How Often Should You Schedule a Building Inspection? Maintenance and Safety Tips

If you live in an area where there is a Homeowners’ Association, then you know just how beneficial these organizations are. Among other things, these organizations make sure that the neighborhood is united, safe, and well-kept. To achieve these goals, these organizations must organize building inspections. So, how often should you or a homeowners’ association schedule a building inspection? Here are some tips to maintain safety within your home or building.

Sign Up for Regular Inspections

How long the building has been standing and its condition will dictate how regular the inspections should be. The older the building, the more frequent the inspections should be. Professionals usually advise people to sign up for annual inspections. These inspections will also advise on the ideal frequency of future inspections. They will also play a significant role in identifying a problem before it becomes a significant issue.

Schedule an Inspection After a Season

Depending on where you live, the different seasons can affect your building in different ways. Therefore, it is ideal to have seasonal inspections, especially in buildings that have been standing for long. The extremes of the summer and winter temperatures will indeed affect the roofs, sidewalks, and heating systems somehow. So, having a professional inspect the building after a not-so-ordinary season is ideal.

Schedule Inspections to Improve Safety Standards

It is vital to ensure that common areas in a building are safe. An inspection will reveal the safety standards of:
 

• Hallways
   

• Parking lots
   

• Stairwells
   

• Other spaces

Also, an inspection will reveal whether the safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers and detectors, are in good working condition.

Schedule Inspections to Establish Structural Integrity

You do not have to wait for cracks in the walls to schedule an inspection. However, if you identify cracks or any of the following, call a professional immediately:

• Water damage
   

• Sagging floors
   

• Uneven door frames
   

• Foundation problems

Schedule Inspections for Pest Control and Maintenance

Signs of pests in the building call for exterminators and building inspectors to prevent the situation from escalating. Rodents, termites, and insects usually hide in cracks and crevices, so their presence calls for cleanups and sealing of such cracks. Furthermore, properly dealing with pests will lead to greater safety and an improved curb appeal.

Following every inspection, you need to maintain proper records. The records must contain the issues the inspectors identified and the corrective actions taken to address those issues. The clarity of such records helps to maintain a proper record of everything done, which is vital in predicting future areas of concern. In addition, you need to identify professional inspectors with the proper qualifications. The professionals can easily identify ongoing problems and issues that are likely to appear in the future.

If you live in an HOA, communicate with other residents clearly concerning the schedule of inspections for the exercise to succeed. Other residents are in a position to point the inspectors to problems you might not have realized.

To schedule building inspections, visit AD Magellan Construction Planning and Management. Our office is in Vista, California. Call (877) 899-5990 to schedule an appointment today.