Repair or replace: answer the engineering question

So can it be saved? That's one of the most common questions I get. Or why are these two bids so far apart? And the answer is because the contractors think that there's a different problem. One contractor looks at it and says, "This is a maintenance issue." Whether or not it's cracks in your basement wall, a rusted steel beam, maybe even a rotted deck member. So in order to know whether or not it can be saved, you should get an engineer out there and see what it is the numbers actually decide. And not just from the hip kind of judgment call. Owners think repair versus replacement is a contractor's call. Or maybe a budget call. It's just how much they have. They feel like, "I only have $2,000 to maintenance this, so that's what I'm going to do." But sometimes that just covers up the problem. It's really an engineering call. It's a numbers call. Whether it's a rotten joist that can be sistered or a rusted beam that still has the capacity it needs, those questions need answers. And the answers are what set the number. So repair versus replace, just remember, that's an engineer's call, not necessarily a contractor's. The contractor is vested in the price that he gives you. So he's going to get $2,000 for the job or $60,000 for the job. An engineer is a flat fee. Maybe $500, they come out for a few hours, and they can tell you what the problem is. They don't have any conflict of interest. They don't get more money if it needs to be replaced or just maintenance. So get that engineer out there. Get them to identify the problem, and then get your contractors bidding on the same thing. The low bid is just pricing the hope that it's cosmetic, and the high bid is pricing the fear that it isn't. But do this. Ask your contractor if they will give you a warranty in writing. Ask them what is it that they're assuming about the condition of the framing, of the steel, of the slab, of the concrete that they're repairing. If the answer is different, then that's your engineering question. It's cheaper to answer it than it is to guess. And remember, sometimes when you're doing maintenance and you're covering over all the clues that your building is giving you, that's saying this is more than a maintenance issue. So if you own the building on an apartment or a commercial building, the repair design is also what your carrier and your lender want to see before they fund anything. Without it, you're arguing about a number that nobody has defined yet. So do this. If it's your house and you have two bids $60,000 apart, that means nobody's decided what's wrong yet. See if the contractor will give you a warranty. A contractor who knows it's a band-aid fix will run from that. Right? But if you get an engineer out there, he's going to charge a flat fee no matter what the fix is.