Building Condition Survey
Building Condition Survey
(OP)
Hi Everyone,
I just picked up a job that I wanted to bounce off you guys first before I just jump right in.
I'm tasked to complete a building condition survey. Anyone have any experience doing these? Anything I should really be looking for? These are circa 1880 buildings.
Thanks! Erik
I just picked up a job that I wanted to bounce off you guys first before I just jump right in.
I'm tasked to complete a building condition survey. Anyone have any experience doing these? Anything I should really be looking for? These are circa 1880 buildings.
Thanks! Erik






RE: Building Condition Survey
Dik
RE: Building Condition Survey
* water damage or intrusion at the roof, walls, windows, etc
* ends of wood beams at exterior walls - condition, rot, etc
* obvious signs of foundation damage (cracks in walls, settling, water intrusion in basement)
* mold or mildew on structural members
* if you're checking capacities: sizes of all members, spacing, spans, etc
* overall condition, quality, etc of all structural systems
I recommend bringing a dust mask, hammer, awl, tape measure, screwdriver, flashlight, ladder, and camera. You also may want a lift of some sort to examine the exterior if it's a tall building. I like to wear coveralls and gloves because I never know what I'm getting into.
If you're interested, check out "Structural Condition Assessment" by Robert T. Ratay. ASCE also has a guide "ASCE 11-90: Guideline for Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings" which is MUCH shorter.
have fun!
RE: Building Condition Survey
DaveAtkins
RE: Building Condition Survey
Use this in conjunction with ASCE 11.
I've done hundreds of these. They can be great, or you can incur a bunch of liability if you don't know what you're doing.
RE: Building Condition Survey
But it is so thorough. I doubt anyone ever does every item.
DaveAtkins
RE: Building Condition Survey
RE: Building Condition Survey
RE: Building Condition Survey
Dik
RE: Building Condition Survey
So, to reduce liability, it falls on the engineer to document as much as possible, right?
I figure I can try and be as comprehensive as possible, so that the owners know that any problems were either there to begin with, or the result of the contractors constructing nearby.
RE: Building Condition Survey
As noted previously there will still be a lot of caveats that you need to put into your report.
That it is only a visual survey, not a check for code conformance, not including elect,mech,drainage e.t.c. e.t.c.
Take photographs of every defect spotted and include in your report referenced on a plan. general photos should be taken too so any future works can be compared to its current layout.
Be aware that cracks often do not turn out very clear in photos.
RE: Building Condition Survey
RE: Building Condition Survey
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RE: Building Condition Survey
There are other issues. For example, there can be changes to the groundwater as a result of new construction that can adversely affect your building if the original construction wasn't up to snuff...
There can be snow accumulation, there can be shading/drying issues.
Dik
RE: Building Condition Survey
I love doing these as well, I'm currently working on a project where I'm evaluating 13 Ford Powertrain Plants in the Midwest & Mexico. All the above items are excellent, the only thing I didn't see was column damage, I know in these plants you'd think they played bumper cars w/ the Hilo's.
If there is masonry try to get a look at the flashing too.
Our proposal has significant language in it however, limiting our scope to insulate us from certain liability, as its impossible to check 'everything' -- just be sure to cover your butt!
Scott
Scott Shields
Ghafari Associates, LLC
RE: Building Condition Survey
One significant place where this applies is damage associated with poorly sealed and flashed EIFS and conventional stucco. The hidden damage can be tremendous, even when the exterior surface looks fine.
RE: Building Condition Survey
....if this is the case your condition survey need to be focused on a few items (documented, photographed, measured)....as well as possible installation of moinitoring devices during construction.....