Did you know that Broward County, Florida has a building inspection program specifically for older buildings? And if commercial buildings don’t pass, they have to be fixed or demolished?
This is a story of one case where the building did NOT pass the inspection, and what happened next.
Let’s start with an understanding of the rules, which are established for safety purposes. The Building Safety Inspection Program was established “for buildings and structures that have been in existence for a period of 40 years or longer.” There are guidelines and criteria for the minimum safety requirements, and a review is required and enforced, starting at the 40-year mark.
The building inspection is done by an architect or engineer who inspects for structural and electrical soundness. Once the building passes its 40-year inspection, it is certified, and the next inspection is in 10 years (and every 10 years afterwards).
In our story, our clients had a mega-yacht, marina facility that had reached the 40-year mark that was inspected by an engineer. He wrote that the building was structurally unsafe (the report included various pictures from around the facility, showing cracks in the walls and floors, representing the issues described in the report).
In fact, there was so much work that would be needed to fix the building that it was marked as an unsafe structure. Luckily, our client’s main administrative offices were located elsewhere, and they were able to continue running the business.
The next step in this process is the filing of the engineer’s report. At this stage, the City of Fort Lauderdale was aware of the failed inspection, and the company owners were notified that they needed to do something to rectify the situation.
Unfortunately, the company didn’t respond to the notice in time, so they ended up in front of the magistrate, who said they could foreclose on the building. When they got this message from the magistrate, they reached out to Danto Builders for help.
Craig Danto went on location, and looked at the building and the report. He met with the General Manager and explained that the amount of work it would take to fix the structural issues was way too much to be worth the expense. Instead, he advised that they demolish the building and do a new design-build.
The client agreed and then the real work began.
Demolishing a building is not a simple task. There’s a long list of requirements and steps to be taken, in order to do the work in a safe and responsible way. Here’s a quick summary of just some of the work that needs to be done before a commercial building is demolished.
- A survey needs to be submitted of the exact structures to be demolished (including square footage)
- An asbestos review must be done, to see if there’s asbestos in the building (which needs to be removed properly, if found)
- Pest control inspection (to be sure the structure is free of rodents)
- Daily work schedule, listing all equipment to be used on the property
- Construction debris mitigation describing how the debris will be handled
- Gas disconnect letter (to ensure that the gas is cut-off and left in a way that it can be picked up by the next user on the property)
- Water meter removal
- FPL disconnect confirmation
- EPA letter regarding the removal and disposal of refrigerant chemicals from A/C units
- Fire service water meter removal
- Tree protection on the site, and how trees will be handled
- Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) detailing how sediment will be handled, as well as issues such as temporary construction fencing, gates, and other location issues
- Staging and storage plan, which includes mitigation measures to minimize construction impacts to adjacent residential and businesses areas
There are many details here that involve multiple steps. For example, in order to shut off power, the power has to be cut off at the source; this might involve bringing a powerline back to a pole, or adding a new disconnect valve for the plumbing so the water is still going to the site, but not used.
Danto Builders pulls all the permits to do this work, which is then inspected. Only after all these steps are taken can each utility disconnect. And, finally, every utility has to document that the site has been cut off properly.
This process can take a while. But all of this must be done properly before the demolition of a commercial building can be done.
This particular site had oil and fuel, as well as chemicals used to clean and treat boats. Danto Builders had to make sure, when we the building was demolished, the materials were hauled to the appropriate dumps or places for disposal. Luckily, in this case, the site was clean site and there were no contaminants.
Once the entire process was done, and everything was shut off, a crew knocked the building down in less than a week. And when that work was done, the engineer, the utility people, the building inspector, and the client were all happy with the clean space that was left behind.
How did Danto Builders become involved in this project? The client was looking for reliable commercial contractors and did an online search. Once they contacted Danto and spoke with Craig, he was happy to share his guidance and advice.
If you have a building with structural issues, or in violation of building codes, and want help to rectify that situation, contact Danto Builders. We’re happy to help you out.
“Not only do we build buildings,” Craig says, “We build relationships.” Danto Builders helps clients with difficult situations in order to build trust and consideration for future construction projects.
Every construction project is different and unique. Danto Builders appreciates how important it is to understand each and every client’s needs and do what they can to meet those needs in every project. If you have questions about these trends, or have a specific commercial construction project planned, please feel free to reach out to Danto Builders at (954) 229-2006 to talk about it.