Generally, the solutions in addressing any form of building problem would be through minor repair, retrofit, or total reconstruction. Nevertheless, in determining which should be executed, the assistance of a West Palm Beach Structural Engineer is highly recommended. They can provide a comprehensive building investigation and evaluation which in turn can definitely reduce accumulated refurbishment costs.
Classification of Building Investigations:
Any qualified and certified West Palm Beach Structural Engineer can work on the undertaking. Depending on the type of structure and its function, they can recommend that a certain type of inspection should be taken.
They could be one or combination of the following:
- Building Inspection. A general approach to consider all aspects of the building (i.e. architectural, mechanical, electrical, etc.). Especially in the surrounding cities in West Palm Beach where a special procedure called threshold inspection is at times conducted, this is very helpful. However, since this takes account all of the possibilities, the activities would require more time than expected. Pushing it to early finish might result to a report that has not considered all factors.
- Roof inspection. Best done for residential buildings that has truss and purlin system. It also checks the connection details and how adequate they can be. This, however, is only checked to see capability to resist wind loadings under extreme circumstances such as hurricanes.
- Structural Inspection. The structural integrity of a building is checked in this procedure. Most of the time, conduct of non-destructive testing is done in this option. However, this testing method has its own limitations, leading to a more destructive investigation to reveal the cause of the inadequacy and serviceability issues.
The building owner makes the call on which procedure to undertake. It is recommended that fair and competitive bidding is implemented to check what services are to be rendered, how long the activities would be, and how much they are charging for all of it.
Typical Steps in Conducting Investigation
To make sure that you get the most out of your preferred West Palm Beach Structural Engineer, always check whether they are willing to undertake the following steps:
1. Acquisition or creation of as-built drawings prior of after conducting a site investigation.
2. Conduct of non-destructive testing to see whether a certain structural element is still compliant to the latest code and specification requirements.
3. Verification of compliance with structural design analysis and calculations.
4. Formation of reports usually indicating proposed remedy.
5. Schematic drawings for proposed construction and implementation.
Request Estimate
- Required Fields