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Michael D. Stewart, P.E., LLC writes signed and sealed engineer letters for homes and buildings across Southwest Florida, for the building departments, fire departments, private providers and historic commissions that read them. We work from Cape Coral and serve Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties and the barrier islands. Michael D. Stewart, P.E., FL PE #72459, has practiced here since 2005, with structural engineering, architectural design and MEP under one roof.

Condition & Observation Letters
Truss & Plank Deferral Letters
Repair Letters with Details
Inspection Response Letters

Plan Revision Letters

Elevating Existing Homes

Engineer Letters We Write

A letter is the right tool when a full drawing set is not. We write:

• Condition and observation letters. A professional opinion and a next step, from a site visit or documented photographs.

• Truss and plank deferral letters. The engineer of record names the manufacturer-designed items and reviews them before fabrication.

• Truss review and approval letters. A sealed truss package reviewed against the building design, with the scope of the review in writing.

• Repair letters with details. A repair for a damaged or altered member, with detail sheets and marked photographs.

• Inspection response letters. After a failed or questioned inspection, an evaluation written for the building division or fire department.

• Plan revision letters. A revision to a sealed sheet, with the basis and limits spelled out.

Every letter separates what was observed from what was only reported. That line protects the owner, the contractor and the reviewer.

Two-story custom home with a paver driveway and palm trees in Southwest Florida

Elevating Homes Across Southwest Florida

We also engineer elevated and raised homes across Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties and the barrier islands: lifting an existing house onto a new elevated foundation, or building a new living level on top and converting the ground floor below to garage and storage space with flood openings. When a raised home needs a letter, such as one for an enclosure below the flood elevation, the same office writes it.

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Local Rules That Shape a Letter

• Cape Coral publishes an Engineer Letter Guideline. Letters after a failed inspection follow it, and ours cite it by revision date.

• Lee County has its own Inspection Affidavit / Certificate of Compliance form for missed inspections. The engineer's letter goes in with the executed county form.

• Fort Myers Beach permit sets can be reviewed by a private provider. Our truss and precast plank deferral letters go to that provider.

• Fort Myers has local historic district designations. We have written a condition assessment for a historic-commission application there.

• Collier County Growth Management's building plan review and inspection division receives engineer letters that revise sealed sheets.

For citywide structural work, see our Cape Coral structural engineer, Fort Myers structural engineer and Naples structural engineer pages.

Aerial view of waterfront homes along a canal in Fort Myers, Florida

Projects

• First Street, Fort Myers. A condition assessment and engineer's opinion on a 1925 home, a cottage and a carport in a local historic district, for historic-commission and demolition applications. Floor girders sat on isolated brick stacks, with deteriorated wood at bearing. A certified building official made the field visit and sent photographs, and the engineer reviewed every one. Any item the engineer could not confirm is "identified in Section 5 as a reported condition."

• Arthur Avenue, Fort Myers. A site visit to a 1927 wood-framed house on a crawl space in a historic district, after reported floor settlement. The letter gave a plain opinion and a recommended next step.

• Primo Drive, Fort Myers Beach. A deferral letter to the private provider for an addition over parking and an elevated pool deck, naming the wood trusses and precast hollow-core plank for review before fabrication and installation.

• Wahoo Court, Naples. At the building department's request, we reviewed 68 sealed floor and roof truss drawings and wrote the approval letter, stating what stays with the truss engineer and the contractor.

• Barbados Lane, Naples. A home inspection said a garage attic truss had been cut for an air handler. Our sealed repair letter, with marked photographs and two detail sheets, shows a plywood gusset repair with a new filler member. It notes, "This condition is as reported by the Owner and the home inspector."

• Charleston Court, Naples. Our letter to the county plan review division revised the slab-repair note for utility trenches saw-cut in an existing slab, with the repair limited to the trench areas.

• Southwest 24th Street, Cape Coral. After a failed retaining wall footing inspection, the repair was covered with new concrete. We evaluated it from the owner's photographs and the approved plans and wrote to the building division under the city's guideline.

• Flint Drive, Fort Myers. A fire prevention inspection asked about a tenant separation wall in a 1979 building. We visited, photographed it and wrote on its fire-resistance rating, listing the corrections still needed.

How the Process Works

1. Tell us what the letter is for. Send the inspection result or reviewer's comment, with any plans and photographs.

2. We look at the building or the record. A site visit, field photographs from a qualified person, or the approved plans.

3. We write the letter. Purpose, what was reviewed, the finding and any conditions.

4. We sign and seal it. It is ready to submit.

Single-story commercial office building in Southwest Florida

Why a Local PE

Homeowners and contractors, and the building officials, private providers, fire departments and historic commissions who read the letters. When a letter turns into a larger project, the same office handles home additions, coastal piling foundations, after-the-fact permits and seawalls and docks.

A letter is only useful if the reviewer can act on it. We write each one for the jurisdiction that will read it, whether that is Cape Coral, Lee County or Collier County. Mr. Stewart has practiced in Southwest Florida since 2005, and structural engineering, architectural design and MEP sit in one office.

"I TREAT EACH AND EVERY PROJECT
AS A PERSONAL PRIORITY."

Need an Engineer Letter?

Call (239) 292-7670 or send a message with the inspection result or the reviewer's comment.

"HIGH-QUALITY SERVICE AND QUICK TURNAROUND ARE THE MISSION."

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an engineer letter?

A signed and sealed statement from a licensed engineer about a specific condition, repair or review: what was looked at, what was found and what still needs to be done.

When does a building department ask for one?

Common reasons include a failed inspection, trusses or precast plank deferred to their manufacturers, a truss package that needs review by the engineer of record, and a revision to a sealed sheet.

Do you have to visit the property?

Not always. Some letters need a site visit. Others work from field photographs by a qualified person, or the approved plans. The letter states which was used.

What if the work is already covered up?

In some cases we can evaluate it from photographs taken during the work and the approved plans. On Southwest 24th Street in Cape Coral, "the work was evaluated by photographic documentation and plan review."

Will the letter say my building is fine?

It says what the engineer found. If corrections are needed, it lists them, as the Flint Drive letter did for the opening, the top of the wall and the inspection openings.

How do I start?

Call (239) 292-7670 and describe the request, or send the inspection result or the reviewer's comment.

Can you work with my contractor?

Yes. Your contractor can send us the inspection result, the reviewer's comment and field photographs, and we write the letter for the reviewer who will read it.