Structural Design

Whether you are planning a new build, addition, alternative dwelling unit, or renovation, Lewiston Engineering has the accumulated knowledge to deliver a sound engineering design for your structure. Our Firm has extensive experience with City permit processes, ordinance requirements, and synergistic partnerships to enable all of the project’s design professionals to serve your best interest. We provide common sense designs and detailed drawings to give your Contractor the best opportunity for an efficient timeline and profitability and are aware of the importance in timely responses to problem solve unknown issues as they become known to your Contractor.

We believe our work product and deliverables are the most accurate, detailed, and informed structural design drawings in this market, allowing for You to make the best decisions possible for your situation. With thousands of structural evaluations of existing structures to date, we are well aware of what your structure needs to perform on inhospitable soils.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • All projects start in the architectural design phase by an architect of your choosing. Ideally, the project is to be located on land that is already developed with existing utilities and access roads. If the land is undeveloped, significant design time should be allowed for a civil engineering company to provide design for all utilities and access roads, in consultation with the Building Authority for that municipality.

    Once the architect can provide partial design plans providing baser information, a geotechnical (soils) investigation will be needed to inform the structural design. At this point in the project, our Firm is ready to get started on the engineering design and contract documents required by the Building Authority to approve a building permit. A geotechnical investigation may not be necessary on small projects or with an addition to an existing structure that is performing adequately, per a structural evaluation by our team.

  • A Professional Engineer licensure is governed by the “Texas Engineering and Land Surveying Practice Acts and Rules Concerning Practice and Licensure” (Link to State Law).

    Licensure in all disciplines of engineering result in the title of Professional Engineer but a “P.E.” shall only practice in their specialty area(s) of competence or discipline, by law. Texas is a “roster state” which provides a roster to the public for purposes of verifying licensure status and the specialty for which that P.E. was certified under (Link to Roster).

    A P.E. can expand into other specialty areas by completing extensive continuing education or college courses and providing proof of such in any legal proceeding. On average, it would take 5 to 16 years, assuming a minimum of 9 hrs./week availability to accomplish the quickest pace. For example, at the time of this writing, Texas has approximately 66,826 active Engineers (all disciplines), 30,080 active Civil Engineers and 6,736 active Structural Engineers.

  • A Structural Engineer is required by Texas State Law for a structure that is located on expansive clay soils, regardless of whether a city building permit is required or if outside of city limits. This is true regarding the constructing, enlarging, altering, repair, or drawing plans or specifications for said residential structure. The Building Authority for a municipality will have specific requirements for the involvement of engineering design and minimum requirements may differ from one city to the next.