Structural Engineer for Custom Home Builders | Greater Boston, Cape Cod, Newport RI

Jeff Gray II grew up in a structural lumberyard, delivered framing packages to job sites across New England, and framed houses on a crew before returning to engineering. He has been on both sides of the drawings, and that changes everything about how he designs structures. JGray delivers structural engineering for high-end custom home builders who need drawings that work on site, not just on paper: field-ready plans, fast answers, built to be handed directly to the crew. Because Jeff knows what happens when they're not.

What Jeff brings to a builder relationship

Framing logic built into the drawings

Jeff has framed houses. He knows how a crew reads a structural set, what creates confusion on site, and what framing sequences matter. Every layout is developed with real-world construction in mind, not just engineering software. The result is drawings that your framers can actually work from without constant clarification calls.

Trade conflicts caught before breaking ground

Structural, architectural, and MEP coordination happens during design, not on site. JGray reviews all systems together during CDs, identifying and resolving conflicts before a single framing member goes up. The problems that cost builders weeks and thousands of dollars in rework are the ones nobody caught on paper. Jeff catches them on paper.

Same-day RFI response

When your crew hits a condition in the field and needs an answer, you call Jeff directly rather than going through a project manager or an assistant. RFIs on active projects are typically answered the same business day, because Jeff knows what it costs a crew to stand down while it waits on a structural answer.

Solutions that are easier and safer to build

More structure is not always better structure. Jeff weighs the difficulty and risk of actually installing a structural solution alongside the engineering itself: how many heavy picks at height, how much temporary support, how exposed the crew is during erection. A recent Greater Boston Area gambrel used a single structural ridge beam where three would have been standard: fewer beams to fly, less transfer structure below, and a cleaner, simpler framing sequence. Framer safety is almost never considered at the design stage. At JGray, it's part of the design.

Early involvement that protects the schedule

JGray works best when brought in during design development, before the structural system is locked. Early structural input means fewer late-stage revisions, better trade coordination, and a permit package that reflects a design that was actually thought through structurally from the start.

A true partner, not a downstream stamp

Jeff functions as a structural partner throughout the project, not a consultant who disappears after the permit set. Construction administration services keep Jeff in the loop through framing completion: reviewing progress, responding to field questions, and making sure the structure goes up as designed.

The difference

He's been on the framing crew. That changes how he designs.

From the lumberyard to the job site

Jeff grew up in his father's structural lumberyard: Structural Wood Systems in Bellingham, MA. As a kid he rode along to job sites with his dad; through college, he spent summers and winters in the yard cutting I-joists and LVL beams, running saws and forklifts, and stacking framing packages for delivery, watching houses go up at every stage of construction. After earning his Civil Engineering degree from UMass Amherst, he framed houses with GVN Construction before returning to structural engineering.

That kind of time in the field is rare for a structural engineer, and it shows in the work. Jeff knows how framing crews read drawings, what creates problems on site, and what it actually takes, physically, to get the structure on paper installed in the field. His structural solutions are chosen not just for the loads they carry, but for how difficult and how safe they are for the crew to build.

Six years and three firms before launching JGray

Before going out on his own, Jeff spent over six years working across three structural engineering firms in New England, most recently four years at Siegel Associates, one of the premier residential structural engineering firms in the region, specializing in high-end custom homes. That range of experience built a deep familiarity with the complexity of the projects JGray now takes on independently.

JGray brings both sides together in every design: field experience and high-end engineering practice. The result is structural packages that are technically sound and practically buildable, because the same person who designed them understands how they need to go up.

How we work together

A structural engineering process that protects your schedule

Project intake: scope, team, and timeline

Jeff gets fully aligned on project type, site conditions, scope, schedule, and the architect relationship before any structural work begins.

Structural design with trade coordination

Structural system developed alongside the architectural and MEP sets: conflicts caught and resolved at the drawing stage, not in the field.

Field-ready construction documents

Framing plans, foundation analysis, and connection details: a full 2D set delivered with a 3D structural model, developed with real framing sequencing in mind and ready to hand directly to the crew.

Construction support through completion

Direct access to Jeff throughout the build. Same-day RFI responses, site visits when needed, and revised details when field conditions require it.

Greater Boston Area colonial gambrel custom home — structural engineering by JGray

Case study

Greater Boston Area colonial gambrel: complex roof, simplified framing, zero layout compromises

A ~6,500 sf transitional colonial with overlapping gambrel roofs and a fully maximized second floor. The structural challenge: design a complex roof system without cluttering the interior with posts and beams. JGray used a single structural ridge beam, where three would typically be required, minimizing the transfer structure throughout and delivering a framing package that was straightforward to build despite the roof complexity.

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Getting started

Getting Jeff on your next project is straightforward.

Send a brief description of the project: location, scope, where you are in the build timeline, and who the architect is if you know. Jeff will respond within 48 hours to have a quick conversation and confirm it's a good fit.

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Or reach Jeff directly

(508) 505-1629‬ [email protected]

Send a brief project description

Location, project type, approximate scope, and where you are in the timeline. No formal RFP needed. A few sentences is enough to get a conversation started.

Jeff responds within 48 hours

Directly from Jeff. He'll ask a few questions about the project and schedule a short call to make sure it's the right fit on both sides.

Clear scope and fee proposal

A straightforward proposal covering what's included, what the timeline looks like, and what the working relationship looks like through construction.

A structural engineer who stays in it with you

Most builders who work with Jeff once make him their go-to structural engineer. Clean drawings, fast answers, and a partner who's reachable when the job is moving.

Work with Jeff