Structural Concrete Design Services

Foundations, retaining walls, elevated slabs, concrete tanks, and reinforced concrete framing. Engineered for the soil conditions, load demands, and code requirements of the Texas Panhandle.

Square Engineering provides structural concrete design services for foundations, retaining walls, elevated slabs, concrete tanks, and reinforced concrete framing, serving industrial, commercial, municipal, and residential clients across Amarillo, TX and the Texas Panhandle. Every engagement is led personally by Shannon Schneider, P.E., a licensed structural engineer with over 20 years of experience in concrete design for demanding applications.

Every concrete design engagement at Square Engineering begins with a complete load analysis, gravity loads, lateral forces, and any site-specific conditions including soil bearing capacity, hydrostatic pressure for below-grade elements, and process or equipment loads for industrial applications. Member sizing, reinforcement design, and structural detailing are developed in compliance with ACI 318 (Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete), the International Building Code, and applicable local amendments. Every design addresses constructability and long-term durability, not just minimum code compliance.

Square Engineering’s concrete design experience spans new construction, structural rehabilitation, and infrastructure improvement projects across commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential sectors. Construction-phase support, shop drawing reviews, RFI responses, and field coordination, is a standard part of every engagement. The engineer who designed the structure is the same engineer clients reach when a question comes up during construction.

For existing structures, Square Engineering provides structural evaluation, rehabilitation design, and upgrade engineering for concrete buildings, foundations, and infrastructure that have experienced deterioration, settlement, damage, or a change in loading conditions. Whether the issue is reinforcement corrosion, foundation movement, concrete cracking, or a facility expansion that requires the existing structure to carry additional load, Square Engineering can assess the condition, identify the cause, and engineer the right solution.

Structural concrete design in the Texas Panhandle requires attention to regional conditions that differ significantly from other parts of the state. The area’s expansive clay soils, which shrink and swell with seasonal moisture changes, can exert significant lateral and uplift forces on foundations and below-grade concrete elements. Combined with the Panhandle’s high sustained wind loads and temperature swings, these conditions make foundation design and concrete detailing decisions more consequential here than in many other regions. Square Engineering’s foundation designs account for local soil behavior, prevailing wind exposure categories under ASCE 7, and the long-term durability requirements that Panhandle conditions demand.

Structural Concrete Design for Industrial, Commercial, Municipal, and Residential Projects

Concrete structures are as varied as the clients who need them. Square Engineering's concrete design experience covers residential foundations, industrial process tanks, municipal retaining structures, and everything in between.

Industrial reinforced concrete rebar mat

Foundations, Residential, Commercial & Industrial

Foundation design is the most common concrete engagement for clients across all sectors. Square Engineering designs spread footings, continuous wall footings, mat foundations, and drilled pier systems for new construction, and evaluates and redesigns foundations for additions, equipment loads, and soil-related distress. Every foundation design accounts for site-specific soil conditions, applied loads, and applicable code requirements including the soil behavior characteristics common to the Texas Panhandle.

Industrial structural steel facility against blue sky

Retaining Walls

Structural retaining walls for commercial sites, industrial facilities, infrastructure improvements, and residential properties require design for lateral earth pressure, hydrostatic conditions, surcharge loads, and seismic forces where applicable. Square Engineering designs cast-in-place reinforced concrete retaining walls at all scales.

Elevated Concrete Slabs & Floor Systems

Elevated concrete slab systems for manufacturing facilities, warehouses, parking structures, and commercial buildings carry complex combinations of dead loads, live loads, and concentrated equipment loads. Square Engineering designs elevated slab systems with attention to deflection limits, vibration criteria, and punching shear at column supports, and coordinates with the structural frame design to ensure slab and framing work as a unified system.

Concrete tanks at a water treatment plant

Concrete Tanks & Process Structures

Concrete tanks for water storage, process industries, and industrial applications require design for fluid pressure, thermal conditions, chemical exposure, and long-term watertightness. Square Engineering designs reinforced concrete tanks and containment structures for industrial and infrastructure applications, with attention to the specific loading conditions, exposure classes, and durability requirements of each service environment.

Factory warehouse with steel and concrete structure

Reinforced Concrete Framing

Reinforced concrete framing systems for commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutional structures require integrated design of beams, columns, slabs, and connections to create a complete, code-compliant structural system. Square Engineering designs reinforced concrete framing from preliminary member sizing through final construction documentation.

