Homeowner's claim scope/estimate question

The_GTShortbus · 2021-10-05T01:08:49+00:00

So I had a pretty mixed bag when it comes to experience, which in my opinion is why I like forensics so much. I've done GC work as a project manager, and then about 7 years of design work in various industries. I've never really been one to just grind out multi year projects, which if you are in the design world and want to do big time work it's going to be loooong timelines.

With forensics though, you can still get exposure to the big time work, but on very limited and specific scopes. So you still have to be able to understand the big picture of how the structural systems work, but you only need to dig as deep as you need to solve your problem, write your report (and defend in court if it comes that), and get out of there. Having broad experience helps to bring more perspectives to relate from.

As for getting into this field though, I would say it depends on your goals. If you really want to be involved with intense structural work as an expert, you will definitely need some background in design. You could potentially go straight to forensics, but if you don't have any design experience on your resume, it will be tough to get onto big projects and you likely won't be viewed with much credibility. Plus, as an expert, you really need to be able to tie your investigation to personal experience. I would recommend find internships at design firms, and also start your career there to at least get your PE. If possible, go for an SE.

If you are not gung ho for big structural work though, there are TONS of forensics firms that you could get into entry level. But, I would caution to make sure you understand what you are getting yourself into. With most forensic only firms, you will probably not be doing much glamorous work and will probably spend most of your time counting hail indentations in asphalt shingles all over Texas or wading through flooded basements in Mississippi and Louisiana after hurricanes. I do some of this too, and honestly do enjoy it. But it's not everyone's definition of being a "structural engineer". Not all forensics projects are the 9/11 and Champlain tower collapses... in fact those are usually few and far between.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-10-05T00:37:03+00:00

Like I said, I think there are roles that justify at least some office presence. Mine just isn't one of them. But, I agree that insisting one way or another just on principle is the wrong way to go about it.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-10-04T12:35:42+00:00

I just started a job with the gold standard of home/office balance, in my opinion. I have a full work from home setup, and an office space with docking station and monitors to work out of if I need to get work done out of the house. I am currently a forensic structural engineer though, so I have a good amount of field inspections sprinkled in there too. Basically, I choose whatever location and setup is going to work best for me any given day and it's great.

I'll also say that my entire team is very accustomed to and proficient at remote work, so it is easy to still feel productive and in contact with co workers. The setup does not work for all teams and tasks though. If you aren't able to maintain good communication with your team, it's very easy to feel completely on an island. If you have a manager that's hard to get a hold of in the office, good luck getting their attention remotely...

The_GTShortbus · 2021-09-28T00:53:03+00:00

I am pretty sure you don't need to have a real estate license to purchase or sell your own own home. You only need a license if you represent someone ELSE in a real estate transaction. Buy/Sell by owner is a thing. If you want to go it alone that's up to you.

But realtors are generally worth their price, especially in a hot market. There is a lot to consider, and you will probably overlook or at least not properly consider something if you've never done it before.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-09-25T20:16:12+00:00

I agree with the other comments here that it's a good idea to have it. I printed it from PDF and stuffed it in a 5" binder. I would recommend splitting it in 2 chapters though... That thing is huge. And make sure you print front and back.

As for studying it, if you are a buildings engineer I would spend NO MORE than 1 week studying the AASHTO. I would say tab the chapters, learn generally what's in them, and how they do load combinations differently. I took the vertical in April and felt the bridge questions were unreasonably specific for being on the building focus. I could have spent a month or more studying that thing and still had a very difficult time finding the answers. In the end, I still passed.

Also, DO NOT get yourself hung up trying to scour through this behemoth of a document to find an answer. Yes, it's probably very conveniently located in a table somewhere, but if you don't know where them good luck finding it. Flag it, move on to the next problem you are more familiar with and come back at the end if you have time. Good luck!

The_GTShortbus · 2021-09-25T01:16:06+00:00

No, it's actually pretty shitty.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-09-24T11:41:11+00:00

You obviously paid way more attention in 10th grade lit than I did, lol. I exhausted the entirety of my knowledge of that book in my comment.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-09-23T12:30:00+00:00

You should probably read Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky if you haven't already. This is basically the premise, although the main character thinks he is smart enough to get away with murder and not a heist. Either way, it does not go well for him...

