Start with 45 minutes, not a 6-week package

You send the pre-read material beforehand so the engineer arrives having looked at it. The session is spent on your specific decision, not on background. Afterwards you get a written recommendation memo — the memo is the deliverable, the call is how it gets produced.

No. The recommendation memo and the scope outline are yours regardless of whether you hire the engineer for follow-on work. Several engineers here will tell you that you do not need the larger package you were about to buy.

Book the consultation first anyway. A one-hour session is usually enough to establish what the real scope is, and it is far cheaper than scoping a project wrongly. The engineer will outline the follow-on work if it is needed.

No. A consultation is advice, not certification. Anything requiring a stamp, seal or formal certification needs a registered professional working under a proper engagement with documented calculations.