Spanish Gold, Boxes of Avocados and Duct Tape
By George Jacklin, SEAU Board Member
I remember when I was a young engineer just out of school and older architects and/or builders seemed not to listen to me and I remember looking forward to a time when I was older and had gray hair so the architects would listen and not brush me aside when I had a good idea just because it was coming from a young inexperienced engineer. I realized that owners and developers were the ones not listening to us and they still don’t. However, now that I have gray hair, I thought I would share a few fun experiences I have had along the way.
Just after getting my professional engineering license, I was recruited to run a satellite structural engineering office in Utah for a firm out of Las Vegas. Not too many months after getting there a man came into the office and wanted us to do some more work on his house. Before I got there the office had engineered a small addition off the back of his property and now the city was requiring an inspection of the work. Eager to help I told him we would come and look at the project. The engineer that had done the work no longer worked at the office, so I went to the site. The property was cluttered with junk and the addition looked as if the owner had built it with junk from his yard. We started to document the insufficiencies in the construction and gave the required engineering fixes. Many field letters later and getting frustrated with the job and the man not just because he was not paying for the additional engineering, we made the decision to stop working on the project and the city red tagged the construction for a second time. A few weeks later the man came into the office with a young businessman. The businessman offered to pay the bills of the man and any other expenses to get the project right. During the weeks to come every time the man walked into the office he was accompanied by this young businessman. One time when the owner of the property was not around, I asked why the businessman was helping, he said when the man returns, I will have him show you. When the owner of the property returned the young businessman asked him to show me the two pieces of Spanish gold, he carried around with him. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out two gold coins that looked like they were straight off a 17th century Spanish ship. I couldn’t believe my eyes, the man put them back in his pocket and said there is more where these came from. I remember thinking to myself after they left that if getting that gold was as hard as fixing that addition it was not worth the time or the promised gold.
Another experience came when we were working with a lady that we had engineered a cabin for in California and when the project was being reviewed by the jurisdiction and even during the construction of the cabin, the jurisdiction was requiring unexpected obscure code requirements that we had not come across before. some of these requirements were not structural requirements. I can’t speak to the specifics of this job because I was not working on it specifically. However, the entire office knew about it because after time the avocado farmer couldn’t pay for the additional engineering with money the project engineer, and the owner of the company were trying to figure out a way the company could be compensated or whether it was okay to continue without being compensated. They determined that if the farmer would pay us in avocados from her farm, we would continue servicing the job. So as time passed everyone knew in the office when the avocado farmer needed help with her project because a box of avocados would show up on the doorstep followed a day or two later by a phone call. The boxes of avocados never fully paid the time our office spent on the project; however, it was a good gesture, and the office was grateful for the fruit.
Another time I was working on an upgrade of a 4-story building in Salt Lake City, and we were following the recommendations of a large structural firm out on the west coast. They had determined that the wood trusses used in the building were inadequate in bending and shear and had given the owner recommendations on how to fix them. When we got involved, we used the modifications at face value with no reason to question the larger firm. Part of the fix was to attach a steel strap to the bottom of the bottom chord of each truss to make them stronger in tension. During construction we went to make our site observations and during our visit we discovered that the nails being used to attach the steel strap to the bottom chord of the truss was causing the wood in the bottom chord to split into three pieces running down the length of the truss. When we discovered this problem 2 ½ of the 4 levels were completed and approximately ½ of all the modified trusses were compromised. We called experts and other engineers to consult, none of them had any good ideas that would fix the problem. Finally, we determined that Simpson had an epoxy that was used to fix cracks in concrete that may also work on cracks in wood. We called Simpson and asked if they could help. Their engineers came and looked at the situation, ran some tests to see if their product would work and, long story short, they determined that their product would work. So, we asked the contractor to test it out on a few trusses. We quickly got a call from the contractor that said they could not get the product to stay in the truss that it was all leaking out the bottom. We determined that we needed to create a dam to hold the product until it cured. The solution was to duct tape the bottom and sides of each of the affected trusses. The duct tape worked, and the project was able to move forward.
I tell all who will listen that there are two kinds of projects those you make money on and those that you learn things from. These three examples are projects we did not make money on; however, each has become a part of me and has taught me lessons that could not be taught in any classroom. We hope that we have more money-making jobs than the ones that we learn from. However, we should embrace the projects that we learn from, they make us who we are. My bachelor’s degree is in advertising and business, I decided to become an engineer later than most of you. Sometimes I look back and wonder if I should have not switched gears and stayed the course into a career in the business world. I think I would have been better off financially but looking back on 27+ years of working as an engineer I wouldn’t trade it for all the Spanish gold I could have. It has and will continue to be a great career that I can look back on and be proud I made the decision to become an engineer. I am grateful for those engineers that I have gotten to know over the years, and I am excited to work with more of you in the years to come. Engineering is a career that challenges us mentally and rewards us with experiences that make us better and give us value beyond money, but don’t get me wrong, money was and still is one of the reasons I stay.
George Jacklin, SE
SEAU Board Member
2024 SEAU Young Member Group Update
By Emily Williamson, YMG Committee Chair
This past year, the SEAU YMG was able to offer a series of great events that provided young engineers with opportunities to network and learn about our industry. We hosted two lectures at the universities: one about research on timber BRBs being done at the University of Utah and one about the path to licensure for structural engineers. In addition, we provided some opportunities to network at some hosted lunches throughout the valley and a tour of the North Capitol Building, which was partnered with AIA YAF.
Looking forward to the coming year, we are excited to continue to host similar events to continue to provide opportunities for learning and networking. We are planning on continuing the lecture series at the universities as well as looking into hosting more partnered events that allow the YMG to strengthen their networks within the broader building industry community.
If you are a current student or a practicing engineer with less than 6 years of experience, we encourage you to join the SEAU Young Member Group. To be a part of the mailing list, please e-mail us at [email protected] or visit our webpage at www.sites.google.com/view/seau-ymg. As a member of the Young Member Group, you will have the opportunity to expand your technical & practical knowledge through free educational events, expand your network by interacting with peers and gain valuable skills to help you excel and thrive.
Emily Williamson, PhD
SEAU Young Member Group Committee Chair
