215 Fairfax Street, Suite 100 Denver, CO 80220

New Homes, Remodel, Repairs and Additions

Are you looking for a structural engineer to assist in the design of a new home, remodel, repair, addition?  

Broken foundation walls, heaving slabs, cracked drywall, spalling brickwork, and wet or leaking basements are common problems in residential construction.  There are many reasons why single family homes fail, but the most common reason is this: few if any houses have been adequately designed by a licensed structural engineer.  This is due in part to the way new houses are traditionally built and delivered; a system that relies heavily on the building code while eschewing participation by architects and engineers for perceived economy.  It's true building codes were developed and implemented to provide rudimentary protection to home-buyers.  However, the building code offers zero guarantee of a properly designed or engineered home because the code only represents the minimum building standard by which your state or municipality will allow for the safe habitability of house.  In short, the code establishes the very least you should do when building a new home.  Not having a structural engineer involved from the start is one of the primary reasons why so many houses develop structural problems just a few short years after they have been constructed.

Hiring a structural engineer to assist in the design of your new home will insure superior structural performance while adding long-term value to what may be your single largest personal investment.  The engineer will work closely with you and your architect to design the structural-frame of the home, including the foundation, walls, floors and roof and any other special items that require structural design.  The structural engineer may also recommend that your soil be tested to determine the type and quality of the material the house will bear on.  A soil test can also expose problems hidden from view, such as buried trash and rubble or other poor soil conditions that might affect the rate and manner of settlement of the home.  Designing your home for the soil condition specific to your geographical region is one of the easiest ways to prevent foundation problems in the future.

Often, cracks in a foundation can be attributed to normal concrete shrinkage which is not considered a structural flaw in the foundation.  Similarly, water problems can often be curtailed by simply reconfiguring the landscape or cleaning and redirecting gutters and downspouts.  However, if you have a serious structural problem, we can diagnose the failure and design an optimal repair while guiding your contractor in properly implementing it.

If you are considering building a new home or would like a structural engineer to look at your existing home, don't hesitate to call one.  Structural engineers are highly experienced in the design of residential construction, remodel’s and additions, and bring to your residential project the added value of superior structural performance.

When you engage a structural engineer, it the job of the structural engineer to design the structural elements of your house by calculating the forces in the members and determining how big they need to be. In giving one the maximum benefit of all the materials being used and maintaining the value of its use. In other words, stopping what might be legal short cuts from a builder that will be faulty to you in the future. A structural engineer takes into account your soil conditions, location of concentrated loads, roof design, floor loads and wind loads and more to determine the necessary means and materials needed for your best invested dollar to perform as it is expected to. Some try to save cost now, however it always comes back to haunt one if it’s not done properly from the begining.


Denver, Colorado
www.danteengineering.com