Civil Engineering Services
Civil engineer services for permits: grading, drainage, stormwater, erosion control and site plans sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer. Fixed fee from $599, typically 48 to 72 hours.
- Licensed PE in your state
- One fixed fee in writing
- Revisions until approved
- Quote usually within the hour
Prefer to talk?(737) 409-9610contact@residentialpe.com
- From $599
- One fixed fee, quoted before work starts
- 48 to 72 hours
- Typical turnaround for simple scopes
- Sealed for your state
- By an engineer licensed where you build
- Revisions included
- Until your permit is approved
Our civil engineering services cover the part of the permit that deals with the land: how water moves across it, how the ground is shaped, and how the building sits on the lot. We prepare and seal the grading, drainage, stormwater and site sheets that residential and light commercial permits ask for, online and for a fixed fee.
Civil engineering services we provide
- Grading and drainage plans: existing and proposed contours, spot elevations, swales and flow arrows (see our guide to grading and drainage plans)
- Stormwater management: runoff calculations, detention and infiltration sizing, dry wells, rain gardens and outlet details
- Erosion and sediment control: silt fence, inlet protection, construction entrances, stabilization notes and sequencing
- Site and plot plans: setbacks, lot coverage, easements, driveways and parking (see site plans for permits)
- Driveways and access: profiles, slopes, culverts and apron details to city or county standards
- Utility connections: water, sewer and septic tie-in layouts coordinated with the structure
- Earthwork: cut and fill quantities and balance
- Flood zone work: base flood elevation, freeboard and floodplain notes on the site plan
What you receive
- Sealed and signed civil sheets, scaled and dimensioned for submission
- Drainage and runoff calculations, or a stormwater report where the jurisdiction requires one
- Details and notes matching your city or county standard specifications
- Plan review responses and revisions until the permit is issued
Not sure what your permit needs?Send what you have. An engineer replies with scope and a fixed price, usually within the hour.
Get a free quoteChat with an engineerWhen a permit needs civil engineering
Many small residential permits only need a simple plot plan. Counties and cities start asking for engineered civil sheets when a project changes how water leaves the lot or disturbs enough ground. Common triggers:
- A new house, large addition, ADU or new driveway that adds impervious area
- Sloped or hillside lots, retaining walls and significant cut or fill
- Land disturbance above the local threshold, which brings erosion control and stormwater rules into play
- Lots in a mapped flood zone, which you can check on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center
- Drainage complaints from neighbors, or a comment letter asking for a grading plan
- Lot splits, small subdivisions and commercial site work
Larger disturbed areas can also fall under state and federal construction stormwater permitting, described by the EPA. We tell you early which rules apply to your site so there are no surprises at review.
What we need from you
- A survey if you have one: boundary, topographic or ALTA
- The parcel number or address so we can pull the zoning and the local standards
- Your proposed footprint, or the architectural plan if it exists
- Any comment letter the county or city has already sent you
If no survey exists, we will tell you whether one is required or whether the county will accept a plan drawn from the recorded plat and GIS data. That single answer often saves a few weeks and a surveyor’s fee.
How our civil engineering services work
- Send the survey, sketch or parcel number with the city or county and what you plan to build.
- Get a fixed quote with scope, price and a delivery date in writing, usually within the hour.
- Design and calculations. We set grades, size drainage and stormwater measures, and draw to local standards.
- Seal and deliver a PDF set and any required report, ready to submit.
- Permit support. We answer review comments and revise at no extra cost until the permit is issued.
Turnaround and price
Civil sheets are quoted as one fixed fee before work starts, from $599 for straightforward residential scopes, typically delivered in 48 to 72 hours once we have the survey or base information. Stormwater-heavy and subdivision work is scheduled with a firm date. Compare tiers on the pricing page.
One team for site and structure
Retaining walls, foundations on sloped lots and utility routes cross the line between disciplines. We can deliver your civil sheets together with structural engineering, retaining wall design and MEP drawings under one scope and one fee, with the sheets coordinated before they are sealed.
