Under the NC Residential Code, a Professional Engineer's stamp is required whenever a design falls outside prescriptive code tables or alters the load path: load-bearing wall removal, engineered beams beyond span tables, non-conventional foundations, retaining walls over 4 feet, additions on existing structures, and any repair to a structural element. Prescriptive one-story additions built exactly to code tables can sometimes skip the stamp; anything custom cannot.
Under the NC Residential Code, a Professional Engineer's stamp is required whenever a design falls outside prescriptive code tables or alters the load path: load-bearing wall removal, engineered beams beyond span tables, non-conventional foundations, retaining walls over 4 feet, additions on existing structures, and any repair to a structural element. Prescriptive one-story additions built exactly to code tables can sometimes skip the stamp; anything custom cannot.
The NC Residential Code publishes span tables and prescriptive details a contractor can build to without an engineer. When a beam span, header, joist, or wall configuration exceeds those tables (which is common on any home with cathedral ceilings, open floor plans, or additions), the design becomes 'engineered' and needs a PE stamp.
Foundation repairs and any change to an existing structural element also fall outside prescriptive scope by default and require a stamp.
Removing a wall between a kitchen and living room, replacing rotted sill plates or floor joists, installing helical or push piers, adding a screened porch or sunroom, building a retaining wall over 4 feet tall, and converting an attic or basement to living space all require PE-stamped plans in Wake, Durham, and Orange counties.