Independent examination of construction: goals, objectives, benefits

Any operations in the field real estate, whether it is the construction of the building or its comprehensive repair, are associated with huge amounts of money, and therefore with high risks. In order for the contractor to carry out all the work efficiently and on time, not to violate building codes and not appropriate the funds that are not due to him, an independent examination of the construction is necessary. A similar assessment is also carried out during the purchase and sale transaction, before major repairs, in the event of a dispute between the customer and the contractor, as well as in a number of other cases. Independent construction expertise allows you to get a comprehensive picture of the object under study and draw conclusions about the quality and cost of construction work. We will deal with the nuances of such an assessment.

What is construction expertise?

Under the independent construction expertise understand the process of researching construction activities for their compliance with regulatory documents. Examination allows you to resolve disputes regarding the correctness of the construction of buildings, their repair and dismantling. In order to conduct a comprehensive study, it is necessary to have certain knowledge and good knowledge of the regulatory framework, therefore several experts are part of the expert commission. They conduct various kinds of research and analysis, identify and record violations that reflect in their reports the compliance of the facility with the requirements that are set forth by law.

Construction expertise you can begin to conduct both at the stage of preparation of project documentation, during construction, and after its completion. It can be carried out voluntarily (out-of-court examination) or by court order (judicial examination) when a dispute has arisen. The organization that undertakes the examination can evaluate not only the technical side of the facility, but also economic component.

Objectives of construction expertise

Construction expertise will allow you to control the construction process or repair and know that all work takes place in accordance with applicable law. In general terms, we are dealing with all the details of such an assessment. Construction expertise has many goals (it all depends on at what stage and for what object it is carried out), among them the most important:

• calculation of the exact cost of building construction and identification of possible fraud;
• study of projects of buildings and structures for compliance with SNiPs and GOSTs;
• assessment of the quality of ongoing or already completed work for compliance with SNiPs and GOSTs;
• quality assessment used building materials;
• assessment of construction work for compliance with the project;
• assessment of the control of the constructed facility on existing buildings, and vice versa, assessment of the impact of surrounding facilities on the building that is being built;
• examination of load-bearing structures for damage and deformations, assessment of the severity of the latter and their ability to influence the operation of the building;
• assessment of damage to buildings from natural disasters;
• building wear assessment;
• assessment of the bearing capacity of the building when planning its redevelopment and deepening the basement;
• determination of the causes of building defects;
• resolving disputes about the quality of construction, the real value of real estate and property rights in court.

Depending on the wishes of the customer, construction expertise can be integrated or selective. Residents of Moscow can contact the Expert Capital Independent Expertise Center, which has been operating since 2009, provides comprehensive assessment services and allows you to check the technical and financial aspects of construction. The company employs highly qualified specialists, all research is carried out in research institutes using generally accepted and special techniques, so there is no doubt in the reliability of the examination.

The main tasks and objects of construction expertise

The tasks of independent construction expertise are, of course, closely related to its objectives. Carrying out such an assessment allows:

• carry out construction monitoring of already constructed objects in order to determine their safety, the need for repair or reconstruction;
• evaluate the strength of the floors, foundation, the roof, facade thanks to the use of modern non-destructive testing methods;
• assess the market value of a particular object;
• identify the factors that led to the emergency state of the facility;
• assessment of compliance with fire safety requirements;
• check technical documentation;
• estimate the cost of building a house;
• evaluate the quality of repairs;
• conduct a television survey of the building to identify heat leak points, etc.

Also, the tasks include assessing the possibility of building an object in a certain place, the economic benefits of estimates, the effectiveness of the use of certain technologies and materials. Independent construction expertise is so universal tool in the construction security systemthat allows you to solve a whole range of problems, the set of which will depend on the characteristics of a particular object.

As for the objectthen in the construction expertise they can be land plots, design documents, finished and erected structures of any type (houses, bridges, tunnels, production facilities) and communications.

When is an independent construction expertise necessary?

To make it clearer, let's look at examples of when it may be necessary to conduct an independent examination. Evaluation may be necessary for both the individual and the organization. Here are the most common situations when resorting to a construction examination:

• Availability customer claims to the contractor, for example, a violation of the deadlines, inappropriate quality of work or materials, as well as in the event of conflicts between the residents of the house, utilities, etc .;
• assessment of damage caused to the property by a pipe break, fire, earthquake, etc .;
• buying an apartment in new building. In this case, the buyer with the help of examination can check whether the object matches what the documentation says about it and whether it is suitable for living;
• before the purchase and sale transaction to assess the real value of real estate or land, as well as before insurance or investment;
• preparation for construction or repair;
• the need to legitimize an unauthorized structure;
• assessment of the appropriateness of the estimates drawn up by the contractor. For example, a renovation of a commercial building or a private house is underway, and the company that was invited to carry out this work called the suspiciously high cost of its services. In this case, it is cheaper to conduct a construction examination of the estimate than to overpay huge amounts. If the work has already been carried out, their assessment will help to identify at what stage the theft of funds occurred.It is possible that some of the works stated in the estimate were not completed or performed inappropriately, cheaper materials were used instead of their expensive and high-quality analogues;
• establishing a connection between defects in the building and violations of construction technology;
• construction expertise may also be appointed by court order.

The process of conducting a construction examination

Construction accreditation can only be carried out by accredited companies and specialists with the necessary knowledge and experience. The assessment is carried out after the conclusion of a written contract, which indicates all the nuances of the assessment: terms, procedure, cost, rights and obligations of the parties. The cost depends on the complexity of the work, a set of studies and the policies of the company that is involved in the evaluation.

The procedure for conducting an independent construction examination consists of the following stages:

• preparatory process. This is the conclusion of the contract, discussion of the details and the first acquaintance with the object to be evaluated;
• study of existing documentation. These are engineering documents, estimates, contracts between the customer and the contractor, and other documentation. At this stage, we can already talk about the order of execution of the ordered work;
• familiarization with the object. Experts take the necessary measurements, when defects are detected, photography is carried out. At this stage, all the flaws are noted, such as cracks and distortions;
• determination of control methods and laboratory tests;
• carrying out the necessary calculations and drawing up drawings;
• preparation of an expert report with conclusions and conclusions on those issues that the customer posed.

The rules, dates and form of the report are governed by relevant standards and SNiPs.

To conduct the assessment, experts use a range of tools, which includes laboratory tests, various kinds of measurements and tests, computer modeling. There are very complex and specific methods.. Among the most commonly used technologies are the following:

• monitoring of the provided documentation and its assessment for compliance with regulatory legal acts;
• inspection of the object with the aim of fixing clearly expressed violations and defects;
• taking measurements;
• the use of non-destructive testing methods (examination with a thermal imager, ultrasonic flaw detection, research of materials with penetrating compounds);
• sampling concrete, wood, materials for subsequent laboratory research using appropriate techniques;
• soil sampling, studying the composition of groundwater and the depth of their occurrence;
• field tests that involve mechanical impact on the structure;
• crack monitoring by installing beacons;
• computer simulation, which allows you to calculate the load on individual elements of the building, their reliability and a host of other parameters.

As a result of the examination, the customer receives detailed report, which indicates what work has been performed, what results are obtained, calculations, photos, graphs and drawings are provided. The most interesting part of the report is the conclusion, which indicates all violations, as well as recommendations for their elimination. If the assessment showed that the object under investigation is not suitable for further operation, this can serve as the basis for serious decisions, including litigation.

Summarizing all of the above, we can say that an independent construction examination is an effective way to keep under control the progress of construction, to be sure of the safety of the facility and the honesty of the contractor.