Homeowners

Structural Design for Homeowners

At Lordstone Consulting we understand that planning a project for your home is a large undertaking both personally and financially. We aim to bring a professional and friendly structural design service, working within your timescales and bringing ideas to help bring your renovation or new build to reality.

A sample of the services we offer are,

• Foundation design

• Extensions and alterations

• Steel beam design

• Roof assessment for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels

• Retaining wall design

• Building Control calculations

Foundations

For small scale extensions and residential works the ground conditions are typically discussed on site between the Client or Builder and Building Control who will review the adjacent trees and buildings in conjunction with evidence from excavated trenches on site to finalise foundation type and depth.

For larger projects a Phase 2 ground investigation will be carried out which will include sampling of the sub-strata and provide recommendations for foundation approaches, e.g. strip footings, rafts, piled foundations etc. With this information we can provide a full foundation design for you and your builder.

Extensions and Alterations

Residential extensions and alterations are typically designed by an architect or architectural technician who will produce drawing plans and elevations. However, there are usually structural modifications that will require input from a structural engineer.

At Lordstone Consulting we are experienced chartered engineers, and can provide structural design to complement the architectural plans. We always aim to minimise, where possible, the use of steelwork in favour of cheaper and easier to procure materials such as masonry or timber.

Steel Beam Design

Often referred to as RSJ's by builders, steel beams and lintels will typically be required where new openings such as windows or doors are proposed in existing masonry walls, or walls are to be removed.

The most common issue with steelwork design isinternal head height issues caused by the depth of the steel. With the benefit of our experience in steelwork design we can economise the steelwork and work with the Client and Builder to help specify the appropriate steelwork for the project which can go a long way to enhancing the final outcome.

Roof Assessment for Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

It is becoming increasing popular for solar PV panels to be installed on existing roofs to generate electricity and increase the sustainability of a property.

Depending on the panel type, installing solar PV panels will add approximately 15kg/m2 of weight. This can increase the roof design weight by around 10 to 15%.

We can assist by carrying out an assessment on the existing roof structure to confirm that the additional weight of the solar PV panels can be safely carried by the existing roof structure.

Retaining Wall Design

A retaining wall is used where the level of ground varies either side of a boundary or structure resulting in a wall being required to hold back the ground on the higher side.

There are numerous options for retaining walls and the options will vary depending on the height of retained earth and loading applied to the higher side.

Typical options for smaller retaining walls include masonry, gabion baskets, timber and reinforced concrete. For larger retaining walls typical options include reinforced concrete, sheet piles or reinforced soil.

Building Control Calculations

Where structural modifications are made to a property it will typically involve inspections and sign off from Local Building Control.

Where we carry out design work we can incorporate the design calculations into a design package that can be submitted to Building Control as part of the project works.