Commercial Building Inspections Birmingham Vestavia Hills Alabaster AL

Commercial Property Inspections Across Alabama

We’ve been performing commercial building inspections for companies and investors in the Alabama area for over 28+years.

Our experience includes buildings from small retail stores to 250,000 square feet apartment complexes, multi-story buildings and strip retail centers. We have inspected gas stations, government buildings, utility buildings, malls, warehouses, apartments, condos, various old and new retail centers, doctor offices, vet clinics and the list goes on.

We have assembled a team of some of the best technicians in the Birmingham area with decades of experience. We can inspect to ASTM E 2018 Inspection Standards, however we tailor each inspection to the particular concerns and needs of each individual client.

Contact Griffith Home Analysis for Commercial Property Inspections, including:  205-871-1007. If after hours then just enter your information in our convenient scheduler and tentatively schedule a time online.  We will contact you as soon as we are in the office to discuss and confirm. Schedule Here.

• Standard Commercial Inspections
• Due Diligence Building Inspection
• ASTM Property Condition Assessments (PCA)
• Triple Net Lease Inspections
• Acquisition Inspections
• Condominium Allocation
• Apartment Complex Inspections
• Moisture Investigations
• General Commercial Building Inspections
• Modified State of Alabama Standard Inspections

These are a few of the Commercial Inspections here in the Birmingham Alabama area we’ve had the pleasure of Inspecting

Commercial Building Inspections FAQ

What is a commercial building inspection?

An Alabama commercial building inspection is an inspection of a multifamily residential building of more than 4 units, or a building defined for commercial purposes. Commercial inspections in Alabama can be specified to whatever the inspection purchaser would like to have inspected; however, there are primarily three inspection standards that are followed. The most widely accepted commercial inspection standard and a thorough review is the Property Condition Assessment (PCA) ASTM 2018-15. Another popular inspection standard is the Certified Commercial Property Inspectors Association. Probably, the most popular Alabama commercial building inspection standard is the Alabama Home Inspection Standards of Practice adopted for use on commercial buildings.

What are the differences in types of Alabama commercial building inspections?

Home inspections in Alabama are set to a specific standard regulated by the Alabama Department of Finance Real Property Division and lack much flexibility. Commercial third-party inspections however are not regulated in Alabama and a buyer can request an inspection to whatever extent they would like to have inspected. As a result, clients request different levels of focus and inspection depth on nearly every commercial property we inspect. Alabama commercial inspections are a limited visual and non-intrusive inspection just as home inspections.
The Property Condition Assessment (PCA) ASTM 2018-15 is the most widely accepted national standard for inspecting commercial buildings. It varies from other commercial building inspections primarily in that it includes cost estimates, plan, and permit reviews and well as a good amount of just informational content. This is an expensive inspection as compared for most customers and not typically requested for small, mid, or lower priced commercial properties. For large business acquisitions or large properties, it is the preferred inspection request.
The Certified Commercial Property Inspectors International Standards of Practice for Inspecting Commercial Properties is a fairly recent inspection standard published by a sister organization of the well-established organization the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. It is a thorough review with a focus similar to home inspections on identifying material defects according to the list of standards including some document review. Also, a popular commercial inspection standard that has become well established.
The most requested Alabama commercial building inspection we receive is the commercial inspection performed using the Alabama Home Inspection Standards of Practice. The objective of the inspection is primarily to identify significant defects defined by function from a list of specified components. Since it answers the basic questions of What is defective? and What are the maintenance needs of the property? It suits the majority of small commercial property inspection requests we receive. Typically, this inspection is a less costly inspection because the report is not as involved and permit/plan review is omitted from this type of commercial inspection. Often referred to or requested as just a standard Commercial Inspection
How does a commercial building inspection differ from a home inspection?
Not as much as you would think. The basic question that the client wants answered for both these inspections is: What are the maintenance needs of the property? However identification of material defects or significant defects on a commercial building inspection can be very different than in a residential home inspection. Many home inspectors are not trained for commercial construction inspection and the proper identification of commercial building defects could be an issue. For example commercial type roof systems are not often found on residential properties and are usually more technically specific to type and brand than residential roof shingle systems. The reports on most commercial building inspections can also be more involved than residential inspections.

How long does a commercial inspection take?

Commercial building inspections lengths obviously vary greatly by the type of inspection and property attributes. Since most commercial inspections involve access to leased spaces and access must be intricately timed for availability and so as not to interfere with the tenants business, we increase the size of the team as needed to shorten the inspection time on site. We usually budget for half day to full day in typical cases and again actual time depends greatly on the property age, size, complexity, and condition. Unusually large properties can take multiple days to complete. We have completed commercial building site inspections in as little as 2 hours and as long as 7 days.

How much does an Alabama commercial building inspection cost?

It varies too widely for even a ballpark answer. We have completed $450 commercial inspections and $14,000 commercial inspections. Obviously, size and complexity are the big determining factors but the type of inspection also determines how much time on site and in the office will be needed.

For more information:
https://www.astm.org/e2018-15.html
http://www.alabamaadministrativecode.state.al.us/docs/fin/355-18-1.pdf

Commcercial Inspections can be performed in either a residential format using the State of Alabama’s home inspector standard of practice or in a ASTM E 2018 Property Condition Assesment format or a modified property condition assesment format. The two most popular choices are the modified ASTM E 2018 or the modified State of Alabama Home inspetor format.

The ASTM E 2018 Property condition assesment standards is overseen by ASTM International which was formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials. The guidelines are similar but also different from the state of Alabama home inspectors standards of practice. Here is the latest copy on the ASTMs website of what all this type of inspection entrails and the goals it trys to establish.