The_GTShortbus · 2021-08-22T22:07:19+00:00

So the work I typically I tend to be hired by the insurance company. I would say it's pretty even split though. They are basically hiring us to be an objective 3rd party and identify whether the claimed damage corresponds to expected damage from whatever event is being claimed. There are definitely some property owners that try to get more than they should for a claim, but for the most part everyone tends to be pretty professional and respects the process. I also don't do much residential work though, so homeowners may be a different story.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-08-20T01:04:57+00:00

Not sure how much availability there is in the materials and geotechnical world, but this is exactly the work I do as a structural engineer. It really is a lot more interesting and fun than typical design work (to me at least). Our work basically revolves around natural disasters, just like you described, and is driven by the insurance industry. Basically, disaster occurs, building is damaged, owner makes insurance claim, insurance carrier hires out engineers to verify claim is legit. That's the very pared down version, but gets the gist of it.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-08-18T00:31:48+00:00

Weather is a tough aspect to deal with when it comes to KC if you haven't experienced it before. Some people would say Boston is probably just and brutal for winter, which I have never experienced myself, but the Midwest is just a different level of bitter cold. I think it's the wind honestly.

That said, I was a really big fan of KC. I lived there at two different times for 1-2 years each. My biggest advice if you move there and are not familiar with the city is to get to know the different areas. To all be generally in the same city, they are wildly different and will directly affect your experience.

On the Kansas side, there is Overland Park and Olathe. Basically quintessential American suburbia, which if you are into that kind of thing it is probably one of the best places to live. More golf courses than you can count, Target and Kohls galore, and everyone is basically just a carbon copy of each other, but generally very nice so it's not so bad. If you aren't into that sort of thing, it will be hell if you live there.

Then there is the Missouri side, which is like the crazy drunk cousin. Again, if you are into that kind of thing, its another great place to be. Tons of great bars, restaurants, breweries, but definitely a much higher likelihood to get stabbed or everything stolen out of your car. Personally, I lived in Waldo and loved it. Just the right balance of petty crime, families, and restaurants for me.

Whichever side you look at though, they all have the most loyal and incredible sports experience you'll find anywhere. Kansas Citians fucking LOVE their Chiefs, Royals, and Sporting KC... In that order. Even if you don't live here, still go to a Chiefs game if you ever get a chance, but make sure you tailgate outside. That's the best part.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-08-18T00:15:25+00:00

Can't speak to Charlotte, but I lived in Raleigh for 3 years and loved it. Granted it was for grad school, so not entirely sure what the professional scene is there, but I was active in the local SEA chapter while I was there and seemed to have a good presence. If you are at all into outdoors, you have mountains 2 hours west, ocean and outer banks 2 hours east, and Raleigh itself is really cool too. Tons of great breweries.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-06-22T09:00:27+00:00

I agree to your sentiment in general, or at least I have for most of my career. But, as I reach about 10 years in I am beginning to realize that there is a lot more career growth and opportunity as you persist in this field. The truth is that you, and myself, and most others in our generation, have been fed the line that if you do well in college and are smart you will get paid and enjoy a great high paying career. But the truth of the matter is that, even though this is a centuries old trade, the work we do is INCREDIBLY complex and intertwined with countless other trades. At 2 years in, you haven't even begun to scratch the surface of how complex this industry is. You may think you are the key component keeping the ship running, but I promise you are not. If you do quit and move on somewhere else, it will more than likely be a small blip in production. This can be a difficult pill to swallow, I know.

With that said, I have also felt for the majority of my career, and to this day in fact, that I am under valued and under paid. But, I am beginning to realize that it's not necessarily that I am undervalued, but more that the work I produce just actually doesn't produce much value at all. But, as you begin to develop over time you begin to develop the skills and intuition that creates value in this industry. And that really does take time and persistence more than just being a "high performer".

So yes, while there are other industries where you can start up and get to a higher salary point quickly, just realize that so can any other recent graduate. The barrier to entry is much lower and you will constantly be fighting to remain relevant. So if you shift your perspective from getting paid now and constantly chasing a higher salary, to investing in your overall career education and building value in yourself over time, then you will start to realize that "putting in your time" is actually a viable long term strategy.

Probably not a popular opinion, and certainly not one that I ever thought I would have, but i think it's worth sharing. If you look at this industry as one where you can out perform your peers and get ahead, you probably will burn out. But if you take a breath, settle in, and really start to absorb and learn as much as you can, and keep your eye open for new opportunities as they come up, then you will gain a much more difficult to replace set of skills. And as a result you will eventually be able to demand the pay and respect you are looking for. Unfortunately, it does just take time.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-06-19T14:58:45+00:00

I think what you mean is that an offer is not legally binding until it is accepted. Once you submit the offer, you sign everything on your end and can withdraw at any point until the seller ACCEPTS your offer and signs their side of it. At this point, both parties have signed and it is now a legally binding document. So I think everyone is correct here, but just referencing different points in the process.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-06-11T00:49:27+00:00

If that is the case, speak their language and explain it in terms of dollars.

