Howdy. I'm needing recommendations for licensed structural engineers or structural engineering companies that specializes in residential inspections.
I'm having a home being built out here in Bastrop that is framed out with house wrap, the roof is decked (but not shingled) and plumbing run. I'm concerned with the structural integrity of the house...mainly the truss construction/assembly. Overall, I'm more than concerned with the overall build quality of this home...by a supposed reputable semi-custom home builder nonetheless. Anyone have any recommendations? The situation is getting serious. Thank you.
Gig'em!

I dont have one out that way, but perhaps a stop-gap would be to request the engineered truss drawings from your builder. They my balk at this idea, but shouldn't. Those pre-fabbed wood trusses are "supposed" to be engineered as part of a whole-house truss package that is designed and stamped by a professional engineer. Perhaps having those would give you some peace of mind?

Correct about the trusses. I was told by the site project supe that each truss is numbered and placed in its respective location. My concern is the way they've been connected together and thus the integrity of it all. I myself have seen things that cause me grave concern. Actually, the whole damn build thus far has me concerned.

Marcos Dequeiroga, PE
SEC Consulting Engineers Inc.
(512) 215-4364
marcos@sectexas.com

Matthew Slocum, PE
Tucker Engineering Inc.
(512) 255-7477
jeff@tuckerengineering.net

I hope you got the answers you needed. What part of Bastrop? My wife and I are over in The Colony and love it out here.

Missouri Boat Ride said:

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I dont have one out that way, but perhaps a stop-gap would be to request the engineered truss drawings from your builder. They my balk at this idea, but shouldn't. Those pre-fabbed wood trusses are "supposed" to be engineered as part of a whole-house truss package that is designed and stamped by a professional engineer. Perhaps having those would give you some peace of mind?

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This is a good idea. I unfortunately requested these after I had a structural issue... years after we moved in.

In fact, I had an issue similar to your concern, OP. I had 2 issues:

1. A glue lam beam was designed using standard dead loads and live loads, not the actual loading of the house which was substsntially higher.

2. The connections of this glue lam into other glue lams were not engineered connections. I don't think this is industry standard, but it should be. They should be custom steel brackets IMO.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this.

BlazingSaddles said:

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I hope you got the answers you needed. What part of Bastrop? My wife and I are over in The Colony and love it out here.

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We're building in Colony Riverside...on the east side of FM969. Scott Felder Homes is our builder. Some of the things I (and others) have seen in the construction of our home (in particular) has me wondering if this builder should be in the business of building homes. The framers were gawd awful!The roof deckers were almost as bad. One example regarding the framers is they framed out a window (that was to go between the kitchen and the family room) directly behind where the refrigerator goes. When the construction supe discovered the error, they moved it over. But I discovered later that they didn't move it over far enough...off by almost 3 feet. They'll have to move it again. Just 1 of many punch list items. I'll probably hire a structural engineer for the pre-drywall walk-thru.

The wife and I really like the location and are hoping things can get worked out. We've got 9-10 months and $23,000 invested in this as well as apt. dwelling with our lease up the 1st of the year...with no completion date in sight Very frustrating.

We're actually in the Colony as well, we're over in the original side or whatever it's called. We love living out here (outside of Austin). The community, like any other, has its positives and negatives. Years down the road it will be nice when the HOA is actually run by the residents and not the developer, Hunt, but that's in the long-run. Woody is actually a nice guy, his development company not so much though.

Sorry to hear that about Scott Felder homes. I don't have any personal experience with them, but used to hear their advertisements quite a bit. I assumed, for no real reason, they were a quality builder and hopefully that turns out to be the overall case here.