04Services · Sheet 04 of 07

Structural engineering, coordinated with the wider design.

When building work affects the structure, a structural engineer works out how it will carry and transfer load. SA Associates provides structural design, calculations and structural drawings for residential and commercial projects — coordinated with the architectural and Building Regulations work.

Stage: Analysis + drawings
Outputs: Design · Calculations · Drawings
Team: Civil & structural engineers
Sectors: Residential · Commercial

01The service

Structure that works with the architecture.

A structural engineer considers how a building carries its loads — and how new or altered structure can do so safely. SA Associates provides structural engineering for residential and commercial projects, from small domestic alterations to framed and multi-storey design.

Structural design is supported by computer structural analysis, and structural drawings are produced in CAD. Depending on the project, the work may include the structural design and calculations, structural drawings and details, and coordination with the architectural and Building Regulations information.

Because the SA Associates team includes civil and structural engineers alongside its design and technical work, structural requirements can be considered while the design is still developing.

Structural design: The structural approach for the work — how loads are carried, and by which elements and materials.
Structural calculations: Calculations supporting the structural design, using computer structural analysis where appropriate.
Structural drawings: Structural drawings and details produced in CAD, where the project requires them.
Coordination: Structural information aligned with the architectural and Building Regulations drawings.

02When structure is involved

When might a structural engineer be needed?

A structural engineer may be required where building work affects or introduces structural elements — the parts of a building that carry and transfer load. That includes a good deal of domestic work, as well as larger projects.

Whether structural input is needed, and how much, depends on the building and the work. It is worth establishing early, because the structural approach can affect the design.

Work that may need structural input

W.01Removing or altering load-bearing walls
W.02Forming new or wider openings
W.03Extensions, including where they meet the existing building
W.04Conversions that change how loads are carried
W.05New floors, roofs or other structural alterations
W.06New-build proposals

Depending on the project, the elements involved might include beams, columns, load-bearing walls, floor and roof structures, or foundations.

Check your project

Interior of a rear extension with exposed timber joists, a large rooflight and full-height glazing to the garden

03Architecture and structure

Design and structure, developed together.

Structure shapes the architecture as much as the other way round. The size of an opening, the span of a floor, the depth of a beam and the way an extension meets the existing house all depend on the structural solution.

Considering the structure while the design develops means those decisions are made with the full picture, rather than revisiting the drawings once the structure has been worked out. The architectural and structural work may be carried out by different members of the team, coordinated within the practice.

Structure can influence

Openings
Spans
Layout
Construction depth
Buildability
Technical detailing

Architectural DesignView service

04Structural information

What structural information may include.

Not every project needs every item. What is produced depends on the work, its complexity and the stage of the project.

SD
Structural design
The structural approach — how loads are carried, and the elements and materials that carry them.
Engineering design
CA
Calculations
Engineering calculations supporting the structural design.
Where required
DR
Drawings and details
Structural drawings and details, produced in CAD.
As the project requires
CO
Coordination
Structural information aligned with the architectural drawings.
With the design team
BR
Building Regulations
Structural information forming part of the technical information for building control.
Supports the technical stage

05Scale and materials

Domestic work to multi-storey design.

Structural engineering for residential and commercial projects, from small domestic alterations to framed and multi-storey buildings.

Residential

Extensions
Alterations
Conversions
New homes

Commercial

Alterations to premises
Development proposals
Structural changes associated with building works

Materials the structural design covers

M.01Reinforced concrete
M.02Steel-framed construction
M.03Steel–concrete and other composite construction
M.04Masonry
M.05Timber
M.06Structural aluminium
M.07Glass

06Process

How structural input may develop.

A typical sequence rather than a fixed method — what is needed, and when, depends on the project and its stage.

01Review
Project review
The design information, and what is known about any existing structure, reviewed.
02Identify
Structural requirements
The elements the work affects, and the structural questions it raises, identified.
03Approach
Structural approach
A structural solution developed for the work, considered alongside the design.
04Calculate
Calculations and information
Calculations and structural information prepared as the project requires.
05Coordinate
Coordination
Structural information coordinated with the architectural and Building Regulations drawings.

07Building Regulations

Structural engineering and Building Regulations.

Related, but not the same. Structural information is often part of what building control assesses — but it is one part of a wider technical stage, and approval rests with the building control body.

Aspect	Structural engineering	Building Regulations drawings
Concerns	How the structure carries and transfers load, and the design of the structural elements.	The broader technical information showing how the work is intended to meet the applicable requirements.
Produces	Structural design, calculations and, where required, structural drawings.	Technical drawings and information, coordinated with structural input where required.
Assessed by	Structural information may form part of what a building control body assesses.	A building control body.