Pre-Project Consulting

Pre-project consulting is a professional engineering review conducted before a construction project begins — before ground is broken, before a contractor is fully mobilized, and often before a permit is submitted. A Texas Licensed Professional Engineer examines the project’s design documents, drawings, specifications, and proposed construction approach to identify constructability issues, code conflicts, permit gaps, and scope ambiguities that will be far more expensive to resolve once construction is underway.

Both residential and commercial clients benefit — for different reasons:

• Residential homeowners planning additions, remodels, or new construction gain an independent engineering voice before committing to a contractor’s proposal — without the cost or timeline of a full structural engineering engagement
• Commercial developers and building owners gain technical accountability over a process that can involve millions of dollars of risk — verifying that their construction documents are complete, coordinated, code-compliant, and permit-ready before a general contractor mobilizes
• Institutions and municipalities planning capital improvements gain a pre-construction technical review that protects public funds from change order exposure and ensures permit compliance before investment is made

The highest-value moment for pre-project consulting is before the construction contract is signed — when the owner retains full negotiating leverage and when drawing changes cost paper and time rather than labor and materials.

Residential pre-project consulting addresses the concerns of individual property owners who are not construction professionals and need an independent engineering perspective before committing to work on their home. The engagement is typically focused and efficient: GGE reviews the contractor’s proposal for scope completeness and technical accuracy, evaluates the permit drawings for structural adequacy and code compliance, identifies whether the proposed work requires engineering involvement the contractor hasn’t disclosed, and delivers a written PE assessment the homeowner can use in contractor negotiations or permit submissions.

Commercial pre-project consulting addresses the scale and complexity of commercial construction risk. A commercial review involves the full construction document set — structural, civil, and architectural drawings and specifications — cross-referenced for coordination and conflicts. GGE evaluates each discipline’s documents against the applicable codes, identifies inter-discipline conflicts that would generate change orders in the field, assesses permit submission completeness, and identifies value engineering opportunities that can reduce project cost without compromising design intent.

GGE tailors the scope and deliverable format to each client’s situation — a residential homeowner receives a clear, readable findings letter; a commercial developer receives a structured technical report with a conflict log, permit checklist, and value engineering memo.

The highest-value window is before a construction contract is signed and before the permit application is submitted. At that point, the owner retains full leverage: drawing changes cost a revision fee, scope clarifications cost a conversation, and contractor proposals can still be negotiated or rejected. Once a contract is signed and a contractor mobilizes, the economics reverse — the same issues become change orders, schedule delays, and contested claims.

Specific timing guidance by project type:

• Residential remodels and additions: Engage GGE after receiving a contractor’s proposal and permit drawings, before signing the contract or submitting for permit
• Residential new construction: Engage GGE after construction documents are complete, before final contractor selection or permit submission
• Commercial development: Engage GGE at 90–100% construction documents, after the design team has completed coordination but before the GC is contracted or mobilized
• Commercial renovation or tenant improvement: Engage GGE after existing conditions are documented and proposed work is drawn, before the permit application

GGE has also provided valuable pre-project consulting after construction has begun — catching issues before they progress further and establishing a documented engineering record that protects the owner’s position in any subsequent dispute with the contractor.

If you are uncertain whether you need a pre-project consulting review, call us directly at (210) 490-4506. A 15-minute conversation is enough to determine whether a formal engagement is warranted — and GGE will tell you honestly if it isn’t.

Every GGE pre-project consulting engagement delivers a written findings report signed by Gustavo Gonzalez, P.E. — not a verbal opinion, not a checklist, but a documented professional assessment the client can use for contractor negotiations, permit submissions, lender reviews, and as a baseline against which actual construction can be measured.

Depending on project scope, deliverables include:

• PE-signed findings report — all issues identified, ranked by severity (critical / significant / advisory), with recommended resolutions and the engineering basis for each finding
• Drawing conflict and discrepancy log — itemized inter-discipline conflicts, each with a resolution recommendation
• Permit readiness checklist — agency-specific outstanding items, missing documentation, and submission requirements
• Code compliance assessment — IBC and local code issues identified, cited by section, with correction guidance
• Value engineering alternatives memo — identified cost or schedule reduction opportunities with engineering rationale
• Contractor scope evaluation — assessment of a contractor’s proposal for scope completeness, specification coverage, and change order risk items

Every engagement concludes with a direct briefing — our team walks the client through the findings, answers questions, and provides prioritization guidance. The engagement is not complete until the client understands what was found and what to do about it.

GGE’s written findings reports have been used to successfully renegotiate contractor proposals, correct permit submissions before rejection, identify value engineering savings, and establish the engineering record that protected clients in construction disputes. The document has value long after the engagement ends.

Three fundamental differences set a GGE pre-project consulting review apart:

• Professional license and legal accountability: A Texas Licensed Professional Engineer bears a professional standard of care for every signed finding. A home inspector performs visual observations without engineering authority. A general contractor offers opinions without professional licensure. GGE’s findings are signed by a PE whose license is on the line — held to an engineering standard, not a visual observation standard.
• Technical scope: Home inspectors assess existing visible conditions; they cannot evaluate proposed engineering drawings or structural design adequacy for work that doesn’t yet exist. A GGE pre-project review evaluates the proposed construction on paper — at the structural, civil, and code compliance levels that only a licensed engineer can assess.
• Independence: A general contractor reviewing drawings has a financial interest in winning the construction contract. GGE has no financial interest in the construction outcome — only in the client’s. GGE’s independence is what gives the findings their value: they reflect what the engineering analysis requires, not what preserves a business relationship.

Our experts background at state, city and municipal roles adds a fourth dimension: direct institutional knowledge of how municipal reviewing agencies evaluate permit submissions, what triggers rejections, and what documentation is required for approval — giving GGE clients a perspective that no contractor, home inspector, or engineering firm without public works leadership experience can provide.

A home inspector tells you what exists. A contractor tells you what they want to build and what it will cost them. GGE tells you whether what is proposed is structurally sound, code-compliant, permit-ready, and worth what you are being asked to pay — backed by a PE’s professional license and 45 years of engineering practice.