[quote]"They are engineers that supply home plans with site specific engineering already done."[/quote]

Uhhh...How does an engineering firm supply plans 'with site specific engineering already done' unless the engineers actually excavate and evaluate the soil conditions on your site then design for the specific structural loads that will be present?

And you're on your own when it comes to zoning requirements and restrictions on minimum and maximum heights, setbacks, stories, facade, coverage, floodplain and other restrictions.

I note that the site doesn't show a single reference on their "builder directory" in any of the states in which they claim to be licenced as engineers.

Like you all, I was ready to write Sessa Corporation off as a "rip off" - and maybe even sic the law on them for practicing a fraud - but then I took a closer look and I think they're actually legit. They're just not quite as clear on their opening webpage about what you have to provide to them in order to get "site-specific engineered plans" as one might wish.

If you actually click on the "Project Data Worksheet" that they tell you to fill out and send in to them in oder to get your engineered plans you'll note that, among other things, you have to send them the "soil bearing capacity" of your lot, snow loads, frost depth, wind speeds, AND the jurisdiction you will be building in.

They then say that "this information is available from your building department by giving them the site parcel number and/or the address of the lot." And, if you're building on a lot in a town/city somewhere, the info might very well be available at your "building department", at least in some places. I just don't know.

I'm pretty sure my land's soil bearing capacity was not on record in some "building department" in my area but to tell the truth, I never went looking to find out. Instead, I paid a geotech to go out and drill samples and run the necessary tests to figure that information out. But the engineering company that engineered my foundation wasn't the same company as the one who ran the geotech tests. The engineering company just used the results from the geotech. In fact, I don't think anyone from the engineering company was ever actually on my site until they came out to do a pre-pour inspection of the foundation.

As for wind speeds, frost depth, snow loads, etc., I certainly didn't ask the engineering company what info they needed in order to design my trusses and roof, etc. But I know for a fact no one came out to my property (in May) to measure the "frost depth" or "snow loads" or even "wind speeds". LOL! I'm sure the engineers simply took prevailing numbers for this area into account. And those numbers are probably a matter of record somewhere - if you know where to look. Which I of course don't.

So, IF all that info HAD already been on record somewhere where I could have just looked it up and sent it to an on-line engineering company, I certainly see no reason why they couldn't have done the engineering on my plans just as well as my local company... after all, the same laws of physics apply everywhere. True, different jurisdictions set different code requirements but any engineering firm anywhere that knows what jurisdiction you're building in CAN buy a copy of your local codes and design to meet them.

So, after looking a little more closely, I think Sessa Corporation has managed to come up with a brand new business model and more power to them! In many areas, there may only be one or two engineering firms around that do residential engineering and without any competition to speak of, they're free to charge an arm and a leg. In fact, even in my metropolitan area with a population of 1.5 million people, I had a hard time finding an engineering firm that did residential engineering. There are loads of engineering firms doing commercial work but only 2 or 3 that wanted to bother with doing a residential jobs. Frankly, a little competition might be good for the market.

Only problem will be when some Sessa customer finds out that their local "building department" doesn't have the soil bearing capacity of their lot on record. I suspect Sessa then directs them to hire a geotech and send them his report instead. Problem solved.

Just my 2 cents...but I just may look into investing in Sessa Corp. Could be the next Amazon.com

Don't invest. The barrier to entry in the market is too low. Any engineer could do it.

True, any engineer CAN do it. But the market is going to be found via advertising... which most of those individual engineers do NOT do. Thus, OBs and those owners planning to build one single-family home will likely be more aware of a reputable advertised firm than of a single engineer. IMHO, quite a percentage of first-time builders will jump at the opportunity to deal with a reputable firm in preference to the hunt-and-search for an engineer *willing* to do a single residential unit. The catch, of course, is that Sessa is apparently limited to the Washington state area... when/if ever they come to the mid-Atlantic region, I think their premise is viable enough to be a good investment. I'm in favor of anything which makes good, safe building easier for the least knowledgeable newbie.

