Decks, additions, and load-bearing remodels are the workhorse of residential structural engineering in northern Utah. The reason they need engineering is the same reason a lot of contractors underestimate them: the loads our snow and seismic conditions impose are higher than people from out of state expect, and the prescriptive tables in the IRC don't always cover the actual situations we run into.
Decks and patio covers
A deck looks simple. It isn't. A deck has to handle live load from people and furniture, dead load from the deck itself, and — in Utah — snow load. A covered deck or patio cover has to handle roof snow, which is the load that catches most homeowners and contractors off guard. The base ground snow load in most of Davis and Weber counties is 43 psf, which means a covered deck in Layton needs to be designed for at least that, and often more if the deck is on a foothill lot.
Where engineering matters most on a deck:
- The ledger. The connection between the deck and the house is the most-failed deck component in the country. We design the ledger fastening pattern explicitly — the bolt spacing, edge distance, and flashing detail.
- Beam and joist sizing. Standard span tables assume standard loads. Once you factor real snow load, hot tubs, large planters, or unusual span configurations, you want a calc behind the size, not a guess.
- Lateral connections. Decks that aren't properly tied to the house can pull away under load. Hold-down tension ties, properly designed, prevent that.
- Cantilever and post design. Cantilevered decks above a basement walkout are common in northern Utah. They need real engineering.
For the homeowner-facing deep dive, see — Snow Loads in Davis & Weber Counties: What Decks and Patio Covers Have to Handle.
Load-bearing wall removal letters
The single most common piece of work we do. A homeowner wants to open up a kitchen, take out a wall in a basement remodel, or combine two rooms into one. They go to the city for a permit and the city says "we need a letter from a structural engineer." That's us.
The deliverable is short: usually one or two pages, signed and sealed, specifying the beam size (LVL, glulam, steel, whatever the situation calls for), bearing point locations, connection details, and any temporary shoring requirements. Most letters are $400-$700 and turnaround is 3-7 business days. If we need to come look at the wall first (we do for most second-floor or unusual situations), we add a small site visit fee.
For the homeowner-facing version, see — Do I Really Need a Structural Engineer to Remove a Wall in My Utah Home?
Additions and second stories
Adding to an existing house is genuinely interesting structural work. Every addition has two questions: can the new structure stand on its own? and can the existing structure handle being asked to do something it wasn't designed for? For a horizontal addition, the second question is usually about the existing foundation and how to tie the new and old together. For a vertical addition or second story, the second question is about whether the existing walls and footings can take the additional vertical load — and the answer is sometimes yes, sometimes only with reinforcement.
We'll tell you straight whether your house is a good candidate for the addition you're imagining, before you spend money on architectural drawings.
Basement remodels and egress windows
Basement remodels often run into structural questions in two spots: cutting an egress window into a foundation wall, and opening up walls to create a more open layout downstairs. Both usually need engineering. The egress cut needs a header design and a calc that the existing wall above can span the new opening; the wall removal needs a beam letter just like an upstairs remodel.
Detached garages, shops, and pole barns
Out in West Point, Hooper, South Weber, Morgan, and Eden, big detached structures are a way of life. They need engineering for the long-span trusses, the lateral system, and the anchor design between the structure and the foundation. We work with most of the major pre-engineered truss manufacturers and we know what the local plan reviewers look for.
How we'd start a project with you
Send a description, photos, your address, and any drawings you already have. We'll come back the same business day with a fixed fee, a real timeline, and an honest read on whether the scope you're imagining makes sense.