FOUNDED ON
RESCUE, BUILT
ON EXPERIENCE

A milestone inspection for condominiums, as required by Florida law, starts with a visual qualitative inspection by an engineer or architect. The purpose of this initial inspection is to get a feel for whether or not the building has structural issues that could potentially threaten life safety. It’s called a Phase 1 Milestone Inspection.

The purpose of this inspection does not include searching for building code defects, latent (hidden) defects, or reviewing non-structural items such as paint coatings, mechanical or electrical systems. Mechanical and electrical systems will potentially be included as part of a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS).

If the engineer/architect find substantial structural deterioration or damage in the initial Phase 1 inspection, they will recommend to move into a Phase 2 inspection which is more detailed and may include destructive testing. It’s important to remember that a recommendation for a Phase 2 inspection isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it just means that the engineer/architect wants to take a closer look at things to help figure out the extent of deterioration.

For example, because concrete corrosion and spalling usually shows up 25 to 30 years into a building’s lifespan, it’s likely that most reinforced concrete buildings built along Florida’s coast that are 25 years or older will show some signs of corrosion damage – and a Phase 2 would most likely be recommended once the Phase 1 inspection is complete.

Keep in mind that the Phase 1 inspection, Phase 2 inspection, and SIRS reserve study are all separate initiatives with their own separate costs. Normally we can’t provide a quote for a Phase 2 inspection until after we have performed our initial inspection. Also, we do not perform Structural Integrity Reserve Studies (SIRS) at this time. We refer clients needing a SIRS to contact Reserve Advisors.