Structural PE Stamp in Charlotte, NC — Mecklenburg County Sealed Review

My Charlotte structural review treats wind and seismic as co-equal design drivers. I verify the design wind speed and exposure for the site, then the main wind-force resisting system: selection, analysis, overturning and sliding, diaphragm design and connections, and component and cladding pressures for walls, roofs, parapets, and rooftop equipment. Seismic gets the parallel treatment: site parameters, seismic design category determination, lateral system design for seismic forces, and detailing matched to the category. Where the two hazards produce different governing cases for different elements — common in Charlotte — the calculation package documents which governs where, so the reviewer sees deliberate engineering rather than a single load case stretched to cover both. Irregularities get the analysis the code requires. The sealed set shows a structure designed for both of Charlotte's lateral hazards, honestly.

Foundation review starts with the geotechnical report: boring locations across the footprint, the residual soil profile, depth to competent rock, and the engineer's recommendations. I verify the structural drawings implement them — footing sizes and bearing elevations, pier depths where rock is deep, slab detailing, and transitions where rock depth changes across the building. Variable rock is the signature Piedmont challenge: a foundation that steps or transitions with the rock profile, detailed on the drawings, rather than a uniform system that ignores it. Below-grade walls get earth pressure design. The calculation package ties foundation design to the report explicitly — bearing values, depths, and detailing all traceable to the geotechnical recommendations. Mecklenburg reviewers check this linkage; my review establishes it before they do.

I verify these against project documents before the North Carolina PE seal goes on a Charlotte structural set. • North Carolina PE license verified; responsible charge established • NC State Building Code edition and Mecklenburg amendments confirmed current • Wind criteria, lateral system, diaphragms, and cladding pressures verified • Seismic design category determined project-specifically; detailing matches • Geotechnical report in hand; foundations designed to its recommendations • Variable rock depths addressed in foundation detailing, not averaged away • Load paths traceable roof-to-foundation in calculations and drawings • Accela submittal organized; calculation package mirrors the drawing set