Bevangel is right on the money here. I spoke with Vince Sessa over at Sessa Corp (sounded a super nice guy), and he said that many sites don't need special engineering when it comes to "soil Bearing Capacity" and the jurisdiction uses standard requirements out of the International Building Code. (They also use those numbers for seismic zone) and the local bldg dept has the required snowload and frost depth on file, with no need for a visit to the site. Vince said that if the bldg dept DOES require special engineering for local soil conditions, then that is the job of a geo tech to determine the design values required. Then Sessa Corp can use those design values.

When asked "How do you provide stock site specific engineering?" He said that the home plans he has on his site have already previously been engineered for different seismic zones, snowloads, etc - making it weasy to pull an exising calculation pack that mathces our requirments, and simply reviewing it to make sure it matches. If, however, he doesn't have a pack that matches our requirements, he will produce one, doing the calculations from scratch.

Anyway - Manhatten42's comments seem unfouinded. I have to say, even in my past experieinces, that engineers don't themselves go out to the site to dig holes and do a geotech report, unless they have an in-house geo tech! If that is the case, I'm sure you pay for both services, where, in this case, I would just need to pay for the seperately - and save a packet on engineering.

THanks guys, you helped me make up my mind..

Here is a link that might be useful: Sessa Corp

Posting a message like this on the same day you register and including a link to the company is SPAM.

This firm is offering services for single-family residences that can be provided by anyone if they conform to the prescriptive requirements of the applicable building code.

Structural engineering services would be needed only for structural systems that are not covered by the building code and that service can be provided by the material manufacturers through any lumberyard.

The services a homeowner really needs is a design that is suitable for his family's needs and appropriate for the site with sufficient details so it can be bid competitively (if cost is an issue) and so any builder can get the waterproofing and flashing right. That is the service offered by home designers and architects, not engineers. If your designer doesn't know how to frame a house or design a foundation you need to find another designer.

Kellyeng - Well 'scuse me! I thought this site was a discussion on building a home - and I wanted an opinion on the home I'm considering building, and the company I'm considering buying the plan from. I registered so i could post! Is that "really" bad forum etiquette?

Kellyeng, I missed your comment.

I agree that this is presented in the manner of most SPAM. And to a certain extent it seems to also be a scam, or at least it intentionally preys on the inexperience of homeowners.

The IRC and similar residential codes are adopted to make it possible to design and build a house without the use of a design professional, otherwise houses would be required to be designed by architects and engineers like all other buildings.

The bearing capacity of soil is well described in the IRC by reference to the Unified Soil Classification System (see link). Any competent designer, builder, or excavator should be familiar with this information and know how to use it. Organic material is obvious by color, smell and texture and it must be removed. For non-organic soil you can rely on the building code, get a geotech report, or you can just make the footing wider and add some rebar. I do it anyway just because it's cheap insurance. I always add vertical rebar in a basement foundation wall even where engineering practice and building codes would not require it simply because I don't trust any contractor to put the first floor deck on before backfilling (as required by code).

An engineer should not be a substitute for a competent and experienced designer, architect, or design/build contractor. For difficult wind, earthquake, long span, and truss design, I would strongly recommend hiring a local engineer. He/she might even be cheaper and would be available to observe the work and, if necessary, sign an affidavit for the city at the end of the project.

No one should be thinking that they can buy a home design package with structural engineering included over the internet and not need to have it reviewed and modified by a qualified designer or builder so it will be suitable for their site and purposes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Unified Soil Classification System

Gary, calm down, we get SPAM endorsements of building products or services from newly registered members and never hear from them again.

What sounded to me like SPAM was the lack of critical thinking about an internet offer. IMHO, you should be far more skeptical of such services considering the amount of money you will be investing.

Reading the services page, they offer site specific foundation plans too. Im really not seeing the downside. What would a local engineer do that I can't get done with these guys? I was going to use a stock plan, so why not stock engineering?

It's too expensive for such commonplace drafting services; there is little or no engineering involved.

You should spend your money on a good house designer/architect who could better understand the site and your needs and could elevate the quality of the entire project.

If your site has such unusual topography that an engineer is needed to design the foundation, it is important to hire a local engineer. And I can't imagine it would cost as much as this company charges.