How a grading plan keeps water away from your house
Water is the most common cause of foundation problems, wet basements and neighbor disputes. A grading plan controls where it goes. It shows the existing ground elevations, the proposed finished grades and the direction water will flow, with enough slope away from the building to carry it off quickly. The residential code requires the ground to fall away from foundations for a set distance, and many jurisdictions add their own rules for how close to a property line you can change grades or point drainage.
The engineer sets the finished floor elevation, the grades around the house, swales that carry water around the building, and the points where water leaves the lot. Where the lot is flat or water has nowhere to go, the plan adds area drains, catch basins, dry wells or a connection to the street storm system. Spot elevations and flow arrows on the plan let the contractor build it and the inspector check it.
Stormwater: why new hard surfaces trigger extra rules
Roofs, driveways and patios do not absorb rain. When a project adds impervious area, more water runs off faster, and many cities and counties require that the added runoff be managed on site. Thresholds vary: some trigger requirements at a few hundred square feet of new impervious surface, others only for larger projects. The engineer calculates the runoff before and after the project and sizes the measures to hold, slow or infiltrate the difference.
- Dry wells and infiltration trenches soak water into the ground where soils allow it.
- Detention holds water in a tank, pipe or basin and releases it slowly through a controlled outlet.
- Rain gardens and bioswales treat and absorb runoff in planted areas, and some jurisdictions prefer them.
- Permeable pavers reduce the impervious area itself when the soil below can drain.
Soil conditions decide which option works. Clay drains slowly, so infiltration may not be allowed, while sandy soils can accept more water. A simple infiltration test, or the county soil data for small projects, gives the engineer the number needed to size the system.
Erosion and sediment control during construction
When soil is disturbed, rain carries it into streets, storm drains and streams. Most jurisdictions require an erosion and sediment control plan once the disturbed area passes a local threshold, and larger sites can fall under state and federal construction stormwater permits. The plan shows silt fence or compost socks along the low side of the work, inlet protection on nearby drains, a stabilized construction entrance so trucks do not track mud, stockpile locations and the seeding or mulching that stabilizes the ground when work is done.
These measures are inexpensive compared with a stop-work order, and inspectors check them early. A clear sheet with standard details and a short sequence of construction makes the inspection simple.
Driveways, utilities and access
Site work often includes the connection to the street. Driveway aprons, culverts under rural driveways and sidewalk crossings are built to city or county standards, and the drawings reference those standard details. Driveway profiles are checked so cars do not scrape at the curb or the garage, and so water from the street does not flow down the driveway into the garage.
Utility plans show how water, sewer or septic, gas and electric reach the building. For a new house or ADU, the plan confirms that service lines can reach the tie-in points with the right depth and slope, that sewer laterals have enough fall, and that utilities keep their required separations from each other and from wells or septic fields.
What a civil engineer needs from you
Civil design starts from the ground. A topographic survey gives the best base, and for new homes and larger additions the jurisdiction usually requires one. For smaller projects we can sometimes work from a boundary survey, the recorded plat and county GIS data, and we tell you before you pay whether that will be accepted. Send the parcel number or address, the proposed footprint and any comment letter from the county, and the engineer replies with the scope, the price and the delivery date.
Septic systems, wells and rural lots
Outside city sewer service, a new house, an addition with bedrooms or an ADU usually needs a septic system sized for the number of bedrooms. The design starts with a soil evaluation or percolation test, which tells the designer how fast the ground absorbs water. From that rate, the drain field is sized, and the site plan shows the tank, the field, the reserve area some counties require, and the setbacks to wells, property lines, buildings and water bodies. In many states septic design is reviewed by the county health department rather than the building department, and the two approvals run in parallel.
Private wells bring their own setbacks. A site plan that places the house, driveway, septic field and well in one coordinated drawing avoids the common surprise of a drain field that no longer fits once the driveway is drawn.
