A lot of structural inspections in Utah are about the same thing: someone is buying or selling a house and the home inspector pointed at a crack in the basement wall and said "you should have a structural engineer look at this."Most of the time the crack is nothing. Sometimes it's something. Either way, the only person qualified to tell you which one is a licensed engineer, and that's what we do.
The kinds of inspections we do
Pre-purchase structural inspections
You're under contract on a house on the Wasatch Front. The home inspector flagged something — a horizontal crack in the basement wall, sloping floors, a deck that doesn't look right, an unpermitted addition. We come out, evaluate it, and write you a plain-English report so you can negotiate intelligently or walk away with confidence. Most of these are completed within a week of the call.
Foundation crack evaluations
A homeowner sees a crack and panics. The internet tells them their house is sliding into the ground. Foundation repair companies tell them they need $25,000 of helical piers. We come out, look at it carefully, and tell them what we actually see — most often "this is normal settlement, it's stable, here's what to monitor for." When we do see real distress, we say so and design a real fix. We don't sell repairs, so we have no reason to invent problems.
Post-event assessments
After a wind storm, a neighbor's tree falling on a structure, a vehicle impact, or any other event that might have compromised a building, we do a structural condition assessment for owners and insurance adjusters. The deliverable is photos, observed damage, an opinion on whether the structure is safe to occupy, and recommendations for any repairs or further investigation.
Engineer letters
Sometimes the city, lender, insurance carrier, or HOA needs a signed letter from a licensed engineer attesting to a specific thing about a building. The most common ones we write:
- Load-bearing wall removal letters for remodels
- Header design for new openings
- Beam sizing for basement remodels
- Deck condition assessments for HOAs and pre-sale
- Post-repair certification after foundation work
- Sign-off that an existing structure can support a new use or load
- Letters for insurance after a damage event
Most letters are 3-7 business days and run $400-$700.
What's actually in our written reports
A typical report from us has six things:
- A clear summary of what we were asked to look at
- Photos with each finding numbered and annotated
- A list of items that are actually structural concerns
- A list of items that are cosmetic only (this matters — most things on a typical home inspection finding sheet are cosmetic)
- Recommended next steps if any
- A signed and sealed PDF you can hand to your realtor, lender, or city
We don't pad reports. A short, clear report is more useful than a 40-page document full of stock language.
What we tell buyers
Most pre-purchase structural calls turn out to be one of three situations: (a) cosmetic, no action needed, (b) real but manageable, and (c) genuinely concerning. We tell you which one you're in, in those exact terms, with the photos to back it up. If you're under contract, we'll usually also offer a rough range of what the repair would cost so you have a number for your negotiation — not because we're going to do the repair, but because that's what's actually useful to a buyer.
What we tell sellers
If you're selling a home that's already under contract and a buyer's inspection turned up something structural, the smartest move is often to get an engineer's letter ahead of the negotiation, not after. If the issue is cosmetic, our letter ends the conversation immediately. If it's real, you know what you're working with and can choose whether to fix it, credit the buyer, or relist. The cost of the letter is almost always less than what you'd lose in panic concessions.
How to start
Send us the address, a short description of the concern, any photos, and your timeline. We'll come back the same business day with a fee and an inspection date. We work across Davis, Weber, Box Elder, and Morgan counties, with most inspections scheduled within 48-72 hours of the call.