Special inspections are when a licensed structural engineer monitors your construction project to verify the work matches approved drawings and meets code requirements. Philadelphia requires this for any project using structural steel beams, concrete slabs, high-strength bolts, or structural welding. The inspector visits your site at critical stages during construction, documents what the contractor built, catches problems before they're covered up, and provides certification to L&I when the work is done. Without this certification, L&I won't issue your Certificate of Occupancy and you can't sell or rent the building. Most Fishtown projects over two stories need special inspections, and your architect lists exactly which inspections are required when they submit your permit application.

An Underpinning inspection is when a structural engineer monitors excavation work next to existing buildings to make sure neighboring properties don't collapse or settle. Philadelphia requires this whenever you dig deeper than 5 feet within 10 feet of an adjacent structure, which is basically every basement excavation in Fishtown's narrow rowhouse lots. Your contractor digs in small sections, pours concrete to support the neighbor's foundation in each section, then moves to the next section. This process repeats 16-24 times for a typical rowhouse. The engineer must be on-site during excavation and concrete placement for every single section to verify the work protects adjacent buildings. Without this documentation, L&I won't issue your Certificate of Occupancy, and if your neighbor's building settles or collapses, you're liable for all damages.

A Foundation inspection is when a structural engineer assesses your building's foundation to identify problems and estimate repair costs. You need this before buying a property to know what you're getting into, before planning a renovation so your architect knows what they're working with, or when you've discovered problems like cracks in walls, doors sticking, floors sloping, or water coming through the basement. Most Fishtown rowhouses are 100-150 years old with stone or brick foundations from the 1800s-1950s. These foundations were fine when built but often show deterioration now from lime mortar crumbling, stones separating, freeze-thaw damage, or settlement from inadequate footings. The engineer accesses your basement and crawlspace, measures cracks, tests mortar condition, checks for water infiltration, documents settlement, and assesses whether the foundation is structurally adequate. You get an 8-15 page report with photos, detailed findings, and repair recommendations with cost estimates.

Make safe permits are emergency L&I permits required when a building partially collapses, shows imminent collapse signs, or gets red-tagged as unsafe. When L&I red-tags a building under Section 110, you must obtain a make safe permit to perform emergency stabilization work like installing shoring, bracing walls, removing dangerous elements, or partial demolition. This permit requires a Pennsylvania-licensed structural engineer to design the emergency work, provide stamped drawings, supervise the stabilization, and certify completion to L&I. The make safe permit is processed on an emergency basis, typically issued within 24-48 hours rather than the normal 2-4 week permit review. Philadelphia averages 300 building collapses per year, many in Fishtown from adjacent excavation damage, roof overloading, fire damage, or century-old buildings deteriorating. Most make safe permit applications happen between 11pm and 3am when buildings collapse during construction, storms, or snow loading events.

Emergency structural engineering is the immediate response when your contractor discovers structural failure during renovation, a load-bearing element fails unexpectedly, or you need same-day structural assessment to keep your project moving. This is when you call us directly because your contractor removed what they thought was a non-load-bearing wall and the second floor sagged 2 inches, opened a wall and found severe termite damage, discovered the existing beam is undersized for the addition you're building, or noticed floor joists rotting where they meet the foundation. In Fishtown's 1800s-1950s rowhouses, contractors frequently discover hidden structural problems during demolition because previous homeowners covered problems with drywall rather than fixing them. The engineer responds within 2-4 hours, assesses damage on-site, designs temporary stabilization for the same day so your contractor can continue working tomorrow, and provides permanent repair drawings within 3-7 days so your project stays on schedule.

Mat slab inspection is the code-required inspection by a structural engineer before your contractor pours the foundation slab for new construction or basement excavation projects. Philadelphia Building Code Table 1705.3 requires special inspection of concrete reinforcement placement for most projects, with limited exceptions for simple 1-2 story buildings. Most Fishtown new construction like 3-4 story townhouses and Front Street mixed-use buildings require mat slab inspection. Your contractor excavates to foundation depth, installs vapor barrier and compacted stone base, places reinforcing steel in a rebar grid, and calls the engineer for inspection. The engineer arrives before concrete trucks (typically 6:30am for 7am pour), inspects rebar size, spacing, and cover distances, verifies excavation depth and preparation, approves or identifies corrections, and documents with photos. The contractor proceeds with concrete pour only after engineer approval, and the engineer submits a report to L&I for the permit file.

