Structural calculations and drawings for houses in the United States: removing a load-bearing wall, building an addition or a second story, and preparing the structural part of a permit set. Work follows the IRC or IBC, ASCE 7 and your local amendments, with a fixed fee quoted for each job.

Removing a Load-Bearing Wall

Removing a load-bearing wall means replacing it with something else that carries the same weight: a beam, the posts under its ends, and the footings under those posts. The engineer sizes each of those parts and shows them on drawings a permit can be issued from.

How to tell whether a wall is carrying weight

Look at the direction of the joists above. A wall running perpendicular to the floor or ceiling joists above it is usually carrying them. A wall running parallel, between two joists, often carries nothing but itself.

Look at what sits directly below. A bearing wall needs something under it: a beam, a girder, a line of posts in the basement, or a foundation wall. If the space below is open and unsupported, the wall above is less likely to be structural.

Look at what sits directly above. Bearing walls tend to stack. A wall with another wall landing on it on the floor above, or with a roof ridge over it, is carrying weight from higher up.

Treat exterior walls and remodeled houses with suspicion. Nearly all exterior walls carry roof or floor loads. And a wall that looks original may be picking up a load added decades ago, when somebody removed a different wall.

What the engineer works out

The load path. Everything above the opening — roof, snow, upper floors, the people and furniture on them — has to reach the ground somewhere. The first task is tracing where that weight travels today and where it will travel once the wall is gone.

The beam. Size and material follow from the span, the load collected, and how much the beam is allowed to sag. In houses, sag usually decides the answer before strength does: a beam that is strong enough can still crack the drywall under it.

The posts and the footings. A beam concentrates its whole load into two points. Each end needs a post sized for that force, and a footing poured for a lightly loaded wall may have to be enlarged. This is the item most often missed, and the most expensive one to fix after the floor is closed up.

The existing structure. Actual joist sizes, the species and grade of old framing, previous alterations and what the foundation is made of all change the result.

LVL, glulam or steel

LVL (laminated veneer lumber). The usual choice for ordinary openings: stronger and straighter than sawn lumber of the same size, available in long lengths, and cut with normal carpentry tools.

Glulam. Suits beams that stay exposed and beams that need to reach further, provided the depth is available.

Steel. Earns its place when headroom is tight, because it carries the same load in less depth. The price is weight, cost, and planning how it gets into the house and onto its supports.

Built-up dimensional lumber. Two or three pieces fastened together are still the right answer for short openings under light load, and the cheapest option when they work.

Home Additions and Second Stories

An addition puts new weight on a house that was never designed to carry it. The existing framing and foundation are checked first; then the new structure is designed, including the joint between old and new.

Why an addition is harder than building new

The existing structure is an unknown until it is checked. Framing sizes, spans and the alterations made by previous owners have to be established before anything is designed against them. Original plans and what is actually in the wall are frequently different.

The foundation was sized for the old house. New walls, roof and floor deliver load to footings poured for a smaller building. Whether they can take it depends on their size, their depth and what they sit on.

The two structures move differently. New footings settle on their own schedule; the old house finished settling long ago. The connection between them has to accept that difference without cracking the finishes on both sides.

Opening the house reduces its bracing. The wall you cut through to join old and new was also bracing the house against wind. The remaining walls have to be re-checked, sometimes strengthened, and supported temporarily while the opening is cut.

Building up instead of out

Everything below carries more. The first-floor walls, the beams under them, the posts and the footings all take load they never saw before. Each has to be checked, not assumed.

Interior walls turn into load path. Partitions that carried nothing may become supports for the new floor, which means real posts and real footings under them.

The foundation gets verified, not guessed. This usually means exposing a footing to see its actual size, because a second floor is exactly the case where the original footing may be too small.

Wind and seismic demands grow with height. A taller house catches more wind and, in seismic regions, attracts more force. Bracing adequate for one story is often not adequate for two.

A detached accessory dwelling unit is structurally a small new building: simpler than an addition because there is nothing old to match, more demanding because it stands on its own and braces itself. Garage conversions sit in between — the existing slab, the wide door opening and the header over it are usually the items that need attention.

The Structural Part of a Permit Set

A permit set has two structural parts: drawings that show what to build, and calculations that prove it holds up. Plan reviewers read both. The same work is available to architects and engineers as design support under their own engineer of record.

What goes into the package

Design criteria. The loads used — roof, floor, snow, wind, seismic — and the code edition they came from, printed where the reviewer looks first. Numbers that disagree with the jurisdiction’s own published values are the fastest route to a rejection.

Framing plans. Each level drawn, with every beam, header, post and bearing wall identified and sized. A plan that says “see engineer” or leaves a member unlabeled will come back.

Details and connections. How members meet: post to beam, beam to wall, new work to existing, framing to foundation. Connections are where structures actually fail, and reviewers know it.

The calculation set. The analysis behind the sizes, readable in sequence: loads collected, members checked, the governing check identified.

General notes and specifications. Lumber species and grade, steel grade, concrete strength, fastener types. Without them the calculations describe a building nobody can order materials for.

Which codes apply

IRC. Covers one- and two-family houses and offers prescriptive tables you can build from without calculations, within defined limits. Most residential work starts here and leaves it as soon as spans, loads or openings exceed what the tables cover.

IBC. Governs buildings outside the IRC, and residential projects that step past its prescriptive limits.

ASCE 7. Sets the loads — snow, wind, seismic — and how they combine. Its values depend on location, which is why a design for one state does not transfer to another.

NDS, AISC 360 and ACI 318. The material standards underneath: NDS for wood and its fasteners, AISC 360 for structural steel, ACI 318 for reinforced concrete, which in houses usually means foundations and slabs.

