portrait photo of Charles

2748 Alton Road
Suite 104
Birmingham, AL 35210
United States

cwhitley@edtengineers.com

vCard Curriculum Vitae

Charles E. Whitley, P.E.

Consulting Engineer

Engineering Field
  • Civil/Structural

Mr. Whitley is a civil/structural consulting engineer in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Whitley provides consultation related to the design and construction of industrial, commercial, and residential structures; failure analysis; damage assessment; and expert testimony. Over the years, he has worked on a wide range of industrial and commercial projects including construction defect inspections, litigation support, and numerous other types of work.

Recent projects include work to determine the cause and scope of damage to a collapsed parking deck in south Florida, a review of the design and construction of a marine research facility in South Carolina with numerous reported design and construction defects, and the analysis of both the design and construction of an automobile manufacturing facility in Alabama that was experiencing excessive settlement.

Mr. Whitley has experience in storm-related damage assessment, including wind versus flood water evaluations.  He has analyzed hurricane and tornado-related damages to various types of structures throughout the Southeast.

Prior to joining ED&T in 1999, Mr. Whitley performed civil/structural design and construction management work on projects with the pulp and paper industry and the chemical production industry.  He is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

State Licenses

Mr. Whitley is a licensed engineer in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Areas of Expertise

  • Agriculture
  • Buildings-Construction
  • Buildings-Specialty Services
  • Buildings-Specific Facilities
  • Buildings-Systems
  • Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
  • Construction-Specialty Services
  • Explosions
  • Fires
  • Food and Beverages
  • Mining
  • Petroleum/ Petro-Chemical
  • Power Generation
  • Utilities
  • Wood Products and Papermaking
Photo of Charles E. Whitley, P.E.
More Blog Posts by:

Charles E. Whitley, P.E.

View all Articles
Foggy Window

Why Are My Windows Foggy?

For those who live in hot or cold environments, double pane windows are a great way to increase the energy efficiency of your home. Double pane windows consist of two panes of glass that have been sealed together in a frame, with a pane of glass on the interior and exterior surface of the window, and a gap between the panes. In some windows, the gap is filled with an inert gas such as argon, or air is withdrawn from the space to create a vacuum. The inert gas or the vacuum is intended to act as insulation to minimize the transfer of thermal energy through the window.

rain roof collapse

Roof Collapse

In a perfect world of consulting engineering, every investigation would result in a single, concise cause of damage to the product, structure, or system under investigation. In the real world, this rarely happens.

Hurricane Wind & Rain

Hurricane Forces: Wind VS Wave Forces

Hurricanes are somewhat unique in that they generate multiple types of forces that can affect coastal properties. This blog discusses how EDT determines the cause of damage based on hurricane wind and water forces.

Fire on concrete bricks

Fire Effects on Concrete

Concrete exposed to the elevated temperatures of a fire can experience both mechanical changes and chemical changes. Both can provide pathways for direct heating of exposed Reinforcing Steel (rebar).

Fire in Building

Fire Effects on Steel

After a fire involving a building or industrial structure, there are often multiple types of damage to the building materials. Knowing how heat affects various building materials can be helpful in determining the level of damage to building components. 

Tornado Damage to Home

Storm Damage to Roof of Religious Facility

EDT was asked to determine the scope of storm-related damage to a religious facility that claimed in excess of five million dollars of damage. The following information is a review of the case, and what EDT found was the actual cause of damage.