House Plan Sealing
Purchased plans engineered for your lot and sealed for Alabama permit submission — foundation, framing, bracing, and connections.
Learn more →Structural Engineer Licensed in Alabama
Alabama runs the widest enforcement spectrum of any state we practice in. The statewide baseline is the 2015 IRC, but adoption is decentralized: Baldwin County on the Gulf has been reviewing against the 2024 IRC since March 2025, while some inland counties have no building department at all. Add hurricane wind on the coast and the nation's strongest FORTIFIED-home program, and Alabama is a state where the right engineering depends entirely on where — and how well — you're building. Oakline designs and seals across Alabama remotely.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · 84 verified reviews · Cody Johnston, PE, MBA · AL License #PE54710
What We Do in Alabama
Serving Mobile, Baldwin County, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. Every project is personally engineered by Cody Johnston, PE, MBA — one engineer, no hand-offs, and drawings your builder can actually build from.
Foundation Design
Footings, slabs, piers, and walls designed from your site conditions — not a generic detail sheet.
Beam & Framing Design
LVL, steel, and engineered-lumber sizing for renovations, wall removals, and "beam by others" notes on your plans.
Learn more →Additions & ADUs
Structural design that ties new construction into your existing home correctly.
Learn more →Alabama codes: a baseline, not a uniform
Alabama's residential baseline is the 2015 IRC, but jurisdictions adopt and enforce independently. The Gulf counties run the most current and rigorous reviews — Baldwin County adopted the 2024 IRC in March 2025, among the first in the nation — while Huntsville, Birmingham, and Montgomery maintain their own editions, and parts of rural Alabama have no plan review at all.
As in Texas, no enforcement doesn't mean no engineering: lenders and insurers fill the gap, and on the coast, insurance is precisely where Alabama gets interesting.
Gulf wind, and the FORTIFIED advantage
Coastal Alabama — Mobile, Baldwin County, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach — carries hurricane design wind speeds, wind-borne debris provisions, and elevated foundation conditions comparable to anywhere on the Gulf. Structural design there is continuous-load-path design: every connection from roof sheathing to foundation anchor matters, and the newest codes Baldwin County enforces reflect exactly that.
Alabama also leads the country in FORTIFIED construction — the IBHS standard that earns meaningful homeowner-insurance discounts through programs like Strengthen Alabama Homes. Building or re-roofing to FORTIFIED Roof or FORTIFIED Home standards is one of the few structural upgrades that pays for itself on the insurance bill, and designing the load path to qualify is engineering work we build into coastal projects from the start.
Inland, Birmingham and Huntsville bring more familiar Southeast conditions — clay soils, basements on rolling terrain, and fast-growing subdivisions full of purchased plans that need sealing. North Alabama also sees some of the highest tornado activity in the country, which makes stronger-than-minimum connection detailing a conversation worth having even where the code doesn't require it.
How Remote Engineering Works
- 1.
Send your plans. Upload your plan set through our site — any size, straight to our secure project drive. Cody reviews them personally, for free, and comes back with straight advice and a firm price, usually within a day or two.
- 2.
We engineer to your jurisdiction. Foundation, framing, bracing, and connections designed for your specific lot — with the governing code edition noted right on the drawings so your reviewer sees it immediately.
- 3.
You get sealed drawings. Digitally sealed PDFs under Alabama PE license #PE54710, ready for permit submission — and Cody stays available to answer reviewer or builder questions after delivery. Most plan sealing projects finish within 2 weeks.
Verify the License
Cody Johnston is a licensed Professional Engineer in Alabama — license #PE54710, issued by the Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Don't take our word for it: verify it with the state board →
Also licensed in six additional states — see all license states.
Alabama Questions, Answered
What building code applies in Alabama?
The statewide baseline is the 2015 IRC, but adoption is local: Baldwin County enforces the 2024 IRC (since March 2025), the major metros maintain their own editions, and some rural counties have no review. We confirm your jurisdiction before design begins.
What is FORTIFIED and is it worth it?
FORTIFIED is the IBHS resilient-construction standard — roof, connections, and load path built beyond code minimums. In Alabama it earns real insurance discounts, supported by the Strengthen Alabama Homes program. For coastal builds it is frequently the best-value structural upgrade available.
Can you seal plans for a Gulf Shores or Orange Beach build?
Yes — high-wind design with continuous load paths, elevated foundations, and wind-borne debris provisions are core Oakline work, engineered remotely and sealed under AL PE license #PE54710 for your local review.
Building in Alabama?
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.
Have an Engineer Review My Plans — Free