Expert Witness

Disagreements over the design of a building may include alleged structural performance issues or Building Code non-compliance. In the case of alleged performance issues, careful inspection of the structural drawings and the built structure can help determine if any structural deficiencies exist, and the possible causes. Under-designed buildings that fail to meet Building Code requirements are likelier to experience structural performance issues, while buildings that are over-designed present unnecessary costs and material usage. Neither is desirable, and we note any discrepancies between the relevant sections of the current Building Code, common practices, and the structural design of the building in question.

Conflict often arises over project changes. Minor changes to a structure’s design or construction procedures are an inevitable part of the building process, but these changes must be clearly communicated to the entire project team. Untracked changes can have an impact on cost, schedule, performance, or result in scopes of work that were never agreed upon. Decades of experience help us to assess whether the response and impact of a change was reasonable or not.