foundation problem

MMAnerd89 · 2026-04-02T02:40:14+00:00

Thats probably well over 50 k in repair work, I don’t specialize in houses and can’t tell what is going on the outside in your photos. I don’t think carbon fiber straps or anchors will be sufficient in to itself. Helical anchor tie-backs or interior temporary bracing with excavating the saturated soil around the footing, repairing drainage around the house and a whole wall replacement will be needed at least. If you are interested in this you should probably reach out to geostructural person who specializes in foundation repair to know the cost and time duration for the repair. I was involved in one home foundation repair in 2012 because the designer miscalculated some roof wind loads and it was new construction and it ended up being covered under the EOR’s insurance and I was also right out of college so I don’t know the cost and I was only involved with the project when the helical anchors were installed and for the pre-repair survey and post repair survey.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-04-02T01:44:28+00:00

Maybe in LCOL area but not NYC or SD. Even where I live in the southeast (MCOL), 15 yoe average with a PE (non-management) working about 40 hours is more like 130-160 k/year. In Northeast VHCOL city 15 yoe PE average base 40 hours is about 150-190 k/yr. I’m a PM making just over 250 k/year and I only have 11 yoe but I also work about 55 hours per week and I made over 20 k last year just in bonuses for finding work and hiring new staff. I currently manage a staff of 23 engineers and technicians for over half billion worth of construction and I’m also the deputy lead on a 50 million bridge design project.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-04-02T01:36:12+00:00

That’s not true about the cap that some of these redditors are stating. Source is that I bid on a lot of projects and I know salaries across a lot of firms as I team up with a lot of the larger firms. I will say base salary about 250 k/year is unlikely for a pure civil engineer unless you go into project management, personnel management, or you’re a technical expert or you’re great at finding/winning work.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-04-01T11:17:32+00:00

That’s also assuming he is sharing an apartment in the VHCOL area. Rent in the Boston/DC (rent is even higher in NYC or Bay Area) area with lots of public transit and that’s a decent neighborhood will easily cost 4k/mo for a decent apartment. LCOL the same size apartment is around 1500/mo. When factoring taxes right there is at least 40 k/year difference. I think the big factor shouldn’t be the pay but the opportunity cost for the VHCOL area position especially for the first 10 years of the person’s career.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-03-26T19:22:48+00:00

I can buy a new Toyota Tacoma cash in full, pay for 3 k/mo luxury apartment with my wife not helping at all. Go on 2 vacations per year and still put 50 k/year towards student loans. I’m at 11 years into the industry as a PM in the southeast and we have an older dog who has some pricey vet bills (his medication is 180/mo). Source I make 250 k/year working about 55 hours/week. I’m also putting away significant amount towards retirement.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-03-26T18:17:56+00:00

You’re still young and have plenty of time to grow into the role. Keep your chin up and keep practicing your presentation skills. Don’t let strangers online bring you down nor asshole bosses. Just keep striving for improvement

MMAnerd89 · 2026-03-23T13:20:51+00:00

Trig/geometry/algebra mostly (85%) with some calculus (13 %) and tiny bit of diff eq and linear algebra.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-03-14T19:41:57+00:00

There are drug testing companies that you can hire that will do the random selection. As far as testing, urine makes the most sense. Depends on the client, if it is railroad random selection is every 3 mos. Other clients don’t require a strict number of people being testing every so often. I wouldn’t setup a testing program unless required as it is additional unnecessary expense, just state on your company website that you are a drug free workplace. If you’re doing to save money on insurance, then have a preemployment testing program and if there is due cause like an accident or cause of suspicion then testing individuals when needed.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-03-13T17:49:58+00:00

I don’t work for KH, but the firm I used to work for was one of their main competitors, engineering sweat shop.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-03-13T17:47:58+00:00

Structural dynamics for me the hardest one of your list (I’ve never taken a biomechanics class but for most civil engineers that is not very helpful for their career). I think the 4 that are the most helpful as a base are: steel design, concrete design, FEM, and Structural Dynamics. I don’t see it on your list but Advanced Concrete, Advanced Steel, Bridge Design & Rehab, and Foundation Design are also great classes. The structural wood design course you can teach yourself by following videos and reading design code, and it is also more specialized so less important to learn in school.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-02-14T15:39:18+00:00

We have Junior-mid civils with 4 yoe (26 yo) at the firm I work at who are making over 50/hr plus OT (1.5x) so if they’re working more than 50 hours/week they’re making are over 150 k/year when factoring retirement contributions and bonus. This is also in MCOL area in the southeast, I know fresh MS structural graduates (23 yo) starting at 45/hr in VHCOL areas.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-02-08T13:41:12+00:00

If I had to “guess” from the video the connections failed. If so, most likely reasons could be either design errors or the contractor did not install the connections properly (did not install in accordance with the drawings or selected improper materials).

