Structural engineering — full design

What the engineer designs

A licensed Oregon structural engineer designs:

1. Foundation work. Per the path chosen — retrofit details, new footings, lift-and-replace details, anchor bolt schedule, shear wall locations.
2. First-floor framing modifications. New beams to carry the second-story loads, new posts, modifications to existing joists.
3. Second-floor framing. New floor joists, beams, and any cantilevers.
4. Roof framing. New rafters, ridge beam, ceiling joists, collar ties.
5. Lateral system. Shear wall locations, holdowns, drag straps. This is the seismic/wind path through the building.
6. Retrofit details. How the new framing connects to the existing house — sister joists, transition beams, retrofit nailing.

What the deliverable looks like

A structural drawing set — typically 4–10 sheets — plus a calculations package. The drawings carry the engineer's stamp and Oregon license number on every sheet. Calcs are a separate PDF, often 30–80 pages.

Sheet content:

• S1 — General notes, design loads, code references. Cites ORSC, references the geotech (if any), states design wind and seismic parameters.
• S2 — Foundation plan. Footing layout, retrofit details, anchor bolt schedule.
• S3 — Floor framing plans (one per level).
• S4 — Roof framing plan.
• S5+ — Details. Connection details, beam-to-post, post-to-foundation, shear wall edge nailing, holdown locations.

Code references

Oregon's residential code is the Oregon Residential Specialty Code (ORSC), adopted on a multi-year cycle from the IRC with Oregon-specific amendments. The current edition's seismic provisions are stricter than older versions; an older house being modified to current ORSC seismic requirements is the source of the lateral retrofit work in many addition projects.

What you (and your designer) coordinate

• Beam locations vs. plan layout. Sometimes the structural beam wants to land in the middle of a room you'd planned as open. Coordinate this in design development, not after engineering is done.
• Shear wall locations vs. window placement. Shear walls need solid sheathing and full height; an exterior shear wall in a place where you'd planned a big window is a coordination problem.
• Connection details vs. ceiling height. Some retrofit beam connections eat ceiling height. The designer needs to know.

When this is done

When you have a stamped structural set that the designer has integrated into the architectural drawings without conflict. The combined set is permit-ready.