If your question is not answered here, or if you want a "live" person to talk to, please call us now at 713-377-4209 (or after hours email Gary Beck at eco@eco-holdings.com or call 713-530-1950)
Q: What range of construction engineering services can you offer? A: Our services range from engineer's inspection services for existing foundations or framing systems; to engineer stamped design of foundation and framing for remodels and new builds. We can work with your architect or designer, a can suggest an architect or designer to fit your budget. In this way, we can deliver a "complete package" of a custom designed, engineer stamped, complete design-build AutoCAD construction plan sets.
Q: What range of engineering consulting services can you offer? A: Our consulting services cover a wide range of advice on materials, construction, and energy. Prior consulting has included wood, steel, concrete, SIP, C-SIP, AAC, and ICF building systems; fire, thermal, sound and insulation value calculations, heat and thermal load calculation, electrical power consumption and load calculation, on-site power electric generator sizing and selection, solar power and solar heat estimations, and combined cool heat and power estimations. Our consulting can start with free or fee-paid front end discussion, continue into the design conceptual phase with your designer, then support the detailed design, to construction document creations, and then to project phase inspections.
Q: Does you company provide drafting or CAD services? A: Drafting services are a major part of our engineering company. We create construction documents (blue prints) in AutoCAD. We often redraw a customer' hard copy plans into AutoCAD for our use to create structural plans like foundations and frames. We often are asked to provide a major rework of an existing plan to extend or shorten a wall, room, and roof plan. We also support changes in building systems such as a change from CMU walls to 2x6 or from 2x4 walls. Or a change from wood framing to Structural Insulated Panel construction or AAC block construction walls. Regardless of your project size, your company size, your type of construction document needs, ECO provides friendly, professional, comprehensive CAD services.
Q: Do you offer Architectural services? A: No. We are not Architects. We are Engineers with a strong understanding of residential and light commerical 'low-rise' design. We can provide comprehensive structural and detailed MEP design for homes and commerical buildings less than 20,000 sf. We can work with your architect or with your architectural plans from any source. We can also recommend licensed architects with whom we have worked with in the past. For the budget minded we can also recommend a residential CAD designer, or we can work with your current CAD home designer, home plan supplier, or with your printed home design blue prints.
Q: Do you offer any other type of design services? A: We recently have begun offering what we believe is a more advanced design method called 'Building Informational Modeling' (BIM) 3D design. BIM has previously has only been used by the large A&E design firms for large complex commercial projects. Progressive architectural firms and engineering firms are now starting to be use BIM-3D on small projects like residences. BIM-3D has a design efficiency with a level of construction detail that was previously just not possible. BIM-3D design can start in a conceptual phase and then move directly to construction document phase inclusive of all details and all material itemizations.
Q: What size of projects do you cover? A: Very Small to Modestly Big. In one week we might do a 200sf patio addition slab, a 2500sf town home foundation inspection, and a 3000sf 'urban castle' expansion, and a 5500sf new coastal home design package. Our residential project target is 1200sf to 5,000sf and up to 3 stories tall. For commercial projects, we limit ourselves based on our experience with similar project sizes and work scopes.
Q: When do I need and engineer? A: Typically, the requirement for engineering is set by your city's planning department. Regardless of permitting requirements, you should always discuss any changes to an existing structure with an engineer.
Q: What geographic areas do you cover? A: Most of our work is in the 'greater Houston' area (Huntsville to Galveston - Anahuac to Rosenberg, Roundtop to Bolivar). As of August 2007, the farthest full design project was in Austin, and the farthest engineering consulting project was in Ft.Worth. Our practical range is for projects that we can get to and from a in the same day (basically the southern portion of the state). As a Texas corporation registered to provide engineering services anywhere in the state and we can practice engineering very competitively anywhere in Texas. In addition, due to our unique experience and knowledge, we can also consult with another regions engineer's (meaning provide advice without an engineer's stamp) on the design of larger regional projects such as resorts in the Caribbean, or storm resistant fixed income housing in Florida.
