Long shot. Any structural engineers around?

[InTheRoseGarden]

Very long story short, we're having a loft conversion. We're using a loft conversion company who asked us to get a structural engineer's report on the party wall before going ahead. After saying it would be completely fine for weeks, the engineer said the calculations hadn't come out as well as he expected and we'd have to underpin the wall. Everything I've read says it is extremely unusual to need to underpin for a loft conversion and we wonder whether the engineer is being over-cautious. Does anyone know anything about this stuff? Questions coming up in next post...

Assume it is a typo unless he is also an expert in infection control in hospitals. FIHE (highways dudes) or FIWEM (water and environment).

I'm trying to work out what we should call this phenomenon. Wifesplaining doesn't seem quite right.

(Though of course everyone knows that MIStructE is the 'gold standard' and anyone who is MICE just wasn't clever enough...)

As any fule no IstructE are the only proper engineers. Civil engineers are just glorified project managers who understand the difference between a triangle and a circle.

(Biggreygoose - soon to be CEng MICE)

Sorry , nothing to add to the thread really, not unless you need a motorway or some really really big drains.

Yep- typo! FIHE. When you are the Senior Partner (Founder) you may all be Fellows too. Years ago consultants had to prove themselves by exams and being chartered in multiple disciplines at an early age. Especially if you had your own consultantcy at 26. No-one would take much notice of you if you didn't have the qualifications. Good luck in your career Biggreygoose. You don't fancy advising on old building structures then?

Don't be a patronising twat Bubbles. You have no idea what I've done in my career or what I am experienced in. No employer I've worked for has ever had an issue with hiring me as a structural engineer with MICE, including two very large well known consultancies.

FWIW, I was chartered at 27 after graduating at 23. Is that early enough for you?

My husband is also MIStructE and MICE and he thinks you are fucking hilarious. He runs his own consulting business and offered me a job recently, but I decided that might be a bit close to home.

Wow! Bubbles you have such a high opinion of your own knowledge there(is it even your own knowledge when it’s not you with the quals?) you must have a nose bleed?

Just happened to look at this because we are getting work done soon and need a structural engineer. Here’s hoping the one we get isn’t a patronising twat eh?

I love a bit of wifesplaining on MN at the back of my mind I recall a thread where a poster was trying to appear very knowledgeable about a particular medical diagnosis and it turned out she must be right because "my husbands a doctor akersherly".

do you really infer so much expertise from being married to an engineer? I'm up early to have a lump taken off my leg by my friend, his wife is a doctor so I'm sure he's qualified by association.

yoni I think you must

Oh no, sorry, I missed all of the posts since my last one! I thought everyone had got bored and buggered off!

MAJOR UPDATE and good news to report. After reading through my massive email of Mumsnet engineers' wisdom above, the engineer came back out just this week to take a look at our now deeper test pit and he has revised the bearing capacity to 75 kNm/2 which he said is fine for the loft conversion (still has to rework the extension). We hit solid ground at about 600mm and the ground between that and the bricks turned out to be a compacted stony backfill layer (which he couldn't see before...)

And the bloke from building control came out to look and said it was completely fine!

Well done OP, sounds like a good result. (Shouldn't have got to that in the first place, but at least you realised you should be questioning it.)