Responsive
Quotes in one business day, questions answered in hours. Most construction delays are waiting-on-someone delays — so we simply don’t make you wait. When you call, the engineer answers.
The engineer behind the seal.
Oakline Structural Engineering is Cody Johnston, PE, MBA — an engineer who worked construction before he ever sealed a drawing, and who still believes the best engineering is the kind a homeowner can understand and a crew can build.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · 93 reviews · Licensed PE in 7 states
10+
years of engineering
3,500+
sealed engineering documents
7
states licensed
93
five-star Google reviews
From the crew to the seal
Before he was an engineer, Cody worked in construction. That order matters: he learned how houses actually go together — the sequence a crew frames in, the details that get built easily and the ones that get built wrong — before he ever sized a beam. It shows up in every Oakline drawing set: details a real crew can build, in a real sequence, without guesswork.
The engineering came next: a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Structures from North Carolina State University, an MBA from East Carolina University, and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt — the process-improvement discipline behind how efficiently Oakline runs today.
Over more than a decade, Cody has engineered for architects, universities, zoos, and military entities. But the work that built Oakline is residential: nothing beats the moment a homeowner goes from anxious to confident because an engineer finally explained their house in plain English — and then stood behind it with a seal.
Across 3,500+ sealed engineering documents, the throughline has never changed: quality engineering that protects your home and saves you money. Built to last, trusted for life.
How Cody works
Three promises, kept on every project — they’re the reason for the 93 five-star reviews.
Personable
You don’t need to know what a load path is — translating is our job. Plain English, straight answers, and a direct line to the person doing the work. An engineer on your side.
Money-saving
A quality engineer sharpens their pencil to reduce the cost to construct your home. Our track record: saving more on construction than our fee costs — an effectively free service.
Licensed in seven states
Every license below is active and verifiable directly with the state board — click any state to see how Oakline works there.
| State | PE License # | Verify |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 50630 | State board → |
| South Carolina | 43080 | State board → |
| Georgia | PE052555 | State board → |
| Tennessee | 130921 | State board → |
| Texas | 154111 | State board → |
| Kentucky | 40738 | State board → |
| Alabama | PE54710 | State board → |
In the news
Oakline has been featured in ABC11 (WTVD) reporting across the Triangle.
ABC11 · July 2026
Emergency structural repairs in Wake County schools
Cody Johnston, PE, MBA, spoke with ABC11 about the forensic investigation behind emergency repairs at three Wake County elementary schools — and why compromised connections, not the visible cracking, were the real safety concern.
ABC11 Troubleshooter
Chatham County code-violation case
Cody Johnston, PE, MBA, served as the independent structural expert in a case involving a newly built home found to have significant structural code violations after passing local inspections, and was admitted as an expert witness by the North Carolina Superior Court, District 18. A passed inspection is not the same as a sound structure.
Independent structural assessments and expert-witness services across NC, SC, GA, TN, TX, KY, and AL.
In the field
Good structural engineering doesn’t happen only at a desk. It happens where the framing is.
Off the clock
Family time with his wife and daughters comes first. After that: podcasts at speeds that alarm passengers, dirt biking, cycling, and a recreational-but-competitive relationship with pickleball. If he calls you back from a trail, that still counts as answering the phone.
Ready to work together?
Cody personally reviews your plans — flagging structural issues, finding ways to save on your build, and giving straight advice for the right foundation and framing choices specific for your lot. Free, no obligation, and he can also give you a firm engineering price in a day or two.