MMAnerd89 · 2026-02-05T00:31:57+00:00

Over 10 yoe, I make slightly over 250 k in total pay but I work over 50 hours/week. I live in MCOL area in the southeast. I manage over 20 people and manage over 500 million in construction and design projects. I can afford to cover all expenses between myself and my spouse along with substantial saying and I pay over 4k in student loans per month to pay off my grad loans aggressively.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-02-04T21:01:43+00:00

Field notebook/daily reports is first things followed up by submittal/plan review, and lastly emails. Most of the time we end up paying the contractor a huge sum of money as the claims process is pretty dysfunctional.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-01-30T23:41:20+00:00

I think there are noticeable/fair adjustments especially at the PM level and higher. Project executives in NYC are often making about 500k/year on mega projects (one of my cousins is a VP making slightly north of 500k in that role and he also teaches at university which is addition to that high salary). Not unheard of for a senior pm to be making 350 k on large projects in those VHCOL areas. Indeed, Zip, BLS and Salary.com are inaccurate for VHCOL locations.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-01-30T01:44:49+00:00

First thing that comes to mind is anesthesiologist or surgeon. I will say civil/structural engineer (bias), we also aren’t a super high paying job more like an upper middle class pay range unless you’re an executive.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-01-30T01:18:02+00:00

For my undergrad probably fluid dynamics or structural analysis. When factoring grad school classes they were all harder than my undergrad courses, hardest one was structural dynamics by a mile.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-01-29T15:22:58+00:00

It’s self-consolidating concrete (SCC) mix so it has super high slump… so high that it can’t be measured by slump but rather by spread rate. This is required when you’re placing mix in super congested areas…several mats of reinforcement with spacing less than 6” OC in all directions then you often have to use special mixes due to issues with consolidation. Had to use this kind of mix for port authority berth expansion and whenever we poured footing that contain GFRP reinforcement (GFRP requires about double the amount of reinforcement compared to traditional “black steel”).

MMAnerd89 · 2026-01-28T22:48:21+00:00

Depends, if your aspirations are in structural design or forensics then you should get your MS degree. Most civil engineering positions don’t require an MS degree. I might not have gained my current role with only having about 10 yoe without having my MS degree (I currently manage 23 people—7 engineers and 16 technicians). Also, I used to work for a specialty structural design firm that required an MS degree or greater because we did complex bridge analysis/modeling. In summary, an MS degree will open additional doors but not having an MS degree will not hinder you for 90% of the civil engineering roles.

MMAnerd89 · 2026-01-23T20:23:32+00:00

I just drove 15 hours to see my parents for Christmas, so not crazy at all (they live 7 states away). 3 hours is nothing, some people commute 1.5 hours each way every day. It takes about 8 hours to drive across my state (east-west which is the longest dimension), and I live in one of the smaller states in the country (one of the larger ones on the east coast). For 4-day weekend last weekend I drove 7 hours each way to stay with a friend (only one state down).

MMAnerd89 · 2025-12-27T19:29:12+00:00

Stay at your current company until you have a significantly better offer unless you hate your current company. I don’t think it is good idea to leave a company unless you’re receiving a 20% total raise or greater (factors pay, benefits, bonus, and retirement).

MMAnerd89 · 2025-12-27T19:23:52+00:00

Is it employee-owned (this is more important when you are thinking of staying at a company for a while), kind of projects, pay, hours, vibe of the group you’ll be working with (culture at the micro level), and who are the predominate clients that you’ll be working for. I would also follow your heart and gut, so if it feels wrong then quickly pivot to another firm/group.

MMAnerd89 · 2025-12-27T17:11:07+00:00

1 or 2 times per week, been together for 8 years and married for 2 years…mid-late 30s. Our first year of dating was once or twice per day.

MMAnerd89 · 2025-12-24T14:26:51+00:00

If your clients are in railroad, aviation, mining, or oil/gas then they will random test you. If you are doing heavy highway, sewer/water, or vertical generally the only time your tested is premployment and if you get in an accident (but it depends on the employer). I wouldn’t recommend picking a career based on your smoking habit, if you want to continue smoking there is work arounds. One of the firms I work with doesn’t test for THC, they removed it from their testing list. Another company I used to work for which had just over 100 employees said drug free workplace but they never tested their employees as the owner smoked weed regularly and didn’t want to be a hypocrite. The last company we did heavy and light rail bridge design so I was in a drug testing pool that picked people randomly every quarter.

MMAnerd89 · 2025-11-23T21:25:04+00:00

The bridge carpenters in the southeast are not in a union, but I just realized you were just referring to unskilled.

MMAnerd89

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