-
- residential & commercial renovations
-
- residential & commercial renovations
-
- residential & commercial renovations
-
- residential & commercial renovations
Project Description
Condo Milestone Inspections:
What are Condo milestone structural inspections?
Condo milestone inspections are required for every residential and commercial building in Florida that is three stories or higher.
If you own any such structure or are a member of the building association, you’re legally required to conduct timely inspections. For that purpose, the laws require you to hire a structural engineer like EMA Structural Forensic Engineers licensed in Florida.
The engineer/s will visually assess all areas of your building and analyze its structural components for safety. Once the inspection is complete, they will provide a structural assessment report detailing their findings, professional opinions, and recommendations.
It is possible that your building has structural problems, which will be detailed in the report, along with ways you can fix them.
The structural building inspector can even refer construction contractors to conduct the impending repairs on your property.
There you have it: milestone structural inspections simplified.
New changes to Florida Condo milestone inspections?
The State now requires condos and residential cooperative (co-op) association buildings three stories or taller to have structural inspections called “milestone inspections” once they reach 30 years of age and every 10 years after that.
Your building may need milestone inspections if it is…
- Three stories or higher, as determined by the Florida Building Code, AND
- Owned (partially or fully) by a condominium association or cooperative association as a residential condominium under Chapter 718 or a residential cooperative under Chapter 719
Timing
Buildings that require milestone inspections will need to be inspected once they reach 30 years of age and every 10 years after that.
The timing for the initial inspection is as follows:
- If your building reaches 30 years of age before July 1, 2022, the building’s initial milestone inspection must be performed before December 31, 2024.
- If your building reaches 30 years of age on or after July 1, 2022, and before December 31, 2024, the building’s initial milestone inspection must be performed before December 31, 2025.
- If your building reaches 30 years of age on or after December 31, 2024, it will need to be inspected by December 31 of the year in which it reaches 30 years of age.
Building age is based on the date the certificate of occupancy for the building was issued. If that is not available, other official building records may be used as evidence of the age of the building.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Condo milestone inspection?
A “milestone inspection” is a structural inspection of a building, including load-bearing walls and other elements that are designed to support the building. These inspections keep residents safe by ensuring their homes are in good structural condition. They help determine whether any of the buildings’ structural components need to be maintained, repaired, or replaced. The inspections are performed by a licensed architect or engineer authorized to practice in Florida.
How will I be notified that my building needs an inspection?
Local government building officials will send notices about required inspections by certified mail. They will send this notice to the condominium association or cooperative association and any owner of any portion of the building that is not owned by the condominium or cooperative association.
The condominium or cooperative association must notify the unit owners of the required milestone inspection within 14 days of receiving the written notice from building officials and provide the date that the milestone inspection must be completed. This notice may be sent to unit owners electronically (e.g. via email) or by posting on the association’s website if the unit owners consented to receive notices electronically.
How does a Condo milestone inspection work?
During phase one of the milestone inspection, a licensed architect or engineer authorized to practice in Florida will visually examine the habitable and non-habitable areas of a building, including its major structural components, and provide an assessment of the structural condition of the building. If the architect or engineer finds no signs of substantial structural deterioration, phase two of the inspection is not required. To complete phase one, the licensed engineer or architect who performed the inspection must submit the inspection report to the appropriate local government agency.
Phase two of the milestone inspection must be performed if any substantial structural deterioration is identified during phase one. A phase two inspection may involve destructive or nondestructive testing at the inspector’s direction. The inspection may be as extensive or as limited as necessary to fully assess areas of structural distress to confirm that the building is structurally sound and safe for its intended use and to recommend a program for fully assessing and repairing distressed and damaged portions of the building. When determining testing locations, the inspector must give preference to locations that are the least disruptive and most easily repairable while still being representative of the structure. An inspector who completes a phase two milestone inspection will prepare and submit an inspection report.
https://foursquare.com/v/ema-structural-forensic-engineers/57e262aa498ef4c3cf0558a3
https://emaengineers.com/category/forensic-engineers-vero-beach/
https://www.fixr.com/sp.ema-structural-forensic-engineers.html
https://www.showmelocal.com/profile.aspx?bid=24613768
https://www.yelp.com/biz/ema-structural-forensic-engineers-orlando-5?osq=ema+engineers
The Challenges
Forensic Engineers Florida
Florida Forensic Engineers provide forensic and structural engineering services throughout Florida including Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona beach, Melbourne, Cocoa beach, to provide the highest quality of engineering and expert witness services available. Our services includes forensic damage inspections, structural damage assessment, roof damage inspections, fire damage inspections, building structural assessments, structural foundation collapse and assessment.
Forensic engineers Florida provide cause and origin, buildings defects, construction defects, damage investigations, site investigation, testing, technical research, and analysis of the information to provide our clients with an independent opinion on the cause of failure.
Collapse Analysis by Forensic Engineers Florida
Our team of experienced professionals offer the following areas of expertise:
– Forensic Building Defects by Forensic engineers.
– Collapse & Insurance Claims and Reports
– Structural Condition Assessments
– Discovery Assistance
– Second Opinion Structural & Forensic Inspections for Dispute Resolution
– Expert Witness & Testimonial
We provide structural damage assessment reports to insurance, as well as adjuster clients for building failures, natural disasters and failures due to under design. We also provide estimates for repairs based on original values and ASV. Whether the collapse is due to a design fault, natural disasters, deficient structural deign or over-stressing. we can provide you good enough reports that can tell u the real problem.
Forensic Damage Inspections by Forensic Engineers
Structural building engineering includes all structural engineering related to the design of buildings. It is a branch of structural engineering closely affiliated with architecture.
Structural building engineering is primarily driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms and the underlying mathematical and scientific ideas to achieve an end which fulfills its functional requirements and is structurally safe when subjected to all the loads it could reasonably be expected to experience. This is subtly different from architectural design, which is driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms, mass, space, volume, texture and light to achieve an end which is aesthetic, functional and often artistic.(forensic engineers Florida)
The architect and forensic engineers are usually the lead designer on buildings, with a structural engineer employed as a sub-consultant. The degree to which each discipline actually leads the design depends heavily on the type of structure. Many structures are structurally simple and led by architecture, such as multi-story office buildings and housing, while other structures, such as tensile structures, shells and grid-shells are heavily dependent on their form for their strength, and the engineer may have a more significant influence on the form, and hence much of the aesthetic, than the architect.
The structural design for a building must ensure that the building is able to stand up safely, and not collapse thus enabling forensic engineers Florida to find cause of collapse and be able to function without excessive deflections or movements which may cause fatigue of structural elements, cracking or failure of fixtures, fittings or partitions, or discomfort for occupants. It must account for movements and forces due to temperature, creep, cracking and imposed loads. It must also ensure that the design is practically build-able within acceptable manufacturing tolerances of the materials. It must allow the architecture to work, and the building services to fit within the building and function (air conditioning, ventilation, smoke extract, electrics, lighting etc.). The structural design of a modern building can be extremely complex, and often requires a large team to complete.