Need to open up your living space or make room for a home addition? Use this guide to estimate the cost to remove a wall in your home before you start.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Structural Engineer in Columbus? [2025 Data]
Normal Range: $273 - $449
Hiring a structural engineer in Columbus, OH costs $334 on average, or between $273 and $449, depending on the exact services you need from a pro.
How we get this data
Cost Insights
Structural engineer costs in Columbus, Ohio, increase with project complexity, with foundation inspections reaching $1,500 or more.
Older Columbus homes often need additional structural evaluation, raising costs for beam sizing, wall removal, or revisions by $300 to $800.
Soil movement and freeze-thaw cycles can require added calculations, increasing inspection fees beyond the $400 to $1,200 range.
Homeowners in Columbus, Ohio, should plan carefully when budgeting for structural work, especially in a metro with a mix of older brick homes, post-war neighborhoods, and fast-growing suburbs. Structural engineer costs in Columbus average $334, with most homeowners spending between $273 and $449 depending on project complexity.
Many properties in areas like German Village, Clintonville, and Worthington may require evaluations for foundation settling, load-bearing walls, or renovation planning. Soil conditions, freeze-thaw cycles, and aging construction can all influence inspection needs, so explore below to see what you can expect to pay for this project.
Structural Engineer Cost Factors
Understanding structural engineer cost factors in Columbus, Ohio, helps homeowners budget for inspections, engineer plans, and complex evaluations. Fees vary by project scope, property age, and identified signs of structural damage, all of which affect the final price.
Fee Structure
When hiring a structural engineer in Columbus, you will pay per project, per hour, or per square foot. If your engineer charges by the project, they may either charge a flat fee or a percentage of the entire renovation cost or the cost to build a house. The type of billing depends on the professional and the exact scope of work requested.
| Price Structure | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Per project (fee) | $1,500–$7,000 |
| Per project (%) | 1%–6% |
| Per hour | $100–$130 |
| Per square foot | $1.50–$8 |
Project Complexity
The cost of a structural engineer for a home inspection will also vary based on the complexity of your project. If you’re just building an add-on to your existing home, your engineer will have minimal work to do to ensure the addition is safe.
If you’re instead altering your roof structure, replacing standard beams with more supportive steel I-beams to open up your space, or removing load-bearing walls, your engineer will have more work to do and will charge more accordingly. Custom new construction projects are the most involved and will be the most expensive.
Type of Inspection
When working with a structural engineer, an inspection is the first step—and may also be the only step, depending on why you’re hiring them. A structural engineer charges a flat fee for inspections, including checks during the sale of a home. The cost of a structural report sits at $645, but prices can range from $400 to $1,200, depending on the size and complexity of your home.
Your structural engineer inspection cost will likely reach $1,500 or more if you’re having your professional perform a foundation inspection for foundational cracks, bowing foundation walls, wavy rooflines, or sagging or squeaky floors.
| Type of Inspection | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Beams/joists/trusses | $300–$550 |
| Buying or selling a home | $500–$700 |
| Foundation damage | $400–$1,200 |
| Home remodel | $450–$1,500 |
| Load-bearing walls | $300–$550 |
| New construction | $350–$650 |
| Storm damage | $400–$1,000 |
Engineer Plans
Engineer plans are the drawings that detail the construction project, and in the case of new construction, they’re the plans that an architect and builder will work off of to construct your home safely.
The engineer plans themselves, and the process to produce them, will cost you anywhere from $700 to $3,500, depending on the scope of the project. The cost can be much higher for more complex, large-scale projects, sometimes reaching 45% of the engineering budget. It’s a good idea to budget an additional $300 to $700 for revisions in case you want to make changes after the first round of drafting. Additional revisions after that point will cost the same amount.
Below, we've included some average pricing for standard drawings you might request from a structural engineer:
| Drawing Type | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Commercial construction | $10,000–$80,000 |
| Home add-on or bump-out | $3,000–$6,000 |
| Major home renovation | $2,500–$7,000 |
| New construction | $4,000–$15,000 |
| Outbuilding construction | $1,000–$10,000 |
Additional Structural Engineer Costs
Homeowners in Columbus, Ohio, may incur additional expenses beyond the base engineering fee. Local labor rates, permit requirements, and project documentation can all influence the final price depending on the property’s age, location, and scope of work.
Labor
Labor rates for a professional structural engineer inspection in Columbus range from $100 to $130 per hour, with higher charges for complex evaluations involving crawlspaces or aging homes in areas like Clintonville or German Village. These labor fees apply directly to homeowners and increase when additional site visits or follow-up calculations are required.
PE Stamps
A PE stamp in Columbus costs $150 to $400, with more complex foundation or load-bearing wall designs reaching $500 or higher. Homeowners pay this fee when stamped drawings are required for permitting or contractor use, especially during remodels or structural wall removals.
Tipping
Tipping isn’t customary for structural engineers in Columbus, and professionals don’t expect or accept gratuities. Homeowners instead show appreciation through clear communication, prompt document approvals, or positive reviews rather than a discretionary cash tip.
Permits
While the structural engineer’s work doesn’t require a permit on its own, the construction it supports often does. In Columbus, building permits run $75 to $350 for small projects and well over $1,000 for major renovations, and these fees fall entirely on the homeowner, not the engineer.
Taxes
Ohio applies sales tax only to certain tangible goods, so homeowners don't pay sales tax on structural engineering services in Columbus. Engineering labor, calculations, and stamped plans are all considered professional services and are therefore tax-exempt for homeowners.
Can a Structural Engineer Add Value to Your Home?
Hiring a structural engineer in Columbus doesn’t deliver a direct return on investment (ROI) by itself. Your actual returns depend on the project that follows their assessment or plans. If you’re working with an engineer because you’re building a home addition, you might see an ROI of roughly 20% to 50% once the project is complete. However, if you’re hiring a structural engineer for a pre-purchase inspection or to evaluate storm-related foundation or soil movement, the financial return is minimal, even though the service can prevent costly future repairs.
How Angi Gets Its Cost Data
Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We survey real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.
Want to help us improve our cost data? Send us a recent project quote to [email protected]. Quotes and personal information will not be shared publicly.
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