PHONE: 828-372-2805
EMAIL: tristan@tmsengr.com
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT DOES A STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT REPORT INCLUDE?
A structural assessment is an inspection that will be performed by an experienced licensed PE (professional engineer). The engineer will spend 1 to 2 hours on site to visually inspect all the accessible areas of the residence (inside of the house, attic, crawlspace, outside of the house). A report including all of our findings will be provided to the client. The report typically includes a list of all items found (with supporting pictures) as well as recommendations on how to address these items. Please note that complex issues that require design work might not be covered under a typical report.
DO YOU DO THE ACTUAL BUILDING WORK ?
No we do not, we are not builders. As engineers, we will provide you with the adequate report, plans, details that can then be provided to the builder of your choice to implement our design. Our signed and stamped deliverables can also be used to pull the appropriate permits with the county/city.
I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU, HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK ?
If your project requires a site visit, we will send you an initial proposal to cover the site visit (driving time, time on site). After we have assessed the scope of work during the initial site visit, we will send you a second proposal which will pertain to the actual engineering work needed. Breaking it down in two stages allows us to precisely price our design fees after the site visit has taken place.
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If your project does not require a site visit, then we typically will send you only one proposal for our services based on your described scope of work and supporting documents (plans, photos).
DO YOU CHARGE FOR SITE VISITS ?
As engineers, we do charge for our time on an hourly basis. This means that we will charge for a site visit which is fairly common amongst all engineers. The cost of the visit will depend on several factors including the proposed scope of work, driving distance, length of the actual visit. Please contact us and we will provide you a proposal with the cost estimate for your project/initial site visit.
WHAT DO ENGINEERING SERVICES TYPICALLY COST ?
This will be directly related to the hourly rate and the estimated time required to complete your project. Since we are a small firm with very low overhead costs, we are able to provide competitive rates for our services.
WHAT IS THE TYPICAL TURNAROUND TIME ?
Turnaround time will vary depending on the complexity of your project as well as the current backlog we have. Since we are a small firm, we thrive to turn projects around fairly quickly and typically manage to offer a 1-2 week turnaround for smaller sized projects. The actual timeline of your project will be included in the proposal we will provide to you.
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Timeline on structural assessment reports can be as short as a few days based on the client's needs.
WHAT PAYMENT FORMS DO YOU ACCEPT ?
You will receive an invoice online directly to your email. You will be able to click a link in the email to pay using a debit or credit card. You can also send a check directly to our PO box. There are no additional fees when paying with a credit card.
WHICH AREAS DO YOU COVER ?
For projects that require site visits, we cover the Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, West Jefferson, Wilkesboro & surrounding areas. Typically anything within an hour and a half drive radius from the city of Boone. We can go further if needed (including Tennessee).
WHAT STATES ARE YOU LICENSED IN ?
We are currently licensed in the states of Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee.