The structural engineering of historic buildings is often focused on retrofitting these structures with life-saving alterations such as fire safety equipment and earthquake proof systems. Historic buildings are often built soundly, but due to the age of the building materials, the structure may be unstable or unsafe in the event of a fire or earthquake.

Most historic buildings are exempt from the newer federal building codes, but if the building owner wishes to change the use of the historic building, such as opening it up to public access or running a business from inside the historic building, certain building code requirements must be fulfilled. This most often results in calling in a structural engineer or architect to assist with the retrofitting or alteration of the historic building.

Structural design and residential construction are common tasks for the building contractor. A contractor, architect, structural engineer, or the consumer may take part in the structural design process. Residential construction is a complicated process, and many consumers and professionals turn to a structural analysis software program to assist with the structural design process.

Structural analysis software programs assist the purchaser with a wide variety of building design applications. Beam design, footing design, and column design are all included in quality structural analysis software.