Evan's Consulting Engineers Limited

Evan’s Consulting Engineers Limited is a privately owned multi-disciplinary consultancy, with strong prominence in both Domestic and Public Consultancy Services. However, people using search engines like Checkatrade are usually small private domestic and small commercial clients which don't have internal supplier selection processes and hence our description henceforth is geared towards these clients.

https://evans-consulting.co.uk/domestic.html

As a design consultancy we get involved from small structural residential building inspections, openings to load bearing walls and property extensions to multi-span viaduct designs and heavy temporary works designs. 

Construction and Design Management Regulations (CDM) 2015

It is the duty of every qualified professional in the industry to review the possible hazards and assess the risks associated with any design under the Construction (Design and Management) CDM 2015 regulations. Hence, we don't provide quotes, or respond to cold requests without full description of what it is you require and full contact details. 

All property extensions and most architectural and planning proposals queries will require a site visit from one of our engineers or architects to verify the specific property details and requirements.  Structural calculations to building regulations may not require site visits if architectural plans indicating proposed locations of required structural members are available. 

Please familiarise yourselves with your duties as a domestic client under these regulations below, which is the law and make sure your contractors are aware and competent with these regulations :

https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/2015/domestic-clients.htm 

Site visits

Domestic residential property advisory site visits are charged at £100 per visit within a 50 mile radius from either Birmingham or Redditch. For site visits outside the 50 mile radius we may have to charge extra for commuting. All visit fees are then incorporated within your services fees if you select us to undertake your designs.

Planning applications

We prepare the submissions for all types of planning applications, whether it is a new built or an extension to an existing, which include the architectural drawings and specifications required for any type of domestic or commercial developments. A typical planning application will generally comprise the following: 

1. Topographic and Location Information;

2. Coverage plan;

3. Plans of existing floors (for an extension);

4. Views and sections of existing (for an extension);

5. Plans of proposed floors;

6. Proposed elevations (All four elevations);

7. Sections of proposed (Usually two but more if required);

8. Full set of specifications.

Planning permission applications even for extensions will require a survey of the plot and existing build including any outbuildings. 

Load Bearing Walls and Beams

For most opening creation queries to load bearing walls, a site visit will be required. Openings to load bearings walls are not as simple as one may think. Local authority building control departments don't have the time and resources to inspect every design and more times than not they just look at the span arrangements and load details and accept the design. However the complexity many times is with and perhaps not limited to:

1. Hidden critical elements;

2. Load bearing wall materials and quality;

3. Serviceability requirements of any new load bearing beams;

4. Appropriate fixing and bearing of the beams to the cut walls;

5. Actual loads on beam which some times may be carrying roof loads not obvious to the inexperianced eye;

6. Ground conditions;

7. New foundation requirements as the loads may now be concentrated over a shorter foundation length;

8. Possible need of a portal structure;

9. Temporary shoring requirements;

10. Bearing of any temporary shoring.