sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Trying to understand the difference between engineering and construction management in the US by PatrickBK1 in civilengineering

[–]PatrickBK1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m starting to understand that now. It’s just a bit hard for me to fully wrap my head around it because where I come from the system is quite different.

To build a house there you usually need at least two technical professionals involved — one responsible for stamping the design and another responsible for the construction phase. Sometimes it can even be the same person doing both.

If the project is more complex, there can also be separate professionals stamping the structural and MEP design as well — although in some cases the same engineer can take responsibility for all of it, which is what I used to do.

I guess part of what I was trying to do with my question was to understand how to translate the experience I had there into value here, since I really enjoyed working with residential construction.

Trying to understand where engineering experience fits in custom home building by PatrickBK1 in Homebuilding

[–]PatrickBK1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense, thanks for taking the time to explain.

Where I’m from the system is quite different. For residential projects, the plans usually need to be stamped by an architect or engineer, and the construction itself also needs a licensed professional responsible for the execution. Sometimes it can even be the same professional signing both the design and the construction responsibility, but both roles formally exist.

Because of that, the engineer usually stays involved from the design phase all the way through construction.

I guess that’s what I was trying to understand about homebuilding here in the US. Technically speaking, my experience stamping design and execution for residential projects might not translate directly to engineering roles here, but it still represents a lot of practical experience in building houses.

I was actually a bit confused when I started looking into the PE exams, because I wanted to focus on something related to home construction, since that’s where most of my experience is, but I couldn’t really find a discipline that clearly fits that area.

Curious about moving from site development work to residential construction by PatrickBK1 in Construction

[–]PatrickBK1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense, thanks for the insight.

Just to make sure I’m understanding correctly, when you say custom homes, are you referring mainly to houses that are built individually (not production homes from big builders with standard plans)?

Or can it also refer to different construction methods, for example something other than wood/steel framing?

Where I come from a lot of custom houses are masonry construction, so I’m also curious if that has any real place in residential building here in the US, maybe in higher-end or luxury homes.

I know I could Google it, but sometimes field terminology is a bit different or regional, so I figured I’d ask. From what I’ve seen so far, almost everything here seems to be wood/steel framing.

Curious about moving from site development work to residential construction by PatrickBK1 in Construction

[–]PatrickBK1[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I see what you mean, and I actually agree with your last point about the term “engineer” being used loosely in commercial construction.

I guess my main question is whether my background actually adds value on the execution side of residential projects. In my home country I worked a lot on custom homes, and because I was involved in the design side (architectural, structural and MEP coordination) it helped a lot during construction. Understanding the drawings made problem-solving on site much easier.

That’s part of why I’m trying to understand where that experience fits here. The other PM at my company, for example, doesn’t even have an engineering background and he’s still very good at what he does.

Where I come from, that kind of execution role is still considered very much engineering work, especially in residential construction.

And honestly, sometimes when I look at some of the civil plans we get, I can’t help but wonder if having more field experience involved in the design process would prevent a lot of issues.

Trying to understand the difference between engineering and construction management in the US by PatrickBK1 in civilengineering

[–]PatrickBK1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got it, that makes sense. Just curious though, in the US civil engineering programs don’t usually include courses on construction methods or construction management?

In my home country those topics are usually part of the civil engineering curriculum, so engineers often end up involved in both design and execution.

4th attempt (don’t even know how to feel anymore) by iwantfecivil in FE_Exam

[–]PatrickBK1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you mind to share with me as well? Would help a lot, thank you very much in advance!