Independent Forensic Structural Investigation Report

• Thorough and detailed Structural Inspection.

• Senior engineer collects and analyzes data

• Concise and easy to understand reports.

• Effective and durable recommendations by engineers.

• Ongoing and personal expert advice even after completion of rectification.

 What is Forensic Structural Investigation?

The goal of a forensic building investigation is for an experienced civil and structural engineer to accurately find and report the main cause(s) of damage to a building and structures. We reach this conclusion based on evidence that we collect during the building inspection and our expert knowledge. At P&R Consulting we do not leave any questions unanswered.

• Find out about the cause of damage to your house and property.

• Receive reliable and expert advice about best ways to fix the damage at your property.

• Get comprehensive building investigation report including colored descriptive photographs.

All with the help of trained forensic structural engineers

The Forensic Structural Investigation process entails the following:

·        We will conduct attentive inspection of the property to assess the building’s structural integrity and damages.

·        Based on careful observations, we will develop a hypothesis to explain the main cause of structural failure and/or non-structural damages.

·        A hypothesis is only considered to be accurate if it can explain the main cause of all damages.

View the photos below of real life issues encountered by engineers at P&R Consulting. In each case a detailed report was undertaken to determine the cause of the failure, and recommendations were made on the required rectification.

 What to expect from our Building Inspection

Every forensic building investigation begins with a detailed building inspection. Our forensic building inspections typically takes up to one hour. This depends on the complexity of the building, the major problems and the engineer’s personal routine and methods. At P&R Consulting our forensic structural engineers have years of experience performing structural inspections. You should expect the following procedure when we are inspecting your building:

1.    Interview with you or the person responsible for the property, and ask about the age of the building, the details of the damage, and any construction or modifications that may have been done to the structure. We will also ask your opinion about the cause of the damage. These questions help us get a better idea about not only the structure itself, but your concerns as well.

2.    We will then ask you to give us a walkthrough of the building and point out the noticeable damages and answer questions such as: when was the damage first noticed, has the damage become worse over time, and has the damage been repaired before? etc.

3.    Carefully photograph and collect evidence from the site, the structure, surroundings and every point of damage.

4.    We will then decide whether the damage calls for measurement of any footing movements.

5.    If required we will assess any structural wall cracks and measure crack widths, dimensions, wall verticality and more .

6.    We may ask you to provide any available documentation on the structure, such as architectural and structural drawings and geotechnical reports, as this can assist with the investigation to correctly determine the structural damage and find accurate engineering solutions.

 Finally, the senior engineers at P&R Consulting will review the data collected during the inspection to find the main cause of any cosmetic damage or structural failure.

Get A Detailed Forensic Engineering Report to
Determine the Root Causes of your Building Damage

Our structural engineers will be able to determine whether the structural integrity or general condition of the building has been affected by negligence, incompetence of the design Engineer or Builder, shortcuts during construction or Insurable events like leaking pipe, flood, fire and earthquake. At P&R Consulting, solutions are only made possible with the hands-on experience, dedication, and expert knowledge of our structural forensic engineers. All of our engineers take the forensic structural investigation process very seriously. They have both the knowledge and experience to objectively and accurately determine the main cause of any building damage.

Several factors set us apart from the competition:

·        We are actual Forensic Engineers Experts. Forensic Structural Engineers must have knowledge in various fields such as design, geology, material, construction process and even plumbing works to be able to accurately perform structural assessments. Unlike Design or Geotechnical Engineers or Builders, who try to perform Forensic investigations without having the proper knowledge, we are trained structural engineers in the field of Forensics.

·        We investigate the structural performance of the buildings. Unlike others who are only capable of identifying cosmetic damages to buildings and structures and recommending short term solutions such as resin injections, partial underpinning, patch and painting, we aim to analyze the overall performance of the structure to better understand what has gone wrong in the first place. It is only then that our engineers, who truly understand the structure and its elements, will be able to recommend the most long lasting and effective repair methods.

·        We cover all types of structures - from residential, commercial and industrial buildings to factories, bridges, signs. You name it, we inspect it.

·        We have your properties’ best interest in mind. Our expert advice might not be what you are hoping to hear, but rest assured it is what’s best for your home or investment. We are not here to necessarily make you happy (by siding with you unprofessionally), but to help you secure your investment the best way we can.

·        We are not advocates and do not receive sponsorship. At P&R Consulting we provide independent expert opinion about the causes of damage, rather than acting as a homeowner’s advocate or form a biased opinion due to our relationships with Builders, Insurers or other organizations.

·        We do not produce computerized reports. Our Engineers personally spend several hours analyzing the collected information and data to form an independent opinion about each case and to produce report that is case specific. That is why we do not produce reports in 24 hours and hence, they are reliable.