Guides
Structural engineering guides for Tasmania
Plain answers on Tasmanian approvals, cracks, repair costs, retaining walls, landslip and building projects, from engineers who never sell repairs.
In short
Our structural engineering guides answer the questions Tasmanian owners ask before calling an engineer: whether work is low risk, notifiable or permit work, when a crack matters, what underpinning and restumping cost in Hobart, and when a retaining wall needs an engineer. Each cites official Tasmanian sources, gives the key numbers and ends with when to call an engineer.
- Guides
- 12, in five topics
- Sources
- Official Tasmanian rules, linked in every guide
- Independent
- We never sell or carry out repairs
Approvals
Do I need approval, an engineer or a building surveyor?
Who does what, and which approval your work needs under Tasmania's four categories of building work.
Cracks & foundations
Is this crack or movement serious?
How to read cracks and sloping floors, and what Hobart's clay soils have to do with them.
Costs
What will the repair cost?
Published price ranges for the big foundation repairs, what drives them in Hobart and how to check a quote.
Walls & slopes
What can I build on a sloping block?
Retaining walls, landslip bands and pools on Hobart's hillsides.
Projects
What engineering does my project need?
The hidden engineering behind common Hobart projects.
Find your answer
Which guide answers my question?
Find your question, read the guide, then see the service that deals with it.
Where the facts come from
Where do the facts in these guides come from?
From official Tasmanian rules and published reports first. Every guide ends with its own list of sources. These are the ones we use most.
- The Director's Determination: Categories of Building and Demolition Work (v1.4), for low risk, notifiable and permit work
- The Building Act 2016, for building surveyors, designers and permits
- The Landslip Hazard Code in the Tasmanian Planning Scheme
- Mineral Resources Tasmania reports, such as its report on expansive clays at a Lindisfarne house
- Council guidance, such as the City of Hobart's fences page and Glenorchy's building permit page
- Australian Standards such as AS 2870 (slabs and footings), named where we use them
Next step
When should you call a structural engineer instead of reading on?
When the question is about your building rather than the rules. A guide can tell you what a 5 mm crack means; only an inspection tells you why yours appeared.
- Cracks are 5 mm or wider, still growing, or come with sticking doors and sloping floors
- Your building surveyor has asked for an engineer's design, a Form 35 or a Form 55
- You hold a repair quote, such as underpinning, and want an independent view
- You're planning a retaining wall, an extension, a pool or a wall removal
Need an engineer?
Send photos or plans for a fixed quote
A licensed structural engineer replies within 1–2 business hours (Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm) with a fixed price and whether the job needs a site visit.