Some residents worry that hiring an engineer for a home inspection (bedek bayit) will strain their relationship with the contractor or the site foreman. That worry usually comes from not knowing enough about what the inspection is for and what it actually leads to.
The point of an inspection is to find construction defects, not to pick a fight with the contractor or catch him out over small things. Hiring an expert engineer is not a vote of no confidence in the contractor.
On the contrary: just as the contractor relies on skilled professionals to build the apartment, the resident should rely on skilled professionals to check it. An apartment is made up of thousands of components connecting through complex interfaces, and without deep knowledge of construction methods and the standards that guarantee quality, none of us can really tell whether the apartment we are about to receive will serve us well for years to come.
So a resident should feel no discomfort about hiring an expert engineer to accompany them and inspect the apartment. Some contractors are unhappy when the inspecting engineer shows up. Each case like that is worth looking into on its own: ask why the contractor is nervous about an engineering inspection, and whether he might be trying to hide something.
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