New projects
A backyard unit, a new room or a second floor: we design the new structure and check what the existing house has to carry, so your contractor builds from our drawings.
- Coverage
- Miami-Dade & Broward County, Florida
At a glance
Adding to a house means engineering two structures.
An addition is new structure resting on, or beside, a house that was designed for something else. A second floor puts new weight on old walls and footings; a room addition has to tie into the existing roof and foundation; a backyard unit needs its own foundation and its own path for hurricane wind.
Homeowners adding space or a unit for family or rent · Architects and designers drawing the addition · Contractors who need sealed structural drawings for the permit
When you need it
- 01You want an accessory dwelling unit in the backyard or over a garage.
- 02A room, a garage conversion or a porch enclosure is being added to the house.
- 03A second floor is planned on top of an existing one-story house.
What's included
- Structural design of the ADU or the addition: foundation, walls, floor and roof
- Field check of the existing house where the new structure bears on it
- Capacity check of existing walls, beams and footings for the new loads
- Connections between the new and the existing structure
- Wind and uplift design under the Florida Building Code
- Sealed drawings and calculations for the permit
What you receive
- Permit drawings, signed and sealed
- Structural calculations, new and existing
- Reinforcement details where the house needs them
Next step
Send the address, a few photographs of the house and the architect’s drawings if there are any. You receive a fixed-fee proposal for the structural design.
How the work runs
Visit
We look at the house, the foundation where we can reach it, and the place the addition will go.
Check
What the existing structure can carry, and what has to be reinforced.
Design
The new structure and its connections to the house, sized for gravity and hurricane wind.
Permit
Sealed drawings for the permit, and answers to the reviewer’s comments.
Questions & answers
Questions about ADUs and additions
Do you build the ADU or the addition?
No. We are an engineering firm: we design the structure and issue the sealed drawings and calculations for the permit. A licensed contractor of your choosing builds it, and we stay available for the plan reviewer’s comments and the contractor’s questions.
Can my house take a second floor?
Sometimes as it is, often with reinforcement, and occasionally not at all. It depends on the walls, the beams and above all the footings under the house. We check them in the field and with the original drawings if they exist, and we tell you what the second floor would require before any design starts.
Do we need drawings from an architect first?
Not always. For an ADU or a larger addition an architect or designer usually draws the plans and we design the structure behind them. For a simple room addition or a structural change, we can start from photographs, measurements and a sketch of what you want.
What does the permit office need from the engineer?
Structural drawings and calculations, signed and sealed by a Florida Professional Engineer, showing the foundation, the framing, the connections and the wind design. Their comments come back to us, and we answer them until the structural part of the permit is approved.
Good to know
What the structural design covers, and what it does not.
- Our work is the engineering: the drawings and calculations. The construction is done by a licensed contractor you hire.
- Whether an ADU or an addition is allowed on a lot is a zoning question for your city; we design the structure once the use is settled.
- A second floor is only possible if the house below can carry it, or can be reinforced to; the check comes first.
A county notice in your hand, a building that worries you or a new project — describe it and attach what you have. A phone photo of the letter is enough. Our team gets back to you with questions or a free written proposal.