Residential structural engineer in Dallas and Fort Worth
Foundation inspections and reports, engineer letters for permit, load-bearing wall removal, additions, and framing and foundation design for new homes across the DFW metro. A licensed engineer inspects the house and signs the letter; there is no salesperson in between.
- Who we work with
- Homeowners · Builders · Realtors
- Deliverable
- Signed letters, reports, and plans
- Common ask
- Foundation and wall-removal letters
- Service area
- DFW metro
What this covers
What residential structural engineering covers
Most homeowners call a structural engineer at a stressful moment: a crack, a sale, a permit application, or a wall that needs to come out. The job is the same in every case. We look at the structure, account for the soil under it, and put what we find in a document the city, the buyer, or the contractor can act on.
Foundation inspections and reports
An on-site evaluation of slab, pier-and-beam, or post-tensioned foundations: floor elevation survey, crack mapping, drainage and grading review, and a stamped report with findings and recommendations. We are independent of every repair contractor.
Engineer letters for permit
The letters cities ask for when a project touches structure: wall removal, patio covers, carports, decks, pergolas, garage conversions, and repairs after a plumbing leak or a fire.
Load-bearing wall removal
We confirm what the wall carries, size the beam and posts that replace it, detail the connections and the load path down to the foundation, and issue drawings a framer can build from and an inspector can check.
Additions and second stories
Framing and foundation design for room additions, second-story additions, and outdoor living structures, starting with whether the existing foundation can take the added load.
New home foundations and framing
Post-tensioned slab-on-grade, conventional slab, or pier-and-beam foundations designed to the geotechnical report, plus framing plans for custom homes and builder plan sets.
Repair and remediation design
Underpinning and pier layouts, drainage corrections, and framing repairs issued as engineered drawings, so every repair contractor bids the scope we intended.
Typical projects
Typical residential projects
These requests account for most of the residential work that comes through the door. If your question is whether something is structural at all, that is a five-minute phone call.
- 01Pre-purchase foundation inspection with a stamped report
- 02Engineer letter to remove a load-bearing wall between kitchen and living room
- 03Foundation movement evaluation after cracks in brick or drywall
- 04Room addition or second-story addition framing and foundation
- 05Patio cover, carport, or pergola permit letter
- 06Garage conversion or attic conversion structural review
- 07Post-tensioned slab design for a new custom home
- 08Repair drawings after a plumbing leak under the slab
Our approach
How we work on a house
Houses in this part of Texas sit on some of the most active clay in the country, and every evaluation starts from that fact.
- 01
Site visit
A licensed engineer, not a technician, walks the house: floor elevations, crack patterns, drainage, trees, and irrigation. Photographs and measurements go into the report.
- 02
Diagnosis
Movement gets sorted into cosmetic, seasonal, and structural. Clay heave and shrinkage leave a different signature than bearing failure or a plumbing leak, and each calls for a different fix.
- 03
Design or letter
A permit letter for the city, a report with recommendations for the homeowner or buyer, or drawings for the beam, addition, or repair, each written for the person who will actually read it.
- 04
Follow-through
Questions from the framer, the inspector, or the repair contractor come back to Glacier Point directly. When the city requires a final inspection letter, we provide it.
Codes and standards
Codes and standards for residential work
Single-family homes in Texas are built to the International Residential Code as each city adopts it. Where the IRC defers to engineering, the International Building Code and the material standards below take over.
Permit requirements for residential work vary by city. Building department pages for the cities we work in most:
- IRC (ICC)
- International Residential Code: prescriptive framing, foundations, and when an engineered design is required.
- IBC Chapter 18 (ICC)
- Soils and foundations, including design on expansive soils.
- PTI DC10.5
- Post-Tensioning Institute standard for post-tensioned slabs on expansive soils, the most common foundation under new DFW homes.
- ACI 318
- Structural concrete for slabs, beams, and piers.
- AWC NDS
- National Design Specification for Wood Construction: beams, headers, posts, and connections.
- TBPELS
- Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors: who may stamp engineering documents, and how to verify a license.
Questions
Questions homeowners ask us
How much does a structural engineer cost in Dallas?
It depends on the scope. A permit letter for a single item, a foundation inspection with a written report, and a full addition design are three different amounts of work. We quote in writing after a short call. Because we do not sell repairs, the inspection fee is the same whether or not repair turns out to be warranted.
Do I need an engineer's letter to remove a load-bearing wall?
In most DFW cities, yes. Removing or altering a bearing wall changes the load path, and the permit application needs a stamped drawing or letter showing the replacement beam, posts, and connections. Even where a city does not ask, the beam still has to be sized correctly; a sagging ridge or a cracked ceiling is expensive to fix after the fact.
What does a foundation inspection include?
A visual survey inside and out, a floor elevation survey to map differential movement, a review of drainage, grading, trees, and irrigation, and a signed report that states whether the movement is within the normal range for local clay, whether repair is warranted, and what to monitor. Destructive testing is not included unless we agree on it beforehand.
Why do North Texas foundations move?
Most of the metro sits on high-plasticity clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Foundations ride that movement: edges lift after wet seasons and settle in drought, and trees, leaks, and poor drainage make it uneven. The design answer is a stiff foundation with controlled moisture around it, which is why post-tensioned slabs and drainage details matter so much here.
How fast can I get an engineer's report or letter?
We give you a date when we schedule the site visit, and we keep it. A simple permit letter takes less time than a full inspection report, and both go faster when we have your survey, plans, or photographs ahead of time.
Do you also do foundation repair?
No. Glacier Point is an engineering firm, not a repair contractor, so an inspection report is never a sales document. When repair is warranted we specify it in drawings any qualified contractor can bid, and we can review the finished work before the city inspects it.
Related services
Related services
- 06
Retaining Walls & Global Stability
A backyard grade change, a pool wall, or a creek-lot wall is a soil problem before it is a structure, and the same clay that moves your foundation is pushing on the wall.
View service → - 02
Commercial
Builders who also develop retail or office projects get the same drawing standards and responsiveness on the commercial side.
View service →
Start a project
Have a foundation question or a permit to clear?
Send photos, the survey, or the city's request. A licensed engineer, not a call center, will tell you what the next step is.
This page is general information about structural engineering practice and is not engineering advice for a specific site or project. Glacier Point provides sealed engineering only under a signed engagement agreement.