Our Structural Projects Gallery

Check our some of our favorite structural projects and constructions

Vienna Structural Engineering Load Bearing Wall Removal

Typical 1980s floor plan - rooms are closed off, narrow hallway, poor lighting. We like to say that you don't always need more space you just need to use what you have more efficiently. Our client hated having to shout between rooms and every family gathering ended up with guests arriving and bunching up in the narrow hallway to take off their coats. No one would hang out in the living room and everyone ended up just getting in the way in the kitchen (sound familiar?). They needed a plan to open the space, remove the bottleneck and get more light (both natural and artificial).

We designed new beams, moved duct work widened the hallway and added a closet to the front office room. In the future the client will be replacing all of the flooring.

Oakton Structural Engineering Garage Repair

A family member hit the gas instead of the brake and drove into the wall between the garage doors pushing back the structure supporting the 2nd floor master bedroom. When we arrived the only thing holding up the front wall were the tracks supporting the garage doors. We installed temporary steel columns to support the 2nd floor then performed an evaluation project with our Structural Engineer. Even though this was a low speed crash, the shock wave from the impact rippled through the garage and loosened the ceiling drywall which resulted in cracks in the joints.

The repairs involved rebuilding the front wall, designing and installing new custom garage doors/tracks/WiFi enabled opener, screwing in all of the ceiling drywall before installing replacement stucco on the outside. Our stucco team has 30 years of experience installing it properly and knows how to match the texture and color.

Arlington Structural Engineering Fireplace Removal

100 year old house in Arlington. The angled fireplace took up way too much space in the living room as well as a corner of an upstairs bedroom. A load bearing wall separated the Living Room and Dining Room into two small rooms. The client wanted to open the space and keep the fan textured ceiling. We engineered the replacement beam and other structural repairs required as part of an initial evaluation phase.

The project took a lot of advance planning since the chimney had to be removed and the roof quickly closed in to make it weather tight. After removing all of the masonry, including a 10" thick concrete pad for the fireplace, we installed the new beam and repaired the floor system. Walls were repaired, our painter matched the old school textured ceiling and we patched the hardwood flooring. Now the client has a single large room that provides better use of the space.

Herndon Structural Engineering Termite Damage

Wood Beam Replacement

Our client had contacted two other companies before she found us but they did not do a good job explaining what work needed to be done. When our Chief Mensch showed up, he walked her through the issues and made sure she was comfortable with how we would approach the repair. She had lived in the house for 30 years and a home inspection turned up termite damage in the main beam of the house next to the foundation wall. The steel lally columns had rusted near the floor. One was very bad because a floor drain was overflowing on to the post. We performed a structural evaluation with our engineer and discovered that, in addition to those issues, the old beam had joints that were not sitting directly over the steel posts. This means the load rating was reduced from a 4 layer beam to a 2 layer beam. After "doing the math" we pulled the permit, installed the new beam, posts and moved the drain.

Don’t just take our word for it!

See what our past clients have to say...

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Communications were suburb - the team provided weekly status updates of accomplishments for that week and what was expected for following week as they constructed the new foundations and supports for the overhead screened-in porch. We liked how the team, when pouring the concrete for the foundation, got it flushed with the existing concrete patio. With supports along edge of the patio, we retain the open space of the concrete patio under the porch for enjoyment of backyard activities. We recommend HandyMensch for anyone doing patio/decking work.

Robert Brander

Google Reviews

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

HandyMensch redid the supports for our overhead screened-in porch (over concrete patio from walk out basement). They handled all the aspects of the job: the engineering design for new supports, going thru the permitting process and doing the actual project. In beginning, I met with Lenny’s team, including an engineer to discuss what we were hoping to have done on the project. The team listened to us on how we wanted to keep the concrete patio space open as possible - the engineering design met our goals.

Past Client

Google Reviews

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

If you’re reading this review and dozens of others alike, probably finding yourself on an anxious quest to ensure you’re house isn’t the next feature on a disaster home-remodel show; take the time to pause here with Handy Mensch, read some reviews, and invite Lenny to come talk to you and take a look at the project. We highly recommend Handy Mensch for whatever your home project may be. We will absolutely look no further than Lenny and his team for our next project!

Jarret Kuhfahl

Facebook Reviews