Structural PE Stamp in Lee County, FL: What Gets Reviewed?

The centerpiece of the Lee County structural review is the wind load path, and I verify it link by link. Roof-to-wall connections get checked for the calculated uplift — hurricane ties, straps, and holdowns sized for the actual reactions, not a generic schedule. Wall-to-foundation anchorage gets the same treatment: sill plate bolts or straps delivering the shear and uplift into the foundation, with edge distances and embedment that match the design. Shear walls and braced frames get checked for holdown capacity and compression chord design, because the overturning forces in a hurricane wind event are what separate a standing building from a pile of lumber. Components and cladding get their own review pass: roof coverings, windows, doors, soffits, and wall cladding designed for the higher localized pressures the code assigns to the building's zones and edges. The corrections I see most on out-of-town designs are exactly here — a main-frame analysis that looks fine with cladding pressures underestimated and connection schedules that do not match the calculated reactions. The PE's review closes those gaps before the seal, because Lee County plan check will find them after.

The 2022 hurricane reset expectations in Lee County plan check, and the review-and-seal engagement has to respect that. Rebuild and repair projects get scrutiny on whether the structural system is being restored to code-compliant condition or merely patched — the PE verifies that damaged elements are properly assessed, that repairs restore the load path rather than covering it, and that any upgrades the code requires for the scope of work are actually in the design. For new construction, reviewers read the wind detailing with the storm's lessons in mind: they know which details held and which did not. I treat this as a higher bar, not a different process. The responsible-charge review is the same — verify the loads, check the calculations, confirm the details, mark the revisions — but the engineering judgment is applied with the county's recent history as context. A sealed set in Lee County should read as a design by someone who understands what the wind did here, because the reviewer reading it certainly does.

A structural package is ready for the PE's review — and then for the AHJ — when these items are resolved. Wind completeness and flood coordination lead the list. • AHJ confirmed by parcel: Lee County vs the municipality (Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, etc.) • Florida-licensed PE in responsible charge of the structural review • Hurricane wind design criteria, exposure category, and component/cladding pressures shown on the drawings • Continuous roof-to-foundation load path with every connection detailed and sized for calculated forces • Flood zone data, base flood elevation, and finished-floor elevation shown and coordinated • Geotechnical report with site-specific foundation recommendations for high-water-table sandy soils • Structural set coordinated with architectural and MEP backgrounds before sealing