Concrete and rebar inspection is the special inspection required by Philadelphia Building Code Table 1705.3 for elevated slabs, concrete columns, concrete walls, beams, and any structural concrete element beyond simple ground-level foundations. Most Fishtown new construction projects require multiple concrete inspections throughout construction as each floor or structural element is formed and poured. This is different from mat slab inspection which is a one-time inspection before foundation pour. Concrete and rebar inspection happens repeatedly during construction as each floor slab, column, or wall is built. Your contractor builds formwork (temporary wooden forms that hold wet concrete), installs reinforcing steel per structural drawings, calls the engineer for inspection before pouring, and the engineer approves so concrete can be placed. This repeats for each floor slab, each column, and each wall that contains structural concrete, typically requiring 3-8 inspections for a 3-story Fishtown townhouse or 12-24+ inspections for larger buildings.

Structural steel inspection is the special inspection required by Philadelphia Building Code Table 1705.2 when your project uses steel beams, columns, or structural frames. Most Fishtown renovation projects remove load-bearing walls to create open floor plans by installing steel I-beams to support the second floor. Most Front Street new construction uses structural steel frames with steel beams and columns supporting concrete slabs in 4-6 story mixed-use buildings. Table 1705.2 distinguishes between continuous inspection where the engineer is on-site during the entire operation (required for welded moment connections and high-strength bolted connections) and periodic inspection with scheduled visits (allowed for standard bolted connections and simple welds). Your contractor orders steel from a fabricator, steel is delivered to site, a crane lifts beams into place, connections are bolted or welded, and the engineer inspects at multiple stages. Typical steel projects require 2-4 inspections for small residential beam installations to 12-24+ inspections for large multi-story steel frame buildings.

Facade inspection is the code-required inspection every 5 years for buildings over 3 stories or 40 feet tall per Philadelphia Code Chapter 14-1600. This applies to many Fishtown buildings including converted mills that are 4-6 stories, Front Street mixed-use developments that are 4-8 stories, and some taller rowhouses with pilot-house construction pushing height over 40 feet. A Pennsylvania-licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect must inspect the entire building exterior including walls, parapets, cornices, balconies, fire escapes, signs, and awnings looking for deterioration, loose elements, cracks, spalling where concrete or brick breaks off, and any conditions that could cause falling debris. The inspection requires close-up access using aerial lift, scaffolding, or rope access for tall buildings, photo documentation of all defects, and a stamped report submitted to L&I certifying the building is safe or identifying required repairs. Buildings overdue for inspection receive L&I violations with accumulating fines until inspection is complete.

Excavation shoring inspection is the code-required monitoring by a structural engineer when your contractor digs deeper than 5 feet and uses temporary support systems called shoring to prevent cave-ins. OSHA and Philadelphia Building Code require shoring for excavations over 5 feet deep or when excavating near existing structures to prevent soil from collapsing into the excavation, protect workers from being buried alive, and prevent adjacent buildings from settling. Most Fishtown basement excavations that lower basement floors to add ceiling height or dig new basements under existing buildings require shoring because you're digging 8-12 feet deep and working within inches of adjacent rowhouse foundations. Typical shoring systems are steel sheet piling with interlocking steel sheets driven into ground, soldier piles and lagging with vertical steel beams and horizontal wood planks, or trench boxes as steel cages protecting workers inside excavation. Your contractor installs shoring, the engineer inspects before excavation proceeds, the engineer monitors during excavation, and the engineer certifies shoring performed adequately.

Structural load analysis is the engineering calculation required when you're adding loads to an existing building or when your architect needs to verify existing structure can support proposed changes. Most Fishtown renovation projects involve structural modifications like removing walls between living room and kitchen to create open floor plan requiring beam to carry second floor load, adding third-floor addition or pilot house where existing structure must support additional story, converting rowhouse to multi-unit rental with heavier occupancy loads, or building rooftop deck where existing roof structure designed for snow only not people and furniture and planters. The engineer calculates existing structural capacity, calculates new loads being added, determines if existing structure is adequate, and designs strengthening if needed with new beams, columns, or foundation upgrades. Deliverables are stamped structural drawings showing required modifications and calculations for L&I permit review. This service is separate from inspection services which verify contractor builds what's on the drawings.

Building structural assessment is the comprehensive evaluation of your entire building's structural system before major renovations, after discovering problems, for property purchase due diligence, or when converting building use. Most Fishtown building assessments happen when developers buy older rowhouses sight-unseen at auction needing to know actual repair costs before committing capital, architects discover hidden damage during design phase like opened walls and found termite damage or rotted framing or previous unpermitted modifications, or property owners plan gut renovations wanting to know what structural surprises await before setting budgets. The engineer inspects foundation to roof including basement walls and floor framing and load-bearing walls and roof structure, identifies all structural deficiencies, categorizes by severity, and provides repair recommendations with cost estimates. This is different from foundation inspection which focuses only on foundation or pre-purchase home inspection which is general not structural-specific. Building structural assessment is engineering-level detailed inspection with stamped report typically 30-80 pages.