Structural Liability

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Will the structural engineer accept FULL responsibility for defects that later arise in the structure through signing an agreement before work commences?

Basically who carries the can when it all goes t@ts up. ( Beacuse we sure ain't)
On a job at the moment and from what we have seen so far NO expansion joints are specified on reinforced concrete retaining walls.
The longest wall is 24m. We are worried about hair cracks developing.
I have already had a disagreement with the site engineer (young Polish guy) who goes by his drawings. Himself and his two guys have already put the job a day behind within the last week and also caused me personally two hours work along with my men trying in vain yesterday to correct their work.
This has now caused a further slight problem with the job. :(
Tomorrow my work will be checked (as usual) by the site engineer and he will point out a problem. ( Due mainly to his inability to point out mistakes made earlier by his two guys) :evil:
The concrete pour on the base is scheduled for tomorrow (by me) and this will go ahead as planned. :D
 
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The obvious answer to your question is what form of contract are you working to and in what capacity have you been engaged? JCT Major / Minor / Design&Build / Bespoke etc, this will be where your liability will be set out.
 
Is he working for you, or the client; is he novated to you under a D&B contract; is there a collateral warranty?

The SE will carry PI insurance for defects due to negligence in the design. If that is found to be negligent in the future, he's liable; if it's defective workmanship, that's down to the contractor/s.

If he's retired/gone bust/died and is liable, then he should have run-off cover. If not he or his estate for up to 12 years post mortem is liable.
 
Have no idea hotrod tbh. My brother might know the answer to that. Its in the ROI and have no idea what the terms of contract are.
I have the responsibility of building the structure. From what I have seen so far I am not too impressed.
At the end of the day we would rather not have our names on something that turns out to be structurally unsound no matter who accepts responsibility for the design.
We are only on the job due to recommendation and more work lurks further down the line pending the success of this contract.
 
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Yep, as Hortrod says, depends on contract form and conditions. What sort of 'agreement' did you sign up to? Industry standard or bespoke?

Although if you are worried about it and know the construction methods are incorrect you 'could' be putting yourself in a tricky situation.
 
Indeed denso.
Have already locked horns with the site engineer to stay on schedule and don't want to step on anyone elses toes least of all the SE who one would have thought should know what he is doing.
We shall see.
Thanks for the advice. :D
 
Advise them of your concerns in writing and ask them to sign a copy of the letter. If they proceed it's their problem.
 
This is for the UK, so I don't know if it applies to the ROI ...

It does not matter what contract is signed, a professional person (ie the engineer) must act with all due care and skill as appropriate for his expertise (ie structural engineering) in context to the work he is employed to do - he has a duty of care. If he fails in his duty, then he may be held negligent in common law.

There are many precedent cases which have determined what duty the various professionals will have, and when that duty is deemed to have been breached.

And the law of latent defects, means that the client will have six years after the defect comes to light, not when the work was done or completed.

There is also a duty for everyone else to act with skill and care as appropriate to their trade or profession, so if say an Architect designs a roof badly, and an engineer calculates loadings wrongly, then the roofer would be expected to know that something is wrong and either seek clarification, point out the potential probelm to the client, and not proceed if there is a probelm. If the roofer proceeds, then he too could be held jointly negligent.

The probelm is, how is the roofer expected to know specifics of design or structural engineering, when this is way out of his field? Well, he is not expected to know everything, but may be expected to know when things are not 'normal'. But in the event of any claim, then events will be judged on their own merit, and the concept of 'reasonableness' comes into play.

Some contracts may state that the client or main contractor takes on certain risk, or will deal with claims, but this will not include all negligence. A claim can be made against anyone, and the court will decide if the individual or company had a duty of care to the claimant
 
Good post Woods, except it's 12 years for latent defects, if it's a contract under seal.
 
Just finished about 70% of the contract.
H&S did a site inspection to see if all was in order regarding them silly plastic cards you need. We didn't have any and luckily the site manager hid the file regarding our details.
Were off the job now anyway as other work beckons. Just noticed a hair crack appearing in one of the walls on the last day and also learnt on the same day that the bigwigs have now realised that contraction joints should have been incorporated.
When I go back I will expect to see more cracks.
 
Norcon";p="1200596 said:
On a job at the moment and from what we have seen so far NO expansion joints are specified on reinforced concrete retaining walls.
The longest wall is 24m. We are worried about hair cracks developing.
I have already had a disagreement with the site engineer (young Polish guy) who goes by his drawings.

24m does not seem excessive if the wall is designed and built properly. As for hairline cracks, this is not necassarily unacceptable.
 

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