. Retaining walls are reviewed and sealed when the jurisdiction requires an engineer, which is typical above a set height. Send the survey grades and the geotechnical report if you have one.

Can you stamp a grading and drainage plan?

Yes. Site grading, drainage, and related civil sheets can be reviewed and sealed by an engineer licensed in the project state. Include the survey so proposed grades can be checked against existing grades.

Do I need an SE instead of a PE?

Most buildings can be sealed by a PE. Some states require an SE for essential facilities, taller buildings, or schools and hospitals. We check that before the set is assigned.