How we work
From the first email to the stamp.
A typical Porter Engineering project, end to end. Most jobs follow this exact rhythm. Some are faster.
You send us a description
Email, text, or the contact form. A few sentences about what you're doing, your address, and any photos or drawings you already have. That's enough to get started — we don't need a formal project package to give you a real answer.
We come back same day with a fixed fee
Almost always within a few hours. The fee is fixed, not hourly, so you know what you're committing to before we start. If a site visit is needed, that's included.
Site visit (when needed)
Most letters and small calcs don't need a visit. Anything involving an existing structure usually does. We schedule visits within a week of the call, often within 48 hours.
Calcs and drawings
We design to your city's adopted IRC/IBC, the right ground snow load for your specific lot elevation, and the right seismic site class for your soil. Your jurisdiction is named on the title sheet so the plan reviewer knows we did the homework.
Stamped deliverable
PDF the same day it's ready. Wet-stamped paper copies on request. Most letters are 3-7 business days; full plan sets are 1-3 weeks depending on scope.
Plan check support
If your building department has a comment, we handle the response. Free. That almost never happens, but it's part of the job.
What's included
Always part of the job
- Same-day fixed-fee quote
- Code research for your specific jurisdiction
- Local snow and seismic loads
- Stamped, signed PDF deliverable
- One round of design revisions
- Plan-check response if the city has comments
- Email and phone access to the engineer (not a service rep)
- Wet-stamped paper copies if requested
Section Next step
Have a project? Let's talk through it.
Send a few sentences about what you're building and we'll come back with a fee, scope, and timeline — usually the same day.