Milestone inspections are primarily concerned with the critical structural elements of a building. This includes:
- Foundation: Ensuring the stability of the building’s base.
- Load-bearing walls: Assessing the integrity of walls responsible for supporting the structure’s weight.
- Shear walls: Evaluating walls designed to withstand lateral forces, crucial for stability.
- Roof deck: Ensuring the safety and integrity of the roof structure.
- Balconies: Examining balconies for structural soundness.
“Substantial structural deterioration” is the key phrase for what inspectors are looking for. It means substantial structural distress or substantial structural weakness that negatively affects a building’s general structural condition and integrity. The term does not include surface imperfections such as cracks, distortion, sagging, deflections, misalignment, signs of leakage, or peeling of finishes unless the licensed engineer or architect performing the phase one or phase two inspection determines that such surface imperfections are a sign of substantial structural deterioration. Learn more in our dedicated article about Milestone Inspection legislation in Florida.