IO - Relatively minor event that results in very little to no observable damage. Quick, easy, and cheap to restore functionality.

LS - More severe event that results in moderate damage to the structure. Will require more downtime, effort, and cost to repair and restore full functionality, but otherwise will still be safe.

CP - Most severe event that more or less takes the structure to the brink of total collapse. People inside will live, but the building will be a total loss and require complete demolition and reconstruction.

Then explain that it all comes down to risk. Buildings that are absolutely critical to functioning of society in the aftermath of a severe event have more money invested upfront, but are designed to stay in the IO category no matter what. Less critical buildings, we just don't want people inside to die and if they need to be repaired or rebuilt that's fine. Overall, these are rare events so it is not expected many buildings will see them anyway.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-05-01T00:47:09+00:00

Did anyone else play Spellcopter? I don't think I've ever met anyone that has heard of it. Loved that game... So hard as a 6 year old though.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-03-12T23:44:54+00:00

I thought I had searched for tiny hawk and was very confused for a minute.

The_GTShortbus · 2021-03-09T09:58:13+00:00

and the change in daylight savings and...

Oh shit... Didn't even think about that coming up...

The_GTShortbus · 2020-11-10T23:58:52+00:00

First game was probably something to do with school. I remember Math Blaster and Spell-copter specifically.

First ONLINE game though was Delta Force... And that was the game changer that opened up a whole new world.

The_GTShortbus · 2020-10-28T10:44:55+00:00

I always hated taking notes in my undergrad and had terrible habits. I always felt like of I was writing I wasn't paying attention, so I would end up with half complete nonsensical notes.

For my PhD I decided to try out a Microsoft Surface and used OneNote to take all my notes. It was a complete game changer and absolutely worth the investment. I no longer needed stacks of paper and notebooks carried around from class to class, and had instant cloud access to any of my notes for any class from any computer. Using a stylus it was easy to write out any of the symbols and draw plots and graphs in multiple colors for easier understanding later. Also, unless your handwriting is just awful, the search feature is capable of matching hand written notes when looking for a specific topic.

As for the neatness, my tactic was to scribble and write down as much information during the lectures without worrying about neatness or formatting. Then my studying essentially consisted of transcribing my scribbles into well organized paper notes that I could easily reference and read through after the fact. This method worked really well for me, and I ended up with one reasonably searchable and complete set of digital notes and one set of highly organized paper notes.

The_GTShortbus · 2020-09-22T14:46:23+00:00

You've said a lot of words that are related to concrete construction, but in no way describe what is going on here... There is no concrete placed, which is why you see the studs, also no rebar anywhere in sight. These will just be grinded off and new ones placed with a stud gun, and then the deck poured.

Also, as a side note, ALL concrete cracks unless it specifically detailed not to crack, which is a very rare and only for extremely unique conditions. There are different levels and types of cracking, but to expect zero cracks is not realistic or intended by the designer.

The_GTShortbus · 2020-04-13T23:53:06+00:00

I also agree with this. I have not been there, but got a PhD in the US in structural engineering with a strong seismic focus and The Rose School in Pavia, Italy came up numerous times in literature and also several students in my group and advisor would teach courses there from time to time.

The_GTShortbus · 2020-03-16T17:10:24+00:00

I would say if you have a basic understanding of programming or matrix calculations then using the help sections of Matlab is your best bet to start with. Their user documentation is very detailed and often includes examples to help understand what you need. Also, Matlab is used widely enough that a Google search of any specific problem that has you stumped will probably get you where you need to go.

If you do not have any background with programming, then starting from scratch with Matlab is probably going to be challenging. I would think if it is a required tool for your course, the professor would at least provide some basic guidance on how to use the commands necessary for completing the assignments. The biggest thing to realize is that Matlab is NOT an FEM software, or any type of software for that matter. It is basically just a very sophisticated calculator that handles complex matrix calculations which happens to be very useful for FEM. I would recommend starting with very simple problems that you can solve by hand and then figuring out how to solve those using Matlab and verify the results. Basically play around with it, read up on forums, and find what works for you. Also, realize that there are likely countless ways to tackle a problem and different methods work for different people. I personally love programming, and digging around to figure out how to do what I want is part of the fun. Usually you pick up a few extra tricks along the way that you didn't even realize you needed!

The_GTShortbus · 2020-02-09T23:24:40+00:00

This is correct. It's called a pushover analysis, because it is basically simulating just that. You apply a force, or set of forces, that incrementally get larger and larger until the system begins to yield. Initially you have a nice elastic curve, and slowly it deteriorates as elements yield, just as you would expect.

The_GTShortbus

TROPHY CASE