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ProStruct Engineering service highlights

Types of Outdoor Living Spaces in Florida

Florida's climate makes outdoor living part of everyday life, and a well-designed deck, lanai, or covered patio adds usable living space and property value. Because these structures are exposed to hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, and coastal salt air, they need proper engineering to stay safe and pass permit review.

Our structural engineers perform load calculations and create structural plans and permit sets for decks, patios, porches, lanais, pergolas, and gazebos across Florida, all designed to the Florida Building Code.

Decks

Raised platforms for outdoor living and dining, attached to your home or freestanding. We design the joists, beams, posts, footings, and ledger connections, using pressure-treated lumber and corrosion-resistant hardware suited to Florida's humidity.

Covered Patios

Ground-level concrete, paver, or stone patios, often with a solid roof cover attached to the house. We engineer the roof framing, beams, and wind uplift connections that anchor the cover to your home and footings.

Porches

Covered entry and front porches that add curb appeal and shaded living space. We size the beams, columns, and footings, and design the roof tie-in to your existing structure for hurricane resistance.

Lanais

A Florida favorite: a covered outdoor room, often next to the pool, that extends your living space year-round. We design lanai roof framing, beams, and columns, and their connection to the main house, to resist Florida wind loads.

Pergolas & Gazebos

Open-frame pergolas and freestanding gazebos that create shaded outdoor spaces. Their lightweight structure makes anchorage and uplift resistance critical, so we design the posts, footings, and connections to stay secure in high winds.

Screen Enclosures & Pool Cages

Screened lanais and pool enclosures keep out insects while preserving the view. We provide the structural engineering for the frame, the foundation and deck anchorage, and the attachment to your home, designed for Florida's wind speeds.

What We Do?

Our skilled structural engineers can provide the following services for your Deck, Patio, or Porch project:

Structural Site
Inspections

Structural
Calculations

Structural
Plans

Structural Permit
Sets

Construction
Administration

Structural Site Inspections

Our engineers visit your site to assess conditions that affect the structural design of your home, addition, ADU, deck, or retaining wall, including soil, drainage, existing framing, and flood zone exposure.

Structural Calculations

We perform load calculations to determine how your structure will resist hurricane-force winds, wind uplift, and gravity loads under the Florida Building Code. These calculations set the size and connections of beams, columns, load-bearing walls, and foundations, including projects in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) in Miami-Dade and Broward.

Structural Plans

Based on the calculation results, our engineers prepare structural plans for your framing, foundation, and roof systems, with the tie-down and connection details Florida building officials expect.

Structural Permit Sets

Each permit-ready package includes detailed drawings, specifications, calculations, and supporting documentation, signed and sealed, and formatted for submission to your city or county building department to obtain a building permit.

Construction Administration

We provide construction administration support throughout your build by responding to Requests for Information (RFIs), performing submittal reviews, addressing substitution requests, and conducting structural observations. This keeps construction aligned with the approved plans and the Florida Building Code, and helps resolve unforeseen structural issues quickly.

How It Works: Its Fast, Easy & Convenient.

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