The inspection process
Four steps: share property details, receive scope and quote, coordinate the inspection, receive agreed documentation.
Every inspection follows the same four steps, and the written scope always comes before the schedule. You share the property details, you receive a property-specific scope and quote, we coordinate access and carry out the inspection, and you receive the documentation agreed in the scope.
You are never asked to commit to an inspection before you have seen in writing what it covers, what it excludes and what it costs.
Step by step
What happens, in order
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Step 1
Share property details
You tell us what the property is.
Send the address, the number of buildings and stories, an approximate balcony count, the reason for the inspection and your desired timing. Estimates are fine at this stage — we would rather start from a rough number than wait for an exact one.
The detail that most often gets left out is access: whether balconies are reached through occupied units, from common corridors, or from outside the building. It changes the scope more than almost anything else, so tell us what you know.
- Property address and property type
- Number of buildings, stories and approximate balconies
- How balconies are accessed, and whether units are occupied
- Why the inspection is needed, and by when
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Step 2
Receive scope and quote
We put the job in writing before you commit.
You receive a written, property-specific scope. It states what will be inspected, what is excluded, the documentation you will receive and in what format, and the price. Nothing is scheduled until you have agreed to it.
The exclusions are written down deliberately. A scope that only lists what is included leaves the reader to guess about everything else, and guessing is exactly what causes problems later.
- What is inspected, location by location
- What is explicitly excluded from the scope
- The report format and how it is delivered
- The price and the timeline for your property
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Step 3
Coordinate the inspection
We work around your residents, not over them.
We agree the date and the access arrangements with a single point of contact, and give you what you need to notify residents in advance. On multi-building and portfolio work this is scheduled as one coordinated sequence rather than a series of unconnected visits.
On the day, the inspection is carried out against the agreed scope. Anything that cannot be safely or lawfully reached is recorded as not inspected, with the reason.
- One point of contact for scheduling
- Resident notice lead time agreed in advance
- Access route confirmed per building or stack
- Weather and safety contingencies agreed up front
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Step 4
Receive agreed documentation
You get the record you were promised.
You receive the report in the agreed format: dated photographs keyed to building, level and location; written observations in plain language; a list of locations that could not be inspected; and clear flags on anything that, in our judgement, warrants review by a licensed engineer.
What the report will not do is tell you a balcony is safe, certify compliance with a code, approve someone else’s repair, or imply that it satisfies a statutory requirement. If you need a document that does one of those things, you need a different professional, and the report will say so.
- Photographs keyed to specific locations
- Observations written to be read by owners and boards
- Locations not inspected, listed with reasons
- Explicit escalation flags where engineering judgement is needed
On the day
How an inspection is actually conducted
The method is deliberately repeatable, because consistency is what makes one building comparable with the next and this year comparable with last year.
- Locations are identified by building, level and a stable reference before anything is recorded
- Each location is photographed from consistent vantage points, so a follow-up can match them
- Observations are recorded against the location, not written up from memory afterwards
- Inaccessible locations are logged at the time, with the reason
- Conditions that need engineering judgement are flagged as they are found, not interpreted on the spot
Access is non-invasive throughout. Nothing is opened, probed or dismantled during a visual condition inspection.
What the process deliberately does not include
Being clear about this up front is part of the service, not a disclaimer bolted on at the end.
No safety certification
No step in this process produces a statement that a balcony is safe, or a warranty of any kind.
No engineering determination
No load calculation, capacity analysis or sealed engineering opinion is produced.
No statutory filing
Nothing in this process is filed with the state or satisfies a statutory inspection requirement.
No repair approval
A follow-up inspection documents visible change. It does not approve or accept another party's work.
Next step
Start at step one
Send the property details and the written scope comes back to you. Nothing is scheduled until you have agreed to it.