Condition Survey

A condition survey is an examination of the building's structure for the purpose of identifying and defining areas of distress or deterioration. Recording the history of the building through past restoration projects will serve as the starting point for a new survey or for the 4o years recertification process required by state and local authorities.
To evaluate the present condition of the structures, engineers will follow a check list of items identifying the cause of the damage to the structure. The presence of settlement, deflection, expansion and contraction of concrete surfaces are in most cases the result of a failure or deterioration of one of the main components of reinforced concrete (Re-bar).
Beams, columns, and walls are commonly subject to strains and pressures. The poor surface conditions on these areas are an eminent threat to the safety and stability of the building. The presence of cracks, blisters, scaling, spalls (pop-outs on concrete), corrosion (rust stains), exposed reinforcement steel bars and moisture are common signs of a troubled structure. All of these conditions require special treatments since their origins are due to different causes; for example, a crack on a concrete slab could be a result of settlement (downward movement of a structure)or a deflection due to overweight (movement of a point on a structure usually measured as a linear displacement). It may also be a result of spalling concrete due to the oxidation of the reinforcement bar, especially when the structure is exposed to chlorides (Salty environment)