Vinyl Safety
Vinyl Safety
How do I hire a structural engineer for my temporary roof?
I am using a 30′ x 20′ temporary concert roof structure made of vinyl skin over aluminum trussing with a maximum height of 18′. While it follows a typical design, it is not an off-the-shelf kind of product. I would like a structural engineer to review it, is that the correct path to take? Would they be able to tell me how much weight I can safely hold, or how much wind it can handle if anchored a certain way? What is the best way to do this quickly? I have contacted a couple local firms with no response. What could I reasonably expect to pay for this service?
Obviously there are safety and liability issues at play here. I am insured but want to go about this the “right way” as far as documentation on what is safe and what is not.
Your project is very important and needs to be reviewed by a qualified structural engineer, not only the prudent thing to do, but also it is likely the correct legal course of action for your jurisdiction as well.
You may not have received a response from your local firms because it is not a project type that they are familiar with, or they are busy, or they don’t take small jobs… who knows. Keep trying. You may need to look in the phone book for a “lone” structural engineer, look for one that is listed by just their name followed by P.E. or S.E., that would likely be a sole proprietor and likely looking for work in this economy.
No idea what the fees might be, certainly more than $750, likely less than $5,000, depending on the project’s complexity, the engineer’s experience, and your schedule. Sorry for such a wide range, but it is hard to say if they will simply be able to review the plans or if they will need to generate additional information such as details.
You have to understand that any engineer that reviews and approves of the design takes responsibility of the design on themselves, a serious thing, they need to carry a lot of insurance for this, and thus their fees can not be minimal, plus they need to give themselves a reasonable amount of time and effort to really look at the structure from top to bottom. If it fails due to their mistake, their license and career could be at stake, so they take their time and are conservative for everyone’s sake.
Interview them to find out what types of projects they have done in the past. You may need to find out from the product manufacture of the system you are using if they have an engineer in mind that has looked at these systems before. It is not necessary that your engineer be local, but it is necessary that he or she holds a Professional Engineering license in your State. Ask if they are insured for liability against errors and omissions and for how much are they covered. Small projects don’t need too much… $250-500k should be sufficient.
