Areas served · Missouri
Forensic Engineering in St. Louis
In and around St. Louis
What we investigate in St. Louis
Water and old masonry drive most of the St. Louis losses we evaluate. The Great Flood of 1993 held the Mississippi above flood stage for months, and July 2022 dropped a summer's worth of rain in hours. We document what failed on the dense pre-1940 brick stock, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours with no travel charges.
The conditions we see in St. Louis
The rivers set the terms here. The Great Flood of 1993 held the Mississippi above flood stage at St. Louis for close to three months and crested at 49.58 feet, the record for the gauge. Flash flooding is the newer face of the same hazard: on July 26, 2022 the metro took record rainfall in hours, over nine inches in places, and streets, basements, and river-bottom districts filled faster than drainage could carry it.
The building stock is the city's other defining condition. A masonry ordinance after the 1849 Great Fire pushed whole neighborhoods, Soulard, Shaw, Tower Grove, and the Central West End, into brick and stone laid with soft lime mortar, most of it built before 1940. That older masonry cracks, bows, and sheds mortar differently than modern framing, and it sits alongside mid-century frame housing, river-bottom warehouses, and newer suburban construction across St. Louis County.
How we help in St. Louis
The evaluations St. Louis cases usually call for
- Foundation and masonry evaluation
A cracked brick wall, a bowing party wall, or a heaved slab in this pre-1940 stock can trace to flood saturation, soil movement, lime-mortar deterioration, or a construction defect, and historic masonry fails differently than modern framing. Our licensed engineers read the structure and the site conditions together and document which one caused the damage.
Our structural engineering services- Flood and water loss investigation
After a river flood or a flash-flood event like July 2022, we determine whether the damage came from floodwater, wind-driven rain, or a condition that predated the event. That distinction decides the claim, so we ground each finding in the physical evidence at the property rather than assumption.
Our forensic engineering services- Hail and storm damage
We evaluate hail and wind damage across St. Louis, separating fresh storm damage from wear, prior repairs, and conditions that predated the storm.
Our hail damage services in St. Louis
Fire origin & cause
Fire origin and cause in St. Louis
St. Louis concentrates much of its fire risk in the dense pre-1940 brick housing that the 1849 fire ordinance built. Those buildings carry aged wiring, legacy heating systems that run all through the cold season, and concealed voids and shared party walls that let a fire travel between units. Add the older commercial and warehouse occupancies in the river-bottom districts, and the cause of a loss is rarely obvious in the debris, yet it drives the claim.
Our NAFI-certified investigators apply NFPA 921. They work the scene methodically, trace the burn and char patterns back to the area of origin, evaluate the electrical, heating, and mechanical systems, and rule out causes until the evidence supports one, accidental or incendiary. Bringing an investigator in early preserves evidence that overhaul and weather erase, and the same engineer documents the finding and testifies to it at deposition and trial.
Fires we investigate
- Residential and commercial fires
- Historic and older-building fires
- Electrical and aged-wiring fires
- Industrial and warehouse fires
- Vehicle fires
Common questions
Forensic engineering in St. Louis, Missouri
A different question about your case? An engineer, not a call center, answers within 24 hours.
Is masonry cracking in a St. Louis rowhouse structural or cosmetic?
It can be either. Soft lime mortar sheds and brick faces spall with age, but bowing walls, stepped cracks, and separated party walls can signal foundation movement or flood saturation underneath. We evaluate the crack pattern and the site conditions to determine the cause rather than assume it.
Can you assess flood damage after the water recedes?
Yes. Much of the structural evidence remains after a river or flash flood, and we evaluate the foundation, framing, masonry, and finishes to document what the water caused versus what predated it.
Do you charge travel to reach St. Louis?
No. We work St. Louis-area cases from our Omaha lab and Los Angeles office with no travel charges, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours.
Have a loss that needs answers?
Tell us what happened. An engineer, not a call center, will review your case.