Deteriorating concrete with visible cracking

Structural Rehabilitation & Concrete Repairs

Existing concrete structures that have experienced cracking, settlement, reinforcement corrosion, or deterioration from environmental exposure require engineering-based rehabilitation design rather than cosmetic repair. Square Engineering evaluates existing concrete structures, identifies the cause and extent of distress, and designs repair and rehabilitation strategies that address the root cause, not just the visible symptoms.

What Square Engineering Delivers on a Concrete Design Engagement

3D line illustration of a concrete structural building

Structural Concrete Drawing Set

Square Engineering provides complete reinforced concrete drawings including foundation plans, slab plans, framing plans, sections, and details, produced for permit submission and contractor use.

Structural Calculations

Full load analysis, member sizing, and reinforcement design calculations sealed by Shannon Schneider, P.E.

Construction-Phase Support

Shop drawing reviews, RFI responses, and field coordination during construction. Included as a standard part of every engagement.

Geotechnical Coordination

We review available geotechnical reports and coordinate foundation design with site-specific soil bearing and expansion data. Geotechnical investigation, if required, is procured by the client or coordinated with a geotechnical subconsultant.

Code Compliance Documentation

Design in accordance with ACI 318, IBC, and applicable local amendments, documentation suitable for permit submission.

Reinforcement Schedules & Details

Complete bar schedules, lap splice requirements, hook details, and development length specifications.

Structural Concrete Design for the Texas Panhandle

Shannon Schneider, P.E. provides direct, senior-level structural concrete engineering for projects across Amarillo, West Texas, and multiple states. Whether you are designing a new facility, evaluating a foundation, or planning a structural rehabilitation, contact us for a free consultation.

Structural Concrete Engineering That Accounts for the Conditions of the Texas Panhandle

Foundation design, retaining walls, and reinforced concrete structures in Amarillo and the surrounding region face soil and climate conditions that demand more than minimum code compliance. Square Engineering designs to those conditions, not around them.

Shannon Schneider, P.E. personally leads every concrete design engagement at Square Engineering, running load calculations, sizing reinforcement, and stamping every drawing that leaves the office. The engineer whose license is on the documents is the engineer who produced them.

Foundation and concrete design in the Texas Panhandle requires specific knowledge of the region’s expansive clay soils, high wind exposure, and temperature cycling. Square Engineering’s designs account for these conditions as a matter of standard practice, not as an afterthought.

Shannon remains directly available for shop drawing reviews, RFI responses, and field coordination throughout the construction phase. For concrete work where pour sequencing and reinforcement placement decisions have to be made in real time, having the structural engineer reachable matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Square Engineering help with concrete rehabilitation or structural upgrades?

Yes — and this is actually the majority of Square Engineering's concrete work. Most of Shannon's concrete engagements are rehabilitation or renovation projects rather than new construction. She is experienced in working with existing foundations and structures, finding ways to use what is already there rather than replacing it entirely.

Can Square Engineering provide construction support during a concrete project?

Yes. Square Engineering provides shop drawing reviews, RFI responses, and field coordination during construction as a standard part of every concrete engagement. Shannon also works closely with batch plant operations to ensure concrete mix designs meet the structural requirements of the project.

Does Square Engineering design concrete foundations?

Yes. Foundation design is a core part of Square Engineering's concrete services, covering residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Shannon designs spread footings, continuous footings, and mat foundations accounting for site-specific soil conditions, applied loads, and applicable code requirements. For supplemental foundations added to existing structures — a common need in industrial facility modifications — Square Engineering is experienced in designing new foundations that integrate with what is already in place.

Does Square Engineering design retaining walls?

Yes. Square Engineering designs cast-in-place reinforced concrete retaining walls for commercial, industrial, residential, and infrastructure applications. Designs address lateral earth pressure, hydrostatic conditions, surcharge loads, and applicable code requirements.

What codes and standards apply to Square Engineering's concrete designs?

Square Engineering's structural concrete designs comply with ACI 318 (Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete), the International Building Code, and applicable local amendments. Shannon is a member of ACI.

What factors affect structural concrete foundation design in the Texas Panhandle?

Foundation design in the Texas Panhandle requires attention to clay and soil distribution, caliche, high wind zones, seismic zone classification, and site classification. Expansive clay soils that shrink and swell with moisture changes, combined with the region's high sustained wind loads, make foundation and concrete detailing decisions more consequential here than in many other regions. Shannon accounts for these site-specific conditions on every Panhandle foundation project.

What types of concrete structures does Square Engineering design?

Square Engineering designs foundations, retaining walls, elevated slabs, concrete containments, concrete tanks, reinforced concrete framing, and precast and cast-in-place concrete systems for commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential applications. The majority of Shannon's concrete work involves rehabilitation, renovation, and structural upgrades to existing structures.