Checklists · Structural
Structural Discussion Preparation Checklists
These checklists help you bring a structural topic to the right person properly: what you can observe, what has changed, what the property has had done before, and the questions worth asking. Recording those things well makes the professional conversation shorter and more useful.
None of these pages establishes whether a wall plays a structural role, whether a structure is adequate, whether movement matters, or what work would be needed. Every structural judgement belongs with a qualified structural engineer, and no owner observation substitutes for one.
30 checklists in this category
What this area covers
Planning topics in this category
Each checklist prepares one specific conversation or decision point. None of them determines compliance, suitability or cost.
- What an owner can observe and record
- History of previous alterations to gather
- Information an engineer will ask for
- Questions to bring to a structural conversation
Checklists in this category
Browse by project stage
Each checklist sits at the earliest point in a project where it becomes useful. Every checklist in this category appears in exactly one stage below.
Thinking it through (13)Early planning (10)Brief & professionals (3)Design & decisions (3)Before & during the work (1)
Thinking it through
Before anything is committed — working out whether the idea suits you at all.
Wall Removal Discussion →A preparation checklist for owners thinking about taking out an internal wall, covering what to observe, what to gather and what only a structural engineer can establish.Chimney Breast Removal →Preparing to ask about taking out a chimney breast: tracing the stack through every storey, recording what would remain and who else relies on it before anything is decided.Crack Observation Record →A way to build a plain, dated record of the cracks in a property — where each one is, what it looks like and what else changed — for a qualified engineer to interpret.Movement Observation Record →Movement rarely shows itself in one place. A way to record how a whole property, its ground and its surroundings behave, so a qualified engineer receives observation rather than conclusion.Structural Survey Preparation →Arrange access, uncover what is normally hidden and write down your observations before a structural visit, so the time on site goes on questions only a professional can answer.Underpinning Conversation →Once the word underpinning has been used, record how it arose, gather the history behind it and prepare the questions, leaving whether it applies here to a qualified engineer.Retaining Structure Discussion →Record what a retaining structure holds back, what stands above it and what you have watched it do, then take every judgement about its condition to a qualified engineer.Balcony and Terrace Discussion →Set out what a balcony or roof terrace sits over, what would stand on it and where water leaves it, then take structure, edge protection and waterproofing to professionals.Foundation Condition Questions →Record what is observable at the base of the walls, in the ground and in your paperwork, then bring the questions only a qualified structural engineer can answer.Alteration History Record →Build a dated record of what has already been done to this property, from visible joins and blocked openings to the paperwork nobody kept, before an engineer asks for it.Additional Storey Preparation →A preparation checklist for owners considering adding a further level to an existing building, recording what is known about the structure below and what is only assumed.Movement Insurer Conversation →A preparation checklist for owners approaching a conversation with an insurer about movement, covering what has been observed, what the policy paperwork says and who appoints whom.Tree and Vegetation History →A preparation checklist for building a dated record of trees, hedges and planting on and around a property, including what has been removed, ready for a conversation about ground and foundations.
Early planning
Gathering what you already know and shaping the project before drawings begin.
Opening Widening Questions →Questions and observations to prepare before asking about making an existing doorway or opening wider, so the conversation starts from recorded facts rather than assumptions.Load Path Conversation →How to map what sits above and below the part of your building you want to change, so a conversation about where loads go begins from observation instead of guesswork.Floor Opening Discussion →What to mark out, record and ask before an opening through a floor is discussed, whether it is wanted for a stair, a void or a route for services.Roof Structure Alteration →Prepare a roof alteration conversation by recording what is above your ceilings, where the timbers land and what you want changed, leaving every structural judgement to an engineer.Joist and Floor Loading →Record how a floor appears to be built, what you have felt it do and what you intend to put on it, then take every question about what it can carry to a qualified engineer.Party Wall Conversation →How to prepare for work that touches a shared wall or structure, from working out who the adjoining owners really are to recording the condition of both sides beforehand.Temporary Support Questions →Prepare to ask about temporary support: what sits above the area, who designs and installs propping, how the home is used meanwhile, and what gets recorded at each point.Engineer Brief Preparation →Set out what you actually want a structural engineer to answer, what information you can supply and what you need back, before the first conversation begins.Ground Investigation Commissioning →A preparation checklist for owners commissioning intrusive ground investigation on their own land, covering access, buried services, what is agreed beforehand and what the report does not cover.Second Structural Opinion →A preparation checklist for owners seeking another engineer's view on a building, covering what to hand over, what not to say, and how to record both opinions rather than only the preferred one.
Brief & professionals
Writing the brief and preparing the conversations with qualified professionals.
Beam and Support Discussion →How to prepare for a conversation about a beam or support over a new opening, including what to decide about its appearance and how it would even reach the room.Frame Construction Questions →Questions to bring to a conversation about a steel or timber framed structure, covering junctions with what you already have, fixings, services and what a frame settles early.Below-Ground Waterproofing Ownership →A preparation checklist about who designs the waterproofing of a below-ground space, which approach is proposed, and what the owner is left operating once the building is occupied.
Design & decisions
The layout, material and finish decisions worth recording as the design develops.
Structural Drawing Review →Prepare to sit down with the structural drawings and notes you have been sent, so you can ask the right questions about them before anything is ordered or built.Structural Risk Question Log →Keep one written log of every structural question still open on a project, who owns it, what would answer it and what it is currently holding up.Timber Drying and Movement →A preparation checklist covering two questions owners of timber structures usually ask too late: how long the frame stands open to weather, and what is expected to move afterwards.
Before & during the work
Site logistics, coordination and the questions that arise once work is under way.
Go deeper
Related Build Design Hub guides
Explanatory guidance behind the decisions these checklists prepare you for.
Additions & conversions →Background on projects where structural questions usually arise.Site, foundation & roof →General educational background on primary building elements.Architectural planning basics →How design and engineering input is usually sequenced.All checklist categories →Back to the full Project Planning Checklists library.