No project too big or too small; Foresight Engineering is available for something as simple as a residential property survey or for something as advanced as a low-rise multi-housing complex. The following is a list of the typical residential services we provide:
Fit-for-service analysis (for fire damaged or other residential damage)
Do you even need an engineer? Most likely, you do! Many residential homes are built with significant flaws in the lateral load resisting systems and the vertical load bearing system. Maine has some of the heaviest snow loads in the country and when combined with the heavy coastal wind loads these put large forces on a residential structure. If not designed correctly your brand new home may have problems with cracked drywall or tile, sagging rooflines, uneven floors, or even a major structural failure and collapse.
But my home is 20 years old with no structural problems? Remember, any home, camp, or structure may withstand a 20 year average storm without problems but if the biggest storm in 50 years comes through wouldn't you rather have spent that 5% extra to insure the structural integrity of your home instead of explaining to the insurance claims department that your home collapsed?
So you're saying that hiring an engineer will make my home cost more? Probably in the initial cost, yes, it will. However, these extra costs are often recuperated in as little as a few years due to improved energy efficiency, reduced maintenance, as well as potential savings from insurance companies or banks due to hiring an engineer. In addition, often hiring an engineer will actually save you money in both the short and long term. We provide a full 3D model allowing us to identify any problem areas or conflicts that might occur during construction. Essentially we build your building in 3D allowing us to identify problems ahead of time and avoid costly changes, repairs, and back-tracking during construction saving you thousands of dollars! So, while it may look cheaper on paper to not hire an engineer it is more likely that hidden costs will appear during construction that could have been avoided.
Another advantage we present to you is we also provide you a full model of your home or residential project allowing you to see exactly how it will look once completed. This allows you to make simple design changes for a few hundred rather than costly and time consuming changes during construction.
Finally, we provide the priceless cost of piece of mind. Our typical stamped designs are guaranteed to withstand hurricane force winds of up to 90 MPH and snow loads of up to 90 PSF of ground snow load, the equivalent of a 50 year average storm. This statistically guarantees that your home will be standing well into the future.
So, if you want to build something right the first time then take the time to contact us and find out if Foresight Engineering has the solutions you need.
