Structural and Civil Engineering, Direct From the Engineer

Yes, for one- and two-family homes, townhouses, ADUs and their outbuildings. Florida Statute 481.229 allows a licensed engineer to provide the full design for those buildings, so you get floor plans, elevations, sections and the sealed structural set from one office, with the electrical, plumbing and energy sheets coordinated for permit. Larger commercial and public buildings are a different case: those require a registered architect, and FCS serves as the structural engineer on the team.

In most Florida jurisdictions, yes. A pergola, patio cover, carport or screen room needs signed and sealed plans showing footings, anchorage and wind loads before the building department issues the permit. A manufacturer's product approval covers the panels or the aluminum members, not the structure that holds them up or the footings that hold it down.

Photos, the property address, rough dimensions, and a survey or site plan if you have one. For a permit comment on one of our sets, send the reviewer's comments and the plans as submitted. A fixed quote goes back the same business day.

Most single-structure jobs, such as a pergola, deck or dock, are delivered within one to two weeks of the deposit. Permit comment responses are usually faster. The delivery date is written into the proposal, and paid expedite is available.

No. FCS works from your photos, survey and measurements, anywhere in Florida. Field dimensions and existing conditions are confirmed by the contractor before construction, and the plans say so.

A Florida-licensed Professional Engineer, PE No. 96645, signs and seals every set. One engineer from the first call to the sealed set and through plan review. You can verify the license on the Florida Board of Professional Engineers licensee search.

All of Florida, remotely. Most house design and engineering work is in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Tampa Bay and Pinellas, Orlando, the Treasure Coast, the Space Coast and Northeast Florida. The plans are sealed under the Florida Building Code edition in force at your permit application.

Every project is a fixed fee, quoted the same business day from your survey, photos or sketches. The fee depends on the size of the house, the flood zone, the wind speed and the jurisdiction. House design, ADUs, additions and single structures are each quoted per project. No hourly billing: the fee and the delivery date are in writing before you commit.

Almost always, yes. Florida building departments treat a deck as a structure and ask for a permit with drawings. Decks more than 30 inches above grade, elevated coastal decks, and anything in a flood zone or high-wind region need signed and sealed plans with footing, connection and guard details. We prepare deck engineering plans and calculations from your photos, survey and dimensions, and respond to the reviewer's comments until the permit issues.

Yes. Coastal cities and counties in Florida require signed and sealed plans for a new or replacement seawall, cap, dock or boat-lift foundation, and the environmental permits run alongside the building permit. We prepare the seawall design and the dock and lift pile plans from your survey, photos and the marine contractor's layout.

Yes. New custom homes, spec homes, ADUs and townhouses, from the builder's or designer's floor plan or from a set we design with you. The sealed structural set covers foundations, masonry, wood or cold-formed steel framing, roof uplift, shear walls and connections to the Florida Building Code wind speed for your site, with the energy, electrical and plumbing sheets coordinated for permit. Fixed fee per set, delivery date in writing, and comment responses through plan review.