Straight answers, in plain English.

Any time you’re building a new home, changing the structure of an existing one (removing a load-bearing wall, adding a room or an ADU), or you’re worried something isn’t right — cracks, sloping floors, foundation movement. Most building departments also require engineered, sealed drawings before they’ll issue a permit for new construction.

Almost always, yes. Stock and designer house plans show what the home looks like, but they usually aren’t engineered for your specific lot, soil, and local wind loads — and they typically aren’t sealed by a licensed engineer, which your building department will require. We take the plans you already have and turn them into sealed, permit-ready structural drawings — and the review that starts it is free.

Sometimes — but it’s not the builder’s call, it’s the building code’s. A simple, compact, stick-framed home can stay inside the code’s prescriptive tables. The moment your plan includes roof or floor trusses, LVL or other engineered beams, tall walls, or big open spaces, it falls outside those tables and the state requires engineered design — no matter what anyone prefers. The two-minute way to find out: run your plans through our free AI plan check, or read when to hire a structural engineer.

An architect designs how a home looks and functions — layout, spaces, and aesthetics. A structural engineer makes sure it stands up safely: the foundation, framing, beams, and load paths that carry weight, wind, and time. Many homes need both, and we work alongside your architect or designer. We wrote a full comparison here — and if you’re still choosing an architect, see the questions to ask before you sign.

A sealed (or “stamped”) drawing carries the official seal of a licensed Professional Engineer — a legal declaration that a qualified engineer designed it and stands behind it. Permit offices require it because it’s their assurance the structure was actually engineered, not guessed at. Every structural design we produce is sealed by a licensed PE in your state.

It depends on the size and complexity of the project, so the honest answer is that we quote each one. Send us your plans for a free engineer review — Cody personally flags what your project needs, finds ways to save on your build, and gives straight advice on foundation and framing — and you’ll have a firm price usually within a day or two. And remember: a quality engineer sharpens their pencil to reduce the cost to construct your home. We have a great track record of saving more on construction than our fee costs — making us an effectively free service. One caution from the field: the cheapest engineering is usually the most expensive.

For a typical new-home design, turnaround is about two weeks from the time we have everything we need. Wall-removal consults get same-day answers, and inspection reports usually follow the visit within a few days. We’ll give you a specific timeline with your quote so you can plan your build around it.

That’s the part most people don’t expect: yes, usually more than it costs. Without engineering, builders protect themselves by overbuilding — bigger beams, thicker footings, extra posts, “to be safe.” Engineered drawings right-size all of it for your actual loads, so you stop paying for lumber and concrete you don’t need. Clear drawings also mean tighter bids, fewer change orders, and fewer mid-build surprises — which is where budgets usually die. For a real-world cautionary tale, read the $7,000 engineering cap that cost $50,000.

Just three things: your house plans (a PDF is perfect), the address of the lot you’re building on, and your rough timeline. That’s enough for a firm quote — upload them here. You don’t need to know construction vocabulary; translating is our job.

Yes. Removing a wall, adding a room, or building an addition or ADU are some of the most common projects we design. We evaluate your existing structure and engineer the beam, posts, and connections that make the change safe and permittable — sized for your actual house, not a worst-case guess. Wall questions can usually be answered the same day over a virtual consult.

You usually can’t tell by looking at the wall itself — the rules of thumb people repeat (“exterior walls only,” “walls parallel to the joists are fine”) fail constantly, and the cost of guessing wrong is your ceiling. Determining it is a visual process an engineer can do with you over Zoom: all you need is a flashlight, a tape measure, and your phone. Our virtual wall-removal consult gives you a same-day answer in all seven states.

More than most people expect. New loads often land on old structure, and getting into the addition usually means cutting an opening in an existing wall — which may be part of the braced wall lines your home uses to resist wind. Cut one without re-engineering the bracing and the whole house gets quietly weaker in a storm. We design the tie-in, check gravity and wind, and restore the strength the cut takes away.

Some cracks are cosmetic and some are worth a closer look, especially if they’re paired with sticking doors or sloping floors. The reliable way to know is a structural inspection: we find the root cause using building science and the right equipment, then give you a report with engineered repair solutions you can take to a contractor. For a quick gut-check first, try the 60-second crack self-check.

In-home structural inspections are offered within about an hour’s drive of Raleigh, NC, and usually happen within a week of your call. For load-bearing wall questions specifically, our virtual wall-removal consultation is available across all seven licensed states — all you need is a flashlight, a tape measure, and your phone.

A licensed engineer — not a salesperson — walks your home with you, looks at the symptoms you’ve noticed and the structure behind them, and traces problems to their root cause using building science. You get straight answers on the spot where possible, followed by a written report with engineered repair recommendations. No scare tactics, no upsell: if it’s cosmetic, we’ll tell you it’s cosmetic. If your crawlspace is part of the story, our guide to crawlspace encapsulation is a good companion read.

Oakline is licensed in seven states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, and Alabama. We serve homeowners and builders in every major metro across those states — find your city there.

Cody Johnston, PE, MBA — the owner, and the engineer doing the work. No hand-offs, no juniors, no front desk: when you call or email, you’re talking to the person engineering your home. Cody also worked in construction before becoming an engineer, so the drawings you get are ones a real crew can actually build from. Why does that matter? Here’s what actually makes an engineer good to work with.

All the time — it’s one of the best things you can do for your build. We answer your builder’s questions in hours, coordinate with your architect’s design, and review truss submittals against our drawings so the whole team is building the same house. If you’re curious how that hand-off works, here’s the truss submittal workflow explained — and if you’re still choosing a builder, do these five things first.