Local amendments. Counties and cities modify the base code, and some publish their own required design values. Work prepared against the wrong values gets corrected at review, not before.

Why permit sets come back

The load path stops partway down. A beam is sized, the post under it is shown, and nothing says what happens where that post lands. Reviewers follow the load to the ground and stop where the drawing does.

Loads do not match the jurisdiction’s values. Snow or wind taken from a national map when the county requires a higher local number.

Connections are left to the field. Members are sized, but the fastening between them is not shown.

Existing conditions are assumed, not verified. In a remodel or an addition, the reviewer wants to know what the existing framing actually is, not what it probably is.

What a Structural Engineer Costs

Structural engineers in the United States generally charge $100 to $220 an hour, though most residential work is quoted as a flat fee. A load-bearing wall analysis typically runs $250 to $1,000, and engineering for a home addition $2,200 to $3,700. Price follows scope, not hours.

What drives the price

The type of question. Confirming whether one wall is bearing is a small job. Designing a beam with its posts and footings is larger. Checking a whole house so a second story can go on top is larger still.

How much of the house is involved. One opening in one wall is bounded work. An open-plan remodel that removes three walls redistributes loads, changes the bracing and may touch the foundation in several places.

Whether anyone has to visit the site. Much residential work can be done from photographs and measurements taken by the owner or contractor, provided the right things are photographed and measured.

Whether a stamp is required. Stamping is a separate service performed by an engineer licensed in the state where the project is located, and it carries its own cost.

Flat fee or hourly

A fixed price moves the risk. The engineer is the one who can estimate the effort, so the engineer should carry the risk of estimating it wrong.

Quotes become comparable. You compare two prices for the same deliverables instead of two hourly rates multiplied by unknown hours.

It only works with a written scope. What will be designed, what is assumed, what is excluded, and how many rounds of plan review comments are included.

Service

Reported range

Note

Hourly rate

$100–$220 per hour

Depends on experience, location and complexity

Full home inspection and report

$350–$900

Typically 1.5 to 3 hours on site

Load-bearing wall and beam calculation

$250–$1,000

$3,000+ when drawn beam plans are included

Engineering plans and drawings

$500–$3,000

Typical house design or remodel

Home addition

$2,200–$3,700

Roughly 1–5% of the construction cost

Source: HomeGuide, How Much Does a Structural Engineer Cost? (2026). GEMS 1749 quotes a fixed fee for each job on request.

What You Receive

A written scope and a fixed price. Before work starts: what is designed, what is assumed, what is excluded, and what it costs.

Drawings. Foundation and framing plans, sections and connection details, drawn so a contractor can build from them.

Calculations. Organized so a plan reviewer can follow them from loads to member sizes, with the loads and code edition stated.

One set of numbers. Member sizes on the drawings agree with the calculations — the same values in both places.

Plan review responses. Revisions and written answers to the building department’s comments, within the agreed scope.

A stamp, where required. Review and sealing by an engineer licensed in the state where the project is located, arranged as a separate step.

How It Works

1. Describe the job. What you want to build or change, and the city and county where the house is — they decide the code edition, the design values and whether a stamp is required.

2. Send what exists. Photos inside and out, any drawings you have, and photos of the foundation and framing wherever they are visible.

3. Receive a scope and a fixed price. With the assumptions written down, and a list of the measurements still needed.

4. Review the package. Drawings and calculations come to you before they go to the building department. Turnaround is confirmed in the quote.

5. Plan review. Reviewer comments are answered and the set revised as part of the agreed work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove a load bearing wall without a structural engineer?

In most of the United States a permit is required for structural alterations, and the application has to show what carries the load once the wall is gone. Building departments generally want drawings and calculations from someone qualified to produce them. Beyond the permit, guessing wrong shows up later as sagging floors and cracked ceilings.

Do I need a permit to remove a load bearing wall?

Almost always. Structural changes are permit work in nearly every jurisdiction, and the final inspection is what protects you when you sell. Unpermitted structural work is a standard finding in real-estate inspections and regularly delays closings until it is documented or corrected.

Can I add a second story to my house?

Usually yes, but the answer depends on what is under it. The existing walls, beams and footings have to be checked for the added weight, and the foundation frequently needs verification by exposing part of it. That check comes first, before any design work is worth doing.

Do I need both drawings and calculations for a permit?

Usually yes, and they serve different readers. Drawings tell the contractor what to build; calculations tell the plan reviewer why those sizes are correct. Some small permits are approved on drawings alone, but any project that leaves the prescriptive code tables will need the calculations behind it.

Does a structural engineer need to stamp my drawings?

It depends on the state and on the work. Structural alterations and anything outside the prescriptive tables commonly require a stamp. Where one is required, review and sealing by an engineer licensed in that state is arranged as a separate step with its own fee, so it is worth confirming early.

Why do quotes for the same job vary so much?

Because they are rarely the same job. One quote may include a site visit, plan review responses and a stamp; another may cover a single beam calculation. Compare the deliverables line by line before comparing prices, and ask whether plan review comments are included.

Have a project in mind? Send a short description, photos, and the city and county where the house is. You will get a scope and a fixed price before any work starts.

Related Guides

Codes and standards How loading standards, material standards and the building code fit together.

Foundation requirements Column reactions, anchor bolts, and the interface between the kit and local foundation design.

Wind and snow load design How site wind and snow inputs flow into frame, roof and connection sizing.

Aerial view of a house under construction with light-gauge steel roof trusses being installed and wall panels stacked on site

Cold-formed steel roof trusses seen from inside the building, spanning above unfinished concrete walls

Unfinished interior with precast concrete wall panels, a window opening and hand tools on the bare slab

Almost finished building with metal roofing, bundles of steel purlins and precast panels stacked along the site road

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