A structural inspection is needed whenever there is concern about the stability of a building or one of its structural elements.
It is carried out by a structural engineer, who specializes in the design and stability of buildings.
Examples of structural inspections carried out by Arad Bedek Bayit:
Diagonal cracks running through the structure, pointing to differential settlement or soil heaving.
Concern about the settlement of a specific element, such as a retaining wall, a balcony, or a paved surface.
Faulty concrete pours.
Sinking stairs.
A structural addition pulling away from the existing building.
Metal structural work that was not built properly.
Reinforcement rebar without adequate concrete cover.
Rusting rebar and the concrete deterioration that follows from ongoing dampness.
Below is an example of a wall with severe movement:
The wall's movement caused nearby floor tiles to settle and lift.
The same movement is cracking the cladding tiles on the wall's inner face:
A crack caused by an unstable, shifting wall:
Below is a poor concrete pour, with excessive segregation:
And here is another:
Rebar with no cover at all (it needs at least 2 to 3 cm of concrete cover):
Without an inspection in a case like this, the contractor would simply plaster over the wall, and cracks would appear before long, followed by breaks in the concrete as the rebar rusts. The concrete cover exists specifically to protect the rebar from rust.
Another example of inadequate rebar cover:
Below is the formwork for a beam that has not yet been poured: the stirrups are 14 cm wide inside a 15 cm beam, without the required cover thickness. In other words, there is no way to get more than 0.5 cm of concrete cover on either side.
The engineers of Arad Bedek Bayit, led by building engineer Ron Arad, whom courts appoint as their own expert on construction defects. The company has been inspecting apartments and buildings since 2001. Engineer Ron Arad · More about the company