Drainage & grading
How stormwater moves across and off the site, and how the land is shaped to carry it, so PR's rain works with the build instead of pooling against it.
slope · drenaje · rasanteCivil engineering in Puerto Rico
No signature, no permit. No permit, no project.
Hiring a civil engineer here is not a formality. Under Ley 173-1988, only a CIAPR-registered engineer can sign and seal civil drawings, and that seal is the gate your permit passes through.
Sign. Seal. Build.
No-obligation project review. We reply within one business day, in writing.
Already built a muro de contencion without an engineer? Start there.
How it works
Civil engineering is the site, calculated before it is built.
- Scope. A short, no-obligation call to understand the site, your plan to build, subdivide, or improve, and the use you are permitting for.
- Engineer the site. Drainage, grading, slope, and retaining structures designed for Puerto Rico's water and soil, so the site works with the land rather than against your build.
- Sign and seal. The civil drawings your permit requires, signed and sealed by a CIAPR-registered engineer under Ley 173-1988. That seal is the gate.
- Coordinate the submittal. We sequence the civil package into the OGPe permit track so one approval does not reset another.
What the work measures against
Ley 173-1988 (CIAPR sign and seal authority)
The statute that reserves the signing and sealing of civil drawings to a CIAPR-registered engineer. The legal basis for why the seal is non-negotiable.
Reglamento Conjunto (the unified permit code)
Puerto Rico's unified permit regulation (Ley 161-2009), administered through OGPe (Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos). The track your sealed civil package has to clear.
2018 Puerto Rico Building Code
The governing code, which adopts the International Building Code (IBC). The benchmark for what sound site and structural work means on this island.
Geotechnical and drainage standards
Soil-bearing, lateral earth pressure, and stormwater behavior. The inputs a retaining wall or a grading plan has to be calculated against, not assumed from.
ICP heritage review (Ley 89-1955)
When a site sits in or near a historic zone, the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña review runs in parallel with the permit and can reset the timeline if it is found late.
What we engineer
The site, the drainage, and the walls that hold the land.
Site, grading, drainage, and retaining structures engineered so the site works with Puerto Rico's water and soil, and signed for the permit.
Retaining structures
Retaining walls sized and detailed for the soil, slope, and lateral earth pressure they actually carry, calculated before they are built, not after.
muro de contención · muro de retenciónSite & geotech
How the land, the soil, and the water behave together, and the geotechnical inputs the design has to answer to before the first cut is made.
soil · suelo · geotecniaSigned & sealed drawings
The civil package the permit requires, signed and sealed by a CIAPR-registered engineer under Ley 173-1988. The seal is the gate your project passes through.
Ley 173-1988 · firma y selloWhat a site read surfaces
The conditions that decide whether the site holds.
The site conditions a licensed civil read brings to the surface before they decide the project for you.
Water with nowhere to go
Drainage that was never designed sends stormwater toward the structure, the slope, or the neighbor. On this island, that is the difference between a dry site and a recurring failure. The read tells you where the water actually goes.
A wall built before it was calculated
A retaining wall put in first and engineered second carries earth pressure it was never sized for. The read tells you whether what is there holds, or whether the slope is already deciding against it.
Soil and slope working against the build
Grading and bearing assumptions that were never checked against the real soil are where rework hides. The read tells you whether the ground supports the plan before you commit to it.
Built a wall without an engineer?
A wall built first and calculated second inverts the right order.
It happens constantly: the muro de contencion goes in, and the calculation never does. The wall holds back real soil under real lateral pressure, and no one has checked whether the section, the reinforcement, and the drainage can carry it. We assess what is there and tell you straight whether it holds, before the slope decides for you.
From the mainland this is straightforward. You send a photo and the height the wall holds back, we coordinate the site visit here in Puerto Rico, and you get the finding in writing wherever you are. You never have to be on the island for us to tell you whether it holds.
Worried about a wall already in the ground? Send a photo and the height it holds back; we will tell you whether it needs a closer look.
Who stands behind it
One licensed seal, signed.
Your civil drawings are not a committee opinion. They are the work of one accountable Puerto Rico engineer who signs and seals within his scope under Ley 173-1988, so the document holds up where the permit and the project depend on it.
The accountable engineer
Every civil drawing in your package is one I will put my seal to. That is the difference between a sketch and accountable engineering.
Edgardo L. Santiago Martínez, PE Chief Engineering Officer · PE Lic. #12474, CIAPR FAQ
Questions before you build.
Still deciding, or sitting on a wall you are not sure about? Ask us directly, no obligation, and you hear back within one business day.
Why does a civil project need a licensed engineer's seal?
Under Ley 173-1988, only a CIAPR-registered engineer can sign and seal civil drawings in Puerto Rico. Without that seal there is no permit, and without the permit there is no project. The seal is the gate your work passes through.
What does a civil engineer handle on a property?
Drainage, grading, slope and retaining structures, and how the site works with Puerto Rico's water and soil. Done early, it keeps the build moving; done late, it forces rework.
I want to build a retaining wall. Where do I start?
With the calculation, not the wall. A muro de contencion built first and engineered second is the common, costly inversion. We size and detail it for the soil and slope before it goes in, and we seal the drawing your permit needs.
When does a retaining wall actually need an engineer?
Sooner than most people expect. Once a muro de contencion or muro de retencion holds back any real height of soil, or sits near a structure, a slope, or a property line, it carries lateral earth pressure that has to be calculated. We tell you whether what you have, or what you are planning, holds.
Do you do geotechnical work?
We engineer the site and drainage and coordinate the geotechnical inputs a project needs, then sign and seal the civil drawings the permit requires. Where a soils study is warranted, we scope it and read it against the design.
Is a survey the same as civil engineering?
No. A survey (mensura) establishes where the property lines are. Civil engineering designs how the site is built and drained. Both matter, and they are separate scopes. Our guide on cadastre, survey and title covers the records side.
Can you work with me remotely?
Yes. The site work happens on the ground here in Puerto Rico; we coordinate and deliver to you wherever you are. Most of our clients are buying, building, or relocating from the mainland.
Engineer the site before the slope decides for you.
Related services
Where civil engineering connects.
Permitting Permitting and code compliance
The sign and seal feeds the permit. See how we sequence the OGPe and Reglamento Conjunto track before you submit.
Documentation Drone survey-grade mappingDrone documentation and topography that feed the civil and geotechnical read of a site you cannot safely walk in full.
Structure Structural engineeringWhen the site meets the building, the structural engineering read carries the same accountable seal.
Systems MEP engineeringMechanical, electrical, and plumbing coordinated under one lead once the site and structure are set.
Buying or subdividing? Our guide on cadastre, survey and title covers the records side that civil engineering builds on.
Start the civil scope
Tell us about the site.
A few details and your timeline. We reply within one business day, in writing, with next steps.
Direct channels
Other ways to reach us
One-business-day response standard. Reach us by any channel and you hear back within one business day, every time.
Not sure of the scope yet?
Even a photo and the basics of the site help. The fastest answer is a short, no-obligation call.