Flood zones and elevation requirements
If any part of the lot sits in a mapped flood hazard area, the local floodplain rules apply on top of the building code. They usually set a minimum elevation for the lowest floor, often the base flood elevation plus a freeboard, and they control fill, foundation type and the materials used below that elevation. Substantial improvement rules can require an existing house to be brought into compliance when the cost of the work passes a set share of the building’s value.
The site plan shows the flood zone boundary, the base flood elevation and the proposed floor elevations, and the engineer coordinates with the surveyor’s elevation certificate. Getting this right at design stage matters, because a floor set a few inches too low can stop a certificate of occupancy and raise flood insurance for the life of the building.
Lot splits, small subdivisions and commercial sites
Dividing a lot or developing a small commercial site raises the civil scope. Each new lot needs access, utilities, drainage and, in many places, its own stormwater plan. Commercial sites add parking layouts, accessible routes from the parking to the entrance, fire truck access, trash enclosures and landscaping islands that also carry stormwater. The engineer works from the zoning code and the local standards manual, and the drawings are organized so each reviewing department, from planning to fire to public works, can find its part quickly.
How civil and structural work fit together
Retaining walls, foundations on slopes and utility trenches near footings sit right on the line between civil and structural engineering. When one team prepares both sets, the grading plan, the wall design and the foundation design use the same elevations and the same assumptions. That avoids the expensive case where a wall is designed for a grade that the site plan changed, or a footing is set too shallow because the finished grade dropped.
Civil engineering services for new homes
A new home on an empty lot usually needs the most civil work: a grading plan that sets the house elevation, a drainage plan, utility connections, a driveway profile, erosion control during construction and, in many places, stormwater management for the new roof and paving. Doing this design before the architectural plans are final helps set the house at the right height, avoids expensive retaining walls and keeps water away from the foundation from day one.
Sample sheets from recent permit sets
References: ICC building codes · NCEES state licensing boards
Civil engineer services: common questions
Do you do the land survey as well?
No. Surveying is a separate license and has to be performed on site. We work from your surveyor’s drawing, and we can tell you exactly what to order so you are not paying for more than the permit needs.
My county wants a stormwater report. Can you produce it?
Yes. Runoff calculations, sizing and the written report are part of the civil scope where the jurisdiction requires them.
Are civil engineering services needed for a small addition?
Often not. If the addition adds little impervious area on a flat lot, a plot plan may be enough. Send the project and we will tell you before you pay.
Can civil and structural come from the same team?
Yes, and it is usually cheaper and faster. One scope, one fee, coordinated sheets.
Can you trust an online engineering service? Here is how to check us.
Everything below can be verified before you pay anything. Ask us about any of it on chat.
Check the engineer’s license yourself
Every set is sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the state where you build. The name and license number on the seal can be looked up on your state licensing board’s website.
Know the price before anything starts
You get the scope, one fixed fee and the delivery date in writing. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
Covered until your permit is approved
If plan review sends comments, the engineer answers them and revises the drawings at no extra charge.
Talk to the team directly
Live chat, phone or email, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You reach the people working on your project, not a call center.
Your plans and payments stay private
Your files are used only for your project. Payments go through PCI-DSS compliant processors, so card details never reach our servers.
A registered US company
Residential PE is operated by Site Planers LLC, a US-registered company. Our terms and privacy policy are published in full.
Or reach us directly:(737) 409-9610contact@residentialpe.com
Get a fixed price for your civil and site plans.
Send plans, photos, a survey or a sketch. A licensed engineer replies with scope, price and a delivery date, usually within the hour, seven days a week.
Request your free quote
- Free quote, no obligation
- One fixed fee in writing before any work starts
- Your drawings stay confidential
Other engineering we handle for permits
Structural engineering
Beams, framing, foundations and lateral design, calculated and sealed.
Review and PE stamp
Already have drawings? An engineer checks them to code and seals them.
MEP engineering
HVAC, electrical and plumbing plans with load calculations.
Load bearing wall removal
Beam, post and footing design with the letter your inspector wants.
Site plans for permits
Scaled plot plans with setbacks, coverage and easements.
Retaining wall engineering
Wall design with stability calculations and drainage details.