B*tch, no you didn't...

Having enough money to buy yourself a building does not somehow make you a structural engineer. A contractor is not a structural engineer. An architect is not a structural engineer.

Therefore, why are these people being consulted about footing designs?

And when I suggest that I should be talking to these people before decisions get made since it seems like they are getting made without us and you get angry about it and want to start a fight with me, that tells me that you have a guilty conscience because why would you object to that.

Why are structural engineers always the "bad guys." Why is everyone always upset at us when we tell them "no, you can't have a steel column just sitting on top of a slab" or "no, you have to have a thicker roof because we have this thing called 'snow' in the northeast" or "no, you need a column here unless you can somehow levitate the second floor above the ground floor." Is it because we're the one's responsible for the building if something happens to it? MAYBE THAT'S WHY! You aren't the one's that will get sued by the state or have to pay for a full site investigation or, better yet, get your license revoked if something happens to that building. Maybe that's why we're just a tad defensive about things an shoot down your pretty little ideas.

I don't really like sacrificing building integrity just because it will save you a couple hundred dollars. Sorry, I don't answer to you, I answer to the laws of physics and my boss that signs not only the building design drawings (and is even stricter than me because he pays the insurance on that stamp), but my paycheck as well.