Discussions > Construction Monitoring & PCAs

hydraulic lift on property (19 Comments)

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:23:47 +0000

Topic by tpond

I am buying a half acre parcel. The owner had an in-ground hydraulic auto lift installed on the property that he removed while I was in contract. THis work was done without permits or inspections and I was never informed of the lift. I happened to drive by and see the the equipment being loaded onto a trailer with an excavator. I later leanred trough a mutual aquaintence that the lift was aquired from a defunct auto repair shop, installed and used on the on the property to work on his many vehicles. What environmental and legal issues might this present?

Is coal a concern?

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 02:16:17 +0000

Topic by Ed Colaprete

Content

We were recently performing a PCA at a multifamily property when we discovered an approximately 1.5 ton - 2-ton pile of coal (appears to be anthracite) stored in an old crawlspace. The crawlspace obviously is unoccupied and does not have ready access. The only building services running through the space are domestic hot and cold water lines (copper and galvanized) and hot water heating pipes (steel). The floor is dirt and the walls are masonry. The floor directly above the crawlspace is a flat-arch system of clay block and cast in place concrete beams. In other words, durable materials. There does not appear to be a water infiltration issue and there does not appear to be any openings to occupied areas above the crawlspace except incidental air seepage where the water lines might penetrate the floor.

Should we advise that something be done with the coal? Its obviously no longer needed to operate the building heating system. Are there any environmental concerns?

From a PCA standpoint, we have considered the fire/life safety concerns.

As an aside, I've reached out to a friend who is a train aficionado to see if he can determine if one of the historic railroads in the area might want to come and get it if that becomes something the Owner would agree to. Any ideas of what to do with it if they decide to remove it?

Image

Phase I ESA training / common ground University (4 Comments)

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:11:28 +0000

Topic by bsavage

Considering the location of this forum, I feel the need to sort of tread lightly. Here goes:

I just got a flier via US Mail announcing ASTM E1527 online training. The flier appears to be from ASTM (which makes sense) and common ground Univerity.

Is anyone besides me just the least bit bothered that ASTM and EDR are teaming up to sell this training? Isn't ASTM supposed to be an independent not-for-profit organization?

And who's making the (not-for-profit) profits from the training?

Just curious!

Peace,

Bruce Savage

Seeking a Subcontractor with P.E. License for PCR Review (1 Comment)

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:45:48 +0000

Topic by RRSolutions

Content

Our company is seeking a Subcontractor or Independent Representative with a Professional Engineer's License for occasional peer reviews of Property Condition Reports. We are not seeking to fill a fulltime position, only a P.E. for occasional peer reviews of Property Condition Reports on a per project / contract basis. If qualified and interested or if you have any questions whatsoever, please reply to this post or contact us via the link below.

Thanks!

Chris Rutledge

Rutledge Realty Solutions, LLC

Link

PCA101 Course Under Development for May Release in Beta (5 Comments)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:23:55 +0000

Topic by JHuntress

We are currently working with about 60 professionals on a PCA101 course to cover the following topics:

Intro, History, Purpose and Scop of PCAs
The ASTM PCA Standard Guide
Major Property Types
Costs and Cost Tables
Site Elements
Structural Frame and Building Envelope
Roof
Interior Elements
HVAC
Electrical
Plumbing
Vertical Transportation
Life Safety/Fire/Building Fire Code comp.
ADA and Handicapped Accessibility
Seismic
Amenities and Ancillary Structures
Conducting the Site Visit
Documentation/Mun Off/Interviews
Additional Considerations
Professional Liablity and Ethics
Writing the Report
Managing the Process

This course will be about 6 weeks long and similar to EDD101. If you are unfamilar you can see more on this page. If you have any ideas or are interested please email Jack Huntress.

ASTM Building Energy Performance Assessment WK24707 (BEPA) (1 Comment)

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:21:51 +0000

Topic by JHuntress

This thread has been started for any commentary on BEPA a standard currently in the balloting process to formalize the procedure for collecting, normalizing and reporting on a property's energy use.

PCAs now on Wikipedia

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:50:33 +0000

Topic by JHuntress

For those of you who contribute to Wikipedia, I have started a "stub" of an article here for Property Condition Assessments.

There are portions that could use some clarification, there are some needed links and certainly the entry could be doubled.

Take a shot at adding more - it is not too hard!

A long time coming... (1 Comment)

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:19:53 +0000

Topic by Ed Colaprete

I think this forum will be a great asset to our industry. Thanks EDR and commonground for initiating it. Let's get the word out to our colleagues and industry professionals!

Are you doing PCAs (6 Comments)

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Topic by PhilipZ

I have been considering getting some training to do ASTM property condition assessments. However, I am reluctant since I don't have an architectural or construction background.

Are there many EPs that are doing PCAs? If so, what training do you have?