Do I Need an Engineer to Build a Metal Building in Georgia?

Georgia jurisdictions — Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Savannah — require an engineer-sealed plan set for commercial and industrial metal buildings, and the PE seal is the standard requirement for the foundation and site-specific structural sheets. The seal must show the engineer's name, Georgia PE number, and date, with the engineer in responsible charge. The manufacturer supplies PE-sealed drawings for the building itself — the rigid frames, purlins, and girts — but the foundations, site-specific load verification, and the permit set are designed and sealed by the Georgia engineer of record. Owner-builders don't escape the requirement: the building department asks for the seal regardless of who drew the plans, and the engineer must verify the building for hurricane wind on the coast and tornado wind inland.

The engineer designs the foundations for foundations with uplift resistance statewide — the engineer designs piers for hurricane uplift on the coast and tornado-wind overturning inland, and verifies the rigid frames for rigid frames engineered for wind-borne debris zones on the coast — the engineer verifies cladding and the lateral system for the site's wind exposure. Purlins, girts, eave struts, and rod bracing go on the sealed plan set — member sizing for gravity and lateral loads, bracing layouts, and the anchor-bolt detailing that ties the building to foundations designed for hurricane wind on the coast and tornado wind inland. Bring the manufacturer's anchor-bolt plan and column reactions, a geotechnical report for the lot, and the building dimensions and eave height. The engineer verifies cladding and the lateral system for the site's wind exposure — coastal hurricane or inland tornado wind.

Use this checklist before engaging an engineer for your metal building: • Engineer of record holds an active Georgia PE license, verifiable on the state roster • Foundations designed for the manufacturer's anchor-bolt reactions against hurricane wind on the coast and tornado wind inland • Rigid frames, purlins, and girts verified for hurricane wind on the coast and tornado wind inland per ASCE 7 • Rod bracing or portal-frame lateral system detailed on the sealed set • Anchor bolts, base plates, and hairpin ties detailed for uplift and overturning • Eave height, clear span, and bay spacing called out and checked • Geotechnical report reviewed before foundation design • Engineer confirms they'll respond to plan-check corrections on sealed sheets