Structural and stormwater engineering questions, answered

Usually, yes. Most Sydney councils require a stormwater concept or drainage design as part of a DA, and the exact requirement is set by the council for your site. We prepare drainage designs in line with the Australian Rainfall and Runoff guidelines and the council's engineering specification. Where a site is low-lying and cannot drain to the street, we design the easement as well. Send us your architectural plans and any council correspondence and we will confirm what your council will ask for.

When a property sits below the level of the street, stormwater cannot drain to the kerb by gravity, so it has to be piped through a neighbouring property to a lower outlet. An inter-allotment drainage easement is the legal and physical path for that pipe. You need one when the council will not accept a charged line or an on-site absorption system for your site. We design the easement drainage, prepare the plans the council and your neighbour need, and coordinate with your surveyor and solicitor on the easement documents.

A flood impact assessment shows how a proposed development affects flood behaviour on the site and its neighbours, and how the building will perform in a flood. Councils require one when a site is mapped as flood-prone, when a council flood study identifies flood risk, or when a Section 10.7 certificate flags flood controls. The assessment sets floor levels, checks flow paths and storage, and gives the council the evidence to approve the design.

On a new build we design the footings, slabs, walls, beams, columns and roof structure so the architect's design can be built safely and economically, and we certify the design for the council or private certifier. On a renovation we assess the existing structure, design the new openings, additions or upper floors, and detail how new and old connect. We also inspect during construction where the certifier requires it.

The price depends on the size and complexity of the building, the site conditions, the council's requirements and how much information already exists (survey, geotechnical report, architectural drawings). A structural assessment of a single issue is far less than a full design for a new home, and a simple gravity drainage plan is less than an easement design or flood assessment. Send us the plans and we will give you a written fixed quote before any work starts.

Once we have the architectural plans, survey and any council correspondence, a standard residential stormwater design or structural design is typically issued within a few weeks, and we will confirm the timeframe in the quote. Urgent site advice and structural inspections are usually much faster. Revisions to the architectural design during the process will extend the timeframe.

Architectural plans (even preliminary ones), the site survey, any council correspondence or DA conditions, a geotechnical report if you have one, and photographs for existing buildings. If you do not have all of these yet, send what you have and we will tell you what else is needed and whether we can start without it.

Our engineering is led by a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) on the National Engineering Register, registered under the NSW Design and Building Practitioners scheme as a Design Practitioner and Professional Engineer. We are members of the Concrete Institute of Australia and the Master Builders Association. Registration numbers and insurance details are available on request.

We work throughout Metropolitan, Western and South West Sydney and across the Hunter, Central Coast, Central West, Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions, on residential, commercial and industrial projects. Recent projects include homes at Strathfield, Tennyson Point, Wareemba, Padstow Heights, Moorebank and Bronte. Our office is at Suite 12.02, 255 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000, open Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm. Call 02 9756 1211 to check your site.

Bricks crack when the foundation moves (reactive clay soils, leaking pipes, poor drainage, tree roots) or from movement in the wall itself (thermal expansion, brick growth from moisture, salt attack) and from poor workmanship. Hairline cracks that do not grow are usually cosmetic. Cracks wider than a few millimetres, stepped cracks through mortar joints, cracks that keep growing, or doors and windows that start to jam need a structural assessment.