My drafter/engineer unsure about Room in attic

[HollyN]

My drafter/engineer just informed me that He thinks the house we are designing cannot support the room in attic.

It is going to have a gambrel style roof with a reverse gambrel on it. So only the 4 corners are really affected by the slope. He believes that we would need to create load bearing walls on the 2nd floor to bear the load of the attic room with would be a large plus sign 42 feet long and 32 feet wide. I was thinking if we posted around the four corners of the stairs and strung girders to them and tied of those we wouldn't have to create load bearing walls. He is not sure....
Any other options?

Thanks, Holly

 

[PEinc]

Well, is he or she a drafter or an engineer? If he or she is a drafter, you need to hire a structural engineer.

 

[HollyN]

He went to school to be a structural engineer and drafts his own work for his own business, but he still asks other people at building center his questions.

 

[PEinc]

You need an experienced and registered structural engineer. Your guy doesn't sound like he is either. Do you need to have P.E. sealed plans submitted to your local building department for approval?

Also, did anyone check if the 2nd floor will be strong enough to support the new attic load from the new bearing walls or columns? I wouldn't trust engineering advice from the local building center.

 

[HollyN]

How do I find someone else to double check these plans? He said eh was a structural engineer and SBE certified, recommended by a firm I called that was too busy to do my work. What would I look under int he yellow pages?

 

[PEinc]

If he is a structural engineer, he must have a valid professional engineer's license. Ask him if he is licensed in your state. You can probably check online with your state's professional engineers board to see if he is a licensed engineer. I am not familiar with SBE certification. What type of firm recommended him? Was it another engineering firm? Ask him for references from similar projects. Do you have an architect involved with your project? If so, ask the architect what structural engineer(s) they have used successfullly.

You could look in the Yellow Pages under Engineers, then under Structural Engineers. You probably would want an engineer who is self employed or who works for a smaller firm. Large firms usually are not too interested in small residential projects.

Do you need to get a building permit? If so, you may need to submit plans sealed by a licensed engineer.

 

[haggis]

HollyN

Even if using the attic space as living or bedroom quarters was an afterthought, how was your engineer/drafter intending to support the attic floor other than at the perimeter walls anyway? The attic floor would still need support from load bearing walls or posts even if it were being designed for the attic floor loads only. Get yourself an engineer or at the very least a drafter with sound construction experience and then have the drawings reviewed and stamped by a lisenced engineer.