Service S / 02
The projects other builders quote high to avoid.
Bearing wall removals, steel, underpinning, additions, and whole-house reframing on homes that were never square to begin with.
Structural renovation is the part of this trade where experience shows up as money saved rather than money spent. Opening a wall is easy. Knowing what that wall was doing, where the load goes once it is gone, and what the footing underneath will tolerate is the whole job.
We take on the work that needs an engineer in the room: removing bearing walls and replacing them with flush steel so you do not lose ceiling height, cutting new openings into foundations, underpinning to gain headroom in a basement, adding a second storey to a house that was never designed to carry one, and reframing roofs that have been sagging quietly for fifty years.
Older shoreline houses make this interesting. Balloon framing with no fire blocking. Joists notched to nothing by a plumber in 1974. Sills that have been feeding insects since the Eisenhower administration. Additions built on piers that have moved two inches in different directions. We open things up early, before the budget is locked, so what we find becomes a decision you make rather than a change order you receive.
Scope at a glance
| Project type | Structural renovation, additions, underpinning, reframing |
|---|---|
| Typical duration | 4 to 12 months depending on scope |
| Engineering | Licensed structural engineer on every load path change |
| Investigation | Selective demolition before the budget is finalised |
| Contract type | Fixed scope, or cost plus where conditions are unknown |
| Occupied work | Possible on most projects with dust control and phasing |
What is included
What structural work involves
- Engineering coordination. We bring in a licensed structural engineer, build to the stamped drawings, and schedule the special inspections the permit requires.
- Temporary shoring. Properly designed shoring before anything comes out, so the house is supported at every stage rather than hoping the ceiling holds.
- Steel and engineered lumber. Flush beams, moment frames, and LVL where it makes sense, sized to keep your ceiling line intact.
- Foundation work. Underpinning, new footings, crack repair, and drainage correction where water has been finding its way in for years.
- Sill and frame repair. Replacement of rotted sills, sistering of compromised joists, and correction of undersized or notched members.
- Additions and dormers. New volume tied into old framing so the joint does not telegraph through the finish two winters later.
Detail
Why we open the walls before we give you a final number.
The single most common way a renovation budget explodes is a builder pricing what he can see and discovering what he cannot in week three. By then you are committed, the crew is on site, and every option is expensive.
On any structural project we push to do selective demolition during the planning stage. A few days of controlled opening tells us the true condition of the sill, the joist spans, the wiring, and whether the previous owner's addition is carrying itself or leaning on something that was never meant to take it.
It costs you a small amount up front. It has saved our clients far more than that, repeatedly, and it turns the phrase how do we handle surprises into an actual answer rather than a reassuring noise.
Questions
What homeowners ask us first.
If yours is not here, call and ask. We answer our own phone.
Often yes. On most renovations we can phase the work and seal the construction zone with temporary partitions, negative air, and floor protection so you keep a functioning kitchen or bathroom throughout. On whole-house structural jobs, or anything involving the only staircase, moving out for part of the schedule is usually safer and faster.
If you are changing a load path, yes, and the building department will require stamped drawings before it issues the permit. We bring the engineer in early because a good one will often find a cheaper way to carry the load than the obvious one, which more than covers the fee.
We look for it before the contract is signed rather than after. Where we cannot see, the contract carries a defined allowance for concealed conditions so there is a number attached to the unknown from day one. If we find something, you get photographs, the engineer's opinion where relevant, and options with prices before anyone touches it.
Sometimes. It depends on what the existing foundation and framing can carry, and on zoning height and coverage limits in your town. The honest answer usually comes after we open a small section of wall and the engineer looks at the footing. We would rather tell you no in month one than halfway through.
Related
Most projects touch more than one of these.
Next step
Ready to price it properly?
Send drawings if you have them, photographs if you do not. We will come back with a scope, a number, and a timeline you can plan around.