Q: How can you provide quality services at a competitive cost? A: Our services are provided with less overhead. Our office is small but nice. Our equipment is accurate and current. Our AutoCAD documents are created by our skilled CAD operator and by our engineer. We strive to deliver in reports and documents in a timely manner whether we need to work evenings or weekends. So if you can accept personalized, professional results, and sometimes unique design solutions with fully managed risk, all provided on your schedule, why would you want to pay more only to support the staff and bigger offices of a larger firm?
Q: Do you have insurance? A: We maintain comprehensive professional liability insurance through Lloyds of London and general liability insurance from The Hartford Group. Professional liability insurance is different than home inspector's insurance and is only available to Engineers and Architects. Our work is always covered by professional liability 'errors and omissions' insurance. Since our inspections are conducted directly by our own engineer, we carry two million dollars of general liability insurance.
Q: What is the basis for Eco’s engineering and consulting services? A: Gary Beck is certified in the Practice of Structural Engineering and a Listed Engineer for the Texas Department of Insurance Wind Storm Program, and LEED Accredited by the US Green Buildng Council for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design. Eco provides Engineering and Engineer's Inspection Services for Residential, Commercial, Lodging, Educational, Industrial and Government Facilities. Eco's design engineering services include AutoCAD based construction documents for permitting and building foundations, structures, storm water systems, and detention ponds; and Autodesk Revit based 3D Building Information Modeling for green building practices. Gary Beck received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Duke University, and became a Texas P.E. in 1981. Like every Duke Civil Engineer in the 1970s, he completed courses on Surveying, Pollution, Water Resources, Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Structures, Materials, Dynamics, Soil Mechanics, Structural Analysis, and Structural Design. Gary is also accredited by the American Wood Council Accredited for High Wind Wood Frame Design, and an Approved Engineer for foundation design and inspection for the "America's Choice 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty" program as well as for several other organizations.
Q: How do we know if you are the best engineer for our project? A: We can not say if we are the "best" engineer. Our engineer is a good, experienced, practical engineer for the things that we design. We also bring experience gained from hands-on construction experience to balance real life construction issues against raw calculations. This allows us to recognize and balance cost versus risk for our designs. We will tell you up front if we can not support your project and recommend another firm if we know of one that fits the work. Lastly, we do our best to always communicate and explain the engineering process as the work is proceeding and certainly if a problem is recognized that is dangerous or overly costly.
Q: We need a home inspection, do you do this and how much will this cost? A: We only do home engineering inspections involving foundations & structure. We don't offer basic home inspections. But to answer the question, most home inspection services charge over $100 to $150 per hour depending on the total time. A simple inspection takes 3 to 4 hours of jobsite and office time. The actual fee should be determined by the services requested and roughly on the time it takes to complete them. A larger complex inspection may require more time, but is normally billed at a lower rate. For a home inspection, the time required is determined by the service level requested, the size, age, value, location, and complexity of the home and systems in it. Besides price, other considerations should be experience, insurance, and whether you want or need an inspection to be done by a Professional Engineer (Foundations & Structure), or by a TREC or NAHI member, or by some other specialist such as for termites (Wood Infestation Inspection)
Q: We was told inspections by engineers are much more expensive than inspections by non-engineers, is this true? A: Sorry, that answer was not based on the facts. It depends on what service level you need. A termite inspection might be a best value if by a reputable and recommended company that can also provide extermination services. But if framing damage is extensive, or if it involves a foundation, a structural inspection should only be done by a Professional Engineer, since only they can legally tell you about the structural integrity. It is also better to have an authoritative engineer's stamped report since this may be more valid in buy, sell, or warranty repair discussions.
