Construction DefectInvestigation

What You Receive: A Written Report of Findings

Each investigation ends in a written report by the person who did the field work. It covers:

• The condition: what was observed, where and when, with dated photographs.
• The likely cause: how the condition developed, where the observations, the records and any testing support an opinion.
• The timing: when the condition likely began, where the evidence supports an opinion.
• The comparison: how the work compares with the drawings, the specifications, the manufacturer's instructions and the code in effect when it was built.
• Repair scope and cost: on request, a repair scope and cost estimate built from the findings.
• What was not determined: the questions the investigation could not answer and who could.

For a matter in litigation, the form of the report is agreed with counsel before it is written.

What Is Outside the Scope

PCC investigates and reports. Some parts of a defect matter belong to other licensed professionals:

• Engineering opinions: structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and soils questions go to a licensed engineer.
• Openings and repairs: made by a licensed contractor you hire. PCC does not build or repair.
• Testing: water testing, sampling and laboratory work by a qualified testing firm. PCC writes the protocol and observes.
• Mold sampling and clearance: an industrial hygienist or environmental consultant.
• Legal advice: your attorney. PCC is not a law firm.
• Insurance claim negotiation: a licensed public adjuster or your attorney.

Who Performs the Work

Our principal does the work himself, from the first site visit to the final report. He brings more than 35 years in architecture and construction and began working in construction forensics in 2012, producing repair cost estimates and analysis used in construction defect litigation.

Where a question calls for an engineer or a testing firm, PCC helps define the work and the client or counsel retains the firm under its own contract and license.

When to Call

• A leak, crack or stain keeps coming back after repairs.
• A deck, balcony, window or wall assembly is leaking or deteriorating and you need to know why before you repair it.
• Work on a new or renovated building does not match the plans or the contract.
• Your board has to decide what to repair first and whether the condition traces to a builder's or contractor's work.
• Counsel or a carrier needs an independent read of a condition before a claim moves forward.

An Illustrative Example

How an investigation typically runs. This is an illustration, not a specific client matter.

• Problem: an HOA board sees water stains below several second-floor balconies a few years after a repair program.
• PCC's role: investigate the cause for the board and its counsel.
• Work: a review of the earlier repair records, site observation of each affected balcony and a destructive testing protocol, with openings made by the board's contractor and water testing by a testing firm.
• Deliverable: a written report with photographs, the likely cause and timing of the stains plus a repair scope and cost estimate.
• Decision it informed: what to repair first, how to budget for it and whether to raise the earlier repair with the contractor who did it.