huangyhg

"favor" for a friend's home
i first posted this message in the demolition & renovation forum, but thought i might a better reponse in this forum. sorry for duplicating posts.
i'm a newly professional engineer working for a large structural engineering company. occasionally i've had friends and architects (that i trust) ask me to check out various structural issues with their homes, and in some cases write a letter for their building official with my stamp on it. i don't use my personal stamp for any work i do in my daytime job. i need some advice. first, as i am a mostly commercial steel and concrete engineer, i don't have much experience in residential construction. is there a good resource (text, website, organization) where i can learn more about residential construction? secondly, what do you all think about the liability issues about doing this kind of work on the side? i would guess that most engineers working on the side just ignore the professional liablity issue, or only take work that is not very complex, or only when they know and trust the homeowner. lastly, the specific situation i have is that the homeowner wants to add a second story above an existing garage. i have my own opinion about how to go about tackling this problem, but zero previous experience in actually doing this before. i'd greatly appreciate suggestions on what other engineers would do in this situation. thanks in advance.

the company i work for expressly prohibits 'moonlighting', unless both outside parties (you and your client) sign an agreement holding the base company absolutely harmless and in no way responsible in any way, shape, or form of anything you do on the side.
bottom line is - if you're doing stuff on the side and anything goes wrong, they can come after the company you work for.
there's another discussion about this floating somewhere around here in this forum. try searching for 'moonlighting'.
there are a lot of engineers including myself who do "moonlighting". any time you do work you are stamping you need to do enough research and become knowledgeable in what you are doing to become a "competent expert". you can do this by finding an engineer who does the type of work as a mentor or lots of study. some jobs will stretch you a little and make you go to the books which is good, but doing things that are totally out of your knowlege field is dangerous and illegal.
for the liability issue, what are you willing to lose. are you willing to sacrifice everything you own or might earn in the forseeable future. if not, you need to get errors and omissions insurance and stay within the requirements of your policy. asce offers insurance specifically for engineers who do not need coverange during their regular job but do require liability insurance for their own side business.
never mix business and pleasure!
it is mostly a matter of insurance and whether or not you, your company, and your license are properly registered with your state and your insurance company with regard to providing engineering services directly to the public.
your license is yours, but the path that will be followed should something you stand behind fail, will likely lead to your company.
however, i do not yet have my p.e. so i may not be the best to offer advice. good luck!
rockengineer is right you need to become knowledgeable, and getting a mentor is a good idea. however, as far as beam sizing, residential engineering is easy because it's usually a few beams, not 50 beams in 1 building. so the financial increase to over design for a factor of safety due to lack of knowledge is multiplied by a couple of beams, not 50 鈥?100 of them. where you have to be more careful is the connections and tracing the loads to the earth. check the building code, and that will help. also give you the different live loads to use.
good references:
*timber design for the civil pe exam
by r.brungraber isbn#:0-912045-13-2
*design & construction of wood framed bldg.
by m.newman isbn#:0-07-046363-8
also search online, there are 1,253,569.21 websites out there with a truckload of information. you just have to find it. i come across the most useful information when i'm just surfing the web. so you should spend less time in these useless forums and at those dirty pages, and spend more time just surfing the web. good luck.
some of the web links i use are
idgravey
i don鈥檛 know where you are located, but most if not all jurisdictions in canada require duplicate registration in order to offer consulting services.
the certificate of authorization or permit to consult is in addition to the personal license. the requirements range from simply agreeing to be the professional responsible for the firm (alberta) to having sufficient insurance (manitoba) to a full review of your experience and education, complete with references similar to the initial application for a professional license (saskatchewan).
to practice without this type of permit is a violation of the engineering acts and individual engineers can and are disciplined for violations.
you may want to check out the requirements in your jurisdiction.
also you will want some errors and omissions insurance. this can be very expensive. not as expensive as loosing your own house to pay for a mistake but significant.
have a signed contract with your 鈥渃lients鈥?that details the complete services and the responsibilities of both parties.
talk to an accountant regarding payroll and other taxes and other financial issues with running your own business.
talk to a lawyer about the legal aspects of operating as a sole proprietor or a limited corporation.
you are also obligated to become knowledgeable about the area in which you are practicing. if you want to practice in residential, know what you are talking about.
basically, i do not have a lot of patience with 鈥渕oonlighters鈥? you sit there in a secure employment position and skim work away from those of us who have gone out on our own, pay the insurance and licenses, pay for all of our supplies and need this sort of work to make a living.
if you are using your employers facilities to unfairly compete with me, i鈥檇 turn you over to the local association for unethical practice in a flash.
rick kitson mba p.eng
construction project management
from conception to completion
iam a site engineer in scotland and like you are sometimes asked to do work on the side, looking at drainage, foundations etc. i always offer the best advice i can but insist that if the 'client' is preparing to have work done that he have someone else officially determine what need to be done. i would suggest keeping discussions fairly light and telling your friend that you will advise only.that way you will keep the friend as well as the shirt on your back

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借用达朗贝尔的名言：前进吧，你会得到信心!
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