Commercial Inspections

In the State of Georgia the inspection of commercial buildings valued more than $100,000.00 is regulated by the State Board of Professional Engineers. Unless the commercial building is very small (market value less than $100,000.00) the Property Condition Assessment (PCA)/Commercial Inspection must be performed by a licensed Professional Engineer. This requirement is different from most other states as was pointed-out in the May 2007 ASHI Reporter article published by the Amercian Society of Home Inspectors and written by Richard Weldon, P.E. The article quotes from the minutes of the June 2, 2005 board meeting of the Georgia Engineering Board, which states, “Providing Property Condition Assessment (PCA) inspection reports or any other reports concerning the conditions, adequacy, safe or unsafe conditions, compliance with/or codes of any commercial structure valued at more than $100,000 for a client is considered by this Board the practice of Engineering as defined in Georgia Law section 43-15-2 and persons not registered as Professional Engineers in the State of Georgia shall be prohibited from performing or offering to perform such services.”

The governance of Professional Engineers by the Georgia Engineering Board provides for a disciplinary process for reporting and investigating anyone performing PCA/commercial inspections that are not licensed professional engineers in Georgia.

Welch Engineering, LLC has been involved in the design, construction and the inspection of commercial buildings since 1990. As a member and past president of the Polk County Development Authority, Glenn Welch, PE was directly involved in promoting economic development by the construction of “speculative buildings” up to 100,000 square feet.

The choice between a commercial inspection and a property condition assessment is usually determined by the size of the building. It is recommended that a Commercial Inspection be performed on a building up to 8,000 square feet and that a property condition assessment (PCA) be performed on larger buildings. The Commercial Inspection is a more detailed inspection and the Property Condition Assessment provides the client with a high level of property condition as defined by the ASTM Standard E-2018-01.

Welch Engineering, LLC along with its associates can provide clients with inspection services for commercial real estate. Glenn holds commercial licenses in Plumbing, Electrical and Conditioned Air issued by the State of Georgia.