Planning is Essential

In order to achieve both quality and productivity, thoughtful planning and design are indispensible and cannot be rushed. The popular "design/build" approach is intended to strengthen the planning and design component of a construction project. Building without attention to detail leads to disappointment and rework. After building begins, time is money.

Passion for Preservation

We have 40 years of personal experience with older construction methods. We do not leave responsibility for your project in the hands of student interns, engineering temps, or trainees. Preservation is our core interest, not a sideline. We embrace the European view that preservation is about evolution of culture and lifestyle.

Supporting Architects and other Talented Professionals

Outstanding results require communication, charrette, and collaboration among talented people, including architects, designers, planners, and often, historians, archaeologists, folklorists, and others. We are committed to continuing education and lifelong learning from others; else, our forty years of experience might just be one year of experience repeated forty times without challenge from others.

Affordable and Responsible Construction Management

Engineering is our focus, but we offer to manage construction of our designs. Also, we offer to manage construction of the designs of others while leaving overall authority in the hands of the budget-conscious client. Our construction management fee is a small percentage of the project cost and is responsibly reduced if actual cost exceeds planned cost.

Free Services for Homeowners and Non-Profits

Preservation efforts are promoted through our volunteerism. The firm provides limited free engineering services to homeowners, chambers of commerce, community development and other non-profit organizations. In particular, free engineering services are provided to these groups for grant proposals. We never charge anyone, non-profit or for-profit, for initial consultation.

In-depth Engineering for Energy Efficiency

Reduced energy bills are not a necessary consequence of green products, especially for older buildings. The redesigned building must be approached as a system that controls energy losses, capacities, inputs, and their thermodynamics. Humidity and temperatures of walls or surfaces must also be controlled for energy-efficient human comfort.

Analyzing Engineering Failures

Although forensic engineering is needed for litigation following a costly or fatal engineering failure, such analysis is also needed in order to correct deficiencies in existing buildings. The majority of deficiencies involve structural engineering, mechanical systems, foundations and geotechnical issues.

(Left: Hollywood FL 1935)