Inspection Consulting Services

Suncoast Inspections can relieve you of the day to day worries that go along with building a luxury home.  We can act as your advocate, construction manager, construction consultant and auditor. Our Inspection Consulting Services are the corner stone of our company. We tailor our services to meet our clients’ needs and budget, starting at any phase of construction of any type of structure, from the initial concept to the final detail, our professionals can assist in design to implementation of any construction project, whether it be commercial, residential or industrial. We pride ourselves on a quick turnaround time and are willing to make special arrangements to expedite the reviews and field reports.

Contract Assessments – Our construction experts review the contract from a construction point of view.  This service is similar to hiring an attorney for a legal point of view.  Most builders’ contracts heavily favor the builder and the AIA contract heavily favors the architect.  The architect owns all rights to your design.  Unless noted in your contract, if you fire him or if he dies during construction you cannot use your (his) design and the project comes to a halt.  (An actual Suncoast Inspections case).

Design & Plan Reviews – Our professionals are prepared to assist with all aspects of plan review: design, construction techniques and selection of construction materials. SI.com checks the accuracy of plans and determines whether they comply with Florida Building Codes. Example; Does the HVAC system design work? Is it over designed or under designed?  Have the floor trusses been designed around the ductwork or have they let the truss engineer dictate where the ductwork runs?  99% of the time the latter occurs.  This causes problems during installation and degrades the efficiency of the system. Clients don’t discover this until occupancy, when the system does not function well.

SI.com can provide clients with improvement options in materials and new building techniques. Honing the specification prior to bidding will save time and you ultimately have the final choice of which of these options to use. What’s important is that the issues are resolved at the design phase to prevent confusion and misunderstanding on the subcontractor’s part during the bidding process. It is preferred to assess the project before the architect and/or engineer sign off on the plans and spec’s as it enables us to recommend changes or to improve the quality of design and construction. We advise, you decide.

Contractor Evaluations – SI.com can assist in choosing your builder or contractor.  We compare and translate bids from different contractors showing why one might be more economical than the other. Typically it is due to “Valued Engineering” on the bidder’s part. We provide our clients with the necessary information in making an educated and informed decision about which contractor to choose. 

Construction Assessments & Inspections – SI.com acts as the homeowners advocate during the construction process.  We deal directly with the builder/contractor and their representatives to iron out issues that arise during construction.   On a regular basis we check for quality, code compliance, manufacturer’s installation specifications of the building materials, and confirmation that you’re getting what you contracted for.  In most cases, the materials’ manufacturer specifications supersede the local building codes. Unfortunately, this results in substandard workmanship that will void manufacturer’s warrantees.  Photo based reports are produced and reviewed with the builder/rep on site. We assist the homeowner in understanding the construction process and provide support from a homeowner’s point of view.  It’s like having a builder at your side providing the tips and secrets of the construction industry. 

During the construction process we’ll consult with you on a regular basis keeping you abreast with what is going on.  This service can be invaluable for anyone who has neither the time or construction knowledge to track the construction process.  In the end, you will know our services had provided you with a better built home, saved you money and resolved construction issues most lay-people do not understand.  Our services pays for itself many times over.

Construction Management & Inspections – Construction management services can range from project oversight and direction during construction, inspection of all phases of construction, supervision of materials sampling, testing and field survey work, review change orders, maintenance of project schedule, field inspections, and review of monthly progress payments to the contractor.  Our team of construction experts can assist our clients in their construction project, should they decide to act as the contractor of record. You act as your own contractor, hiring sub-contractors to perform the work; we guide you through the design and bidding process to finish. This is not for the faint of heart but has the potential to save a significant amount in construction costs.

Clients have options – You can trust that the builder’s work is getting done properly;  then discover problems after you’ve moved in the building or hire an independent consultant to oversee the project and protect your investment.

Construction Audits – Are you concerned about construction costs and worried whether the money you have given your contractor is being used on your job? We can audit your construction costs and confirm your money is spent on materials used to build your dwelling.  This works well in cost plus contracts.  We compare the builder’s invoices with the money the client has given.  We’ll examine the invoices, confirm the expenditures with the sub-contractor and create a complete balance sheet of the entire job.