Resources
Engineering guides, written by engineers.
The questions we answer every week - surveys, cracks, approvals, drainage falls - written up properly, so you can make informed decisions before you ever pick up the phone.
Drainage Falls Calculator
Convert between fall, run and gradient instantly - 1:40, 1:80 or any ratio - with worked examples and honest limits. Free, no sign-up.
Structural Engineering
What structural engineers do, when you need one, and what it costs.
What does a structural engineer do?
Surveys, calculations, design and approvals - the job explained in plain English.
Do I need a structural engineer?
A practical checklist: the jobs that need an engineer, and the ones that don't.
How much does a structural engineer cost?
What drives the price of calculations, surveys and design - and how fixed fees work.
Floor joist sizes and spans: a practical UK guide
Common sizes, realistic spans, and when a floor needs proper engineering.
What is a padstone, and when do you need one?
The small block that stops a big beam crushing your wall - explained.
Structural Surveys
Surveys, reports, cracking and movement - explained by the engineers who inspect them.
What is a structural survey - and what does it include?
What's inspected, what the report includes, and how it differs from a RICS survey.
Cracks in walls: what causes them, and when are they serious?
Most cracks are harmless. Here's how engineers tell which ones aren't.
Do I need a structural survey when buying a house?
When a purchase needs an engineer, and how to arrange one without losing time.
How to tell if a wall is load-bearing (and what removal costs)
The tell-tale signs, the walls that fool people, and honest removal costs.
How much does a structural survey cost?
Typical prices, what changes them, and how fixed quotes work.
Planning & Building Regulations
The approvals system explained: planning permission, Building Regulations, and the difference.
Drainage & Civil
Falls, gradients, SuDS and flood risk - practical guidance plus our falls calculator.
Drainage falls explained: 1:40, 1:80 and minimum gradients
1:40, 1:80, mm per metre - the arithmetic and the rules, with worked examples.
SuDS and flood risk assessments: what planning actually requires
When applications need a SuDS strategy or FRA, and how the conditions get discharged.
Contour lines explained: reading site levels like an engineer
What the lines mean, how to read them, and why levels drive drainage and foundations.
Flood zones 1, 2 and 3 explained: what they mean for your project
What each zone means, how to check yours, and what planning will ask for.
Extensions & Alterations
The engineering behind extensions, loft conversions and open-plan alterations.
Building Regulations for extensions: what approval involves
What an extension application involves, from structural design to completion certificate.
Removing load-bearing walls: how open-plan is done safely
What the wall is doing, what replaces it, and the approval that makes it legal.
Loft conversion costs UK: a structural engineer's guide
Realistic costs by conversion type, and the structural work hiding inside every quote.
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