Q: Is the price of an engineer’s inspection fixed? we read that once you raised the price of one structural inspection. A: Yes we raised a price about $90 on one client, but we discuss it and received and approval before we did it. We also have lowered other invoices by $100 or more below our original quote based on the actual work we did. The reason is that when we get verbal description of a structural problem on the phone or by email, we quote a price based on the expected work. Before we start, we go over a 2 page big print service contract that includes the option to increase that quoted price if the actual work is higher. If something totally unexpected requires more than 20% the service contract says that the client must agree it is okay before any of this required extra work is done. On the vast majority (90%+) of our structural inspections the price we quote is the price we invoice. But once we get to a project we may see items not discussed or not recognized by the owner, that as an engineer we must address. we take the extra time to address these new items in our inspection and in our report, and if that time becomes significant we add it to our final invoice.
Q: I am buying new home. Aren't home inspections only for older homes that are in need of repair? A: Not true. A home is normally the largest investment one makes in a lifetime. It is in your best interest to know everything you can about the house, old or new, before you buy it. we have knowledgeable friends who have bought brand new builder homes and then entered into the nightmare of negotiating for months on the repair of an under slab plumbing defect after they moved in, and then lived through months of hassles like taking time of from work to meet repairmen on their schedules. Wouldn't it smarter to spend a little on due diligence (and negotiating who pays for the independent) to find major and minor problems before you move in and certainly before money changes hands? (Also see above question "How quickly can we get an inspection and a report?" about Texasengineer's inspection services)
Q: We own a nice home, but we work and travel too much and we are concerned about several things we just don't have time to check or fix. Can you help me? A: Yes, and you are absolutely right to be concerned. Your home is an important investment that you want to keep an eye on, even if you are too busy. Neglected areas easily self-repaired with $50 in materials, or $200 by a handyman, unchecked can easily lead to damage costing $1000 or $2000 or more. A single home inspection is one option, but another approach is a regularly scheduled visit 2 or 3 times a year producing a simple report delivered to you with a prioritized list of recommendations for further action by your selected handy man or repair service. That's just smart planning. Call me now on 713-530-1950 to discuss.
Q: How quickly can we get an inspection and a report? A: Our reports typically are completed within 1 or 2 two work days after the inspection day. In some urgent Buy/Sell situations, we have provided inspections and the written report in the same day. But it is best to allow time so that any engineer can consider and fully deliberate any special issues. While we use a checklist for gathering information, we do not provide the checklist in place of a written report (as many companies do). We can verbally provide comments on what we have observed to you, but only our written report contains the full benefit of our deliberation after the inspection so we can confidently apply our engineer's seal or stamp.
Q: You list yourself as a 'green engineer', What is it and why should we care? A: The 'Why' answer is that in my adult life I have always leaned towards 'efficiency' whether that means not wasting fuel or energy or not wasting materials. Efficiency just felt smarter to me. Career experience has shown me what smart, efficient, design can provide whether that is in energy machinery or in a building. I have also seen what lack of design or planning can do to a city or a community. Now I just want to try to make a difference. For a small remodeling project that may just mean not wasting concrete (which adds CO2 to the atmosphere) while building it right the first time (so it does not need to be sent to a landfill and then rebuilt). For a new build that means explaining that choices that are made in the design phase will effect both your long term finances and your long term affect on the environment.
For a more comprehensive answer visit this website (www.usgbc.org). USGBC stands for US Green Building Council and LEED is their effort standing for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This group and interests promote and support the design and construction of ''''green'''' building practices. That does not mean a mud and hay bale house, but rather an effort to support the design and construction of buildings that are energy and water efficient, that also use smart things like low emission adhesives, flooring, and paint, plus recycled wood and fast growth wood products, and water efficient landscaping. we support this basic approach, especially when you consider it can reduce the total cost of building and operating a building.
You will see more and more builders moving towards green practices, especially after USGBC-LEED for homes becomes more popular (guidelines for green residential construction), and also when the International Code Council releases its own National Green Home Standard in early 2008.
