Specialties: Building Envelope, Structural, Waterproofing

Sonja Hinish has experience in a variety of practice areas including structural failure and damage investigation; bridge inspection and repair; structural analysis; and the assessment, repair, and rehabilitation of both contemporary and historic structures.

Ms. Hinish has expertise in the repair and evaluation of existing concrete structures including parking garage assessment, facade assessment, failure investigation, and materials evaluation and testing. She has been involved in many investigations related to concrete distress and is familiar with multiple surface treatment options including concrete overlays, polymer concrete overlays, and membranes. She has developed and overseen repairs to address a variety of construction-related defects including the use of specialized repair materials and techniques to address voiding within concrete walls and slabs. She has also performed direct tensile bond strength testing to evaluate installed repairs.

Her experience includes performing structural analyses and designing repairs for steel structures. On one particular project she analyzed hundreds of existing steel joists during a shopping mall renovation and designed and provided construction observation for strengthening repairs.

Ms. Hinish has performed numerous facade inspections encompassing a variety of exterior cladding types and fenestration systems including wood, vinyl, and fiber cement lap siding; cast-in-place concrete; stone, brick, and CMU masonry; EIFS, and adhered stone veneer. Ms. Hinish also has participated in a variety of failure investigations including, structural collapse, water leakage, fire damage, and snow loading.

She is proficient in the assessments of and designed repairs for numerous types of historic structures including wood, stone, and masonry buildings. On one particular project, Ms. Hinish was involved in the adaptive reuse of several large, pre-1900, unreinforced brick masonry buildings. She performed construction observation and oversaw critical aspects of the rehabilitation of the exterior envelope including the restoration of historic wood windows and slate and clay tile roofs, installation of blast resistant storm windows, installation of spray-foam insulation, and repair of the masonry walls.

EDUCATION
Master of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 2009
Bachelor of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 2009
Minor of Architectural Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 2009

PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

Registered Professional Engineer in Colorado, Maryland, and Virginia

Level 1 Technician Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT)

Memberships: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) International
Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI) Treasurer of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of ICRI

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2017 - Present: Building Consultants and Engineers (BC&E),
Senior Associate
2009 – 2017: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.,
Washington, D.C.
Senior Associate
2008 – 2009: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.,
Washington, D.C.
Intern