Our Services

All services' quote are subject to inspection time length, items to be inspected, and other property related specifications. Please email us at info@abi-bldg-insp.com with your inquiry and we will get back to you with our estimate for building inspection.

Pre-Purchase Building Inspections - Residential Buildings

$2000+

ABI calls this our General Building Inspection (GBI). It includes a 3+ hour on-site inspection of over 350 property components and systems, followed by a 30 to 60 minute verbal report on major findings and issues. We then generate a 40+ page written narrative describing our findings, their implications, and associated costs. In addition to helping you make good decisions about a home purchase, the GBI report is intended to serve as an owner's manual for your home over the next 15+ years.

Pre-Purchase Building Inspections - Commercial Buildings

$5000+

Commercial General Building Inspections typically involve 5+ hours of inspection time on site, followed by a 30 to 60 minute verbal report covering major findings. The ensuing written report (60+ pages) details our findings, their implications, and what should be done to follow up on, correct, improve, or maintain building systems and components. We can also provide a extracted, line-item listing of priorities and cost estimates for property care and corrective work.

Expert Witness Testimony

$200+/hr

ABI offers plaintiff and defense expert witness consultation services for: personal injury cases involving falls and impacts; construction defect and code issue litigation; and defect disclosure disputes in the real estate purchase/selling process.

Owner's Representative

$200+/hr

Whether a building is being remodeled, rehabbed, or built new, ABI is available to oversee the process with our clients’ best interests in mind. As an unbiased intermediary, we work with our clients and their architect and/or contractors to provide guidance, reduce confusion, and minimize construction time and costs.

Troubleshooting Building Problems

$200+/hr

Basement filled with water? Roof sprung a leak? Deck experiencing premature rot? Through non-destructive testing and evaluation, ABI diagnoses and writes prescriptive reports for a variety of building system and component failures.

Condo Conversion & Building Envelope Inspections

Price varies

ABI provides Washington State-required inspections for apartment-to-condominium conversion projects. The Property Condition Assessment is a visual inspection of structural and mechanical systems, while the Building Envelope Inspection is an intrusive evaluation (done in conjunction with clients’ contractors) assessing siding, roof cover, decking, and other installations intended to protect interior components from adverse water and weather conditions.

ADU/Cottage Design & Construction

Price varies

Officially, cottages, guest houses, mother-in-law apartments, and tiny homes added to your property are called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). ABI has a passion for these practical innovations, and our architects and designers would love to help you envision and/or oversee building yours.

Detailed Research

Price varies

If you have specific needs for detailed analysis of individual building components and building safety related risks or hazards, ABI provides research services and writes prescriptive reports.

What's Included in an ABI General Building Inspection (GBI)?

With 43 years and over 20,000 buildings under our belt, we at ABI feel comfortable calling our building inspection process a science. Our pre-purchase GBIs run between 3 and 6+ hours, depending on the size, age, condition, and quality of the building and property. We use this time to check and assess over 350 building systems and components. Immediately following the inspection, our inspectors sit down with you to go over our areas of concern, and to give you the opportunity to ask questions about our findings in person. Following the inspection, and based on an agreed-upon timeline, our team will issue a detailed narrative report through your selected choice of delivery (emailed PDF and/or bound print-out on ABI letterhead).

Building systems and components included in our evaluations:

● Site/Yard Areas

● Roof and Roof Drainage

● Building Exterior and Storm Drainage

● Basement/Foundation/Crawl Space

● Mechanical and Electrical

● Plumbing

● Building Interior

● Building Structure

● Building Rot and Wood Destroying Insects

● Building Safety

The inspection also typically includes a Registered Inspector’s assessment and/or calculations and measurements of: site and storm drainage; roof slope; roof ventilation; building insulation; and pedestrian and fire safety components.

WHAT'S IN OUR REPORT?

ABI general building inspection reports run anywhere from 40 to 80+ pages, depending on the size, age, condition and quality of the building and property. The reports are clear, coherent, and worded for all audiences - non-technical and technical alike. Reports both detail our findings (descriptions of components’ type, quality, existing and foreseeable defects, remaining serviceable lives) and, where problems are found, indicate their severity and possible effects on related components. Our building inspectors also provide corrective, improvement, and/or maintenance suggestions and, for an additional charge, we will include a complete, separate listing of priorities and cost estimates for care and correction.

Though none are covered exhaustively in the scope of our services, building codes, manufacturers’ instructions, industry standards, and, where applicable, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) specifications serve as the bases for our inspections and are referred to throughout our written reports.

As a whole, ABI's pre-purchase building inspection report will serve not only as a one-time property evaluation, but also as an in-depth, hand-tailored manual that will remain a valuable guide to maintaining your home.