What We Offer

Due diligence & Condition surveys

Property Diagnostic Consulting is regularly tasked to perform due diligence surveys on properties such as, Universities, High Rise complexes, Commercial and industrial business parks, as well as single household apartments or houses.

These types of reports are requested from large investment companies, managing agents, facilities managers, household owners or potential buyers. This is normally done prior to the purchase of any property and highlights any latent defects, maintenance issues or any other area of concern which could cost the potential buyer dearly. Reports of this type are generally “photo” enhanced and allow for both buyer and seller to be correctly informed as to the status of maintenance and/or serious issues on any property. Similarly this is also requested from owners who wish to know if their properties are being maintained by tenants where a “full maintenance lease” is in place.

Technical reports

In some instances specialized reports are often required which involve complicated systems and applications. PDC has a long standing reputation of delivering factual and unbiased reporting on highly specific substrates where failures have occurred. These have been tasked by contractors, clients, manufacturers and legal counsel in the past and in a number of instances PDC has been requested to act as mediators to resolve disputes. Most reports of this nature have some form of legal or financial repercussion and can be used in legal proceedings if needed.

PDC’ specific areas of expertise are :

Flooring:

• Power floated or wood floated cementitious floors

• Epoxy, polyurethane or painted flooring

• Solid wood or laminate flooring

• Tiled, paved or decorative screed floors

 

Waterproofing:

• Heat Fused, self adhesive and all other bituminous systems
• PVC/Hyperlon
• Polyurea systems
• Acrylic Based systems
• Cementitious waterproofing systems
• Rising damp and subterranean drainage

 

Roofing:

• All “Klip-lok” or concealed fix systems
• IBR, corrugated or metal profiled systems
• Asbestos and/or Fibre cement systems
• Fibre glass, polycarbonate and translucent systems

 

Painting:

• All forms of Painting systems namely Acrylic, Alkyd, or solvent based systems

 

Structural :

• All forms of cracking - Map cracking, crazing and minor structural cracking
• Expansion & Construction Jointing
• Plaster delamination or degradation
• Concrete/cement - Hardness, chemical composition, tensile strength, etc

 

Window & door Installation:

• All window and door systems - Wooden, PVC, Aluminium & Metal

 

Leak tracking reports :

• This is generally done where a persistent leak is in occurrence and in most cases is via roofing, suspended balconies, slabs or on vertical walls. Leak tracking and reporting is conducted over several consecutive days preferably during inclement weather with precipitation present which will allow our consultant(s) to visually identify leaks as well as their point of origin. This is done both externally and internally on the building in question. This service is in addition to the condition survey and will pinpoint the potential areas of concern, defects and deficiencies noted in the condition survey. This service and reporting functions as a value added service to the condition survey but can also be conducted as a standalone service. Due to the time and effort required for this service the cost is quoted separately from the condition survey and is exponentially higher.
  

 

Snag reports :

• The snag report is conducted at the completion of a project to identify deficiencies in workmanship and is generally requested by developers, contractors, architects, engineers, managing agents or clients. This report is conducted on all the relevant areas as designated in the issued scope of works and can range over several days.
  

 

Quality Control reports :

• QC reports are generally done whilst a project is in progress and varies in frequency as per the clients or manufacturers requirements. These reports are normally done once weekly with a photographic report being copied to all parties informing them of current progress of the project. This ensures that contractors are conforming to specifications and guarantees are upheld by manufacturers. As an example, “Before” a contractor is authorized to enclose waterproofing, PDC will ensure that flood tests have been performed to ensure 100% water resistance.

 

Reinstatement specifications :

• In any replacement, renovation or redecoration it remains absolutely essential to ensure that the specifications are correct and will solve the problems for an extended period of time. These also need to be backed by manufacturer's guarantees. PDC has proxy from almost all manufacturers to specify on their behalf and in most cases will insist on quality control inspections to be conducted.

 

Schedules of quantities :

• A common problem is that clients are faced with numerous quotations from contractors with varied pricing and it is difficult to ascertain which give the best value for money, and if everything is included. Daily we hear from clients who complain that an area was “not included” and the contractor wishes to claim a further amount. This has a tendency to excessively inflate a budget and it is difficult to return to a executive or body corporate to request “more” money.

 

• In order to prevent this occurrence, PDC has an in-house Quantity Surveyor who is tasked to go to the site and measure the scope of works accurately. This is then transferred to a documentation issued to the contractors at a site meeting. All measurements and scope of works are within the provided documentation and the contractors are requested to return these documents so that a comparison can be drawn. In simple terms, the creation of a schedule of quantities ensures that all contractors quote “apples for apples”.

 

Compliance :

• With the incidence of 'fly-by-night' contractors/sub contractors on the increase, PDC automatically background checks the financial and operational status of all contractors, including their compliance to Labour, Health & Safety, Insurance and SARS requirements. PDC has an extremely strict policy in terms of legal compliance by all contractors performing work on sites.  These measures have been put in place to protect the client from potential claims as well as to ensure that the contractors conform to legislated labour and municipal regulations. Compliance requirements for contractors is checked by PDC on any new project and for known contractors is re-checked annually.

 

Compliance requirements  include :

 

• Building industries bargaining council.  ( BIBC )  - Western & Eastern Cape ONLY.

  The BIBC is responsible for regulating and monitoring employment conditions in the building industry in the Western and Eastern Cape areas. By law, all building and building related contractors (i.e. painters, plumbers, etc.) must pay their employees the minimum rates as prescribed and contribute to certain minimum employee benefits. These employment conditions are gazetted in the Collective Agreement by the minister of Labour and as such becomes law.

 

• Federated Employers Mutual Assurance company Limited. ( FEM )

  FEM is essentially to provide the insurance of employers against their liabilities to employees under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 1993. FEM Provides cover for Permanent disability, temporary disability, compensation in case of death and medical expenses for employees.

 

• Health & Safety

• In terms of Construction regulation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993), all contractors, principal agents and clients are required to comply with the above act. All personal protective equipment is required as well as the Safety & Health files which are on site at all times. PDC uses the services of external consultants to conduct safety audits on all projects which is generally directly quoted from the consultants.

 

• Insurances

  Both public liability and Contractors all risks insurance is required for the duration of any project.

 

• Asbestos Compliance

  Due to the increased awareness of asbestos related diseases, PDC applies the below mentioned act stringently in order to protect both the client and contractors from excessive risk.

 

Excerpt from (Occupational Health & Safety Act, 1993 (ACT NO. 85 OF 1993) :

 

• Control of exposure to asbestos

 

11.(1)  An employer or self-employed person shall ensure that the exposure of a person to asbestos is either prevented, or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled.

 

It should be noted that ALL contractors working in the asbestos environment are required by law be registered and all staff specifically trained in the hazards of asbestos.

 

Other Services:

Project Oversight

Over the years of operation it has become apparent that some projects will be affected by repetitive problems. To this end PDC offers a site supervision service where a consultant is on site on a regular basis to oversee the works, conduct training to contractor staff where required and to measure/ authorize any additional works. As an example, a contractor may not enclose any waterproofing before PDC has “flood tested” the affected area. The frequency of the visits by PDC is generally determined by the size and complexity of the contract and is tailored to accommodate the client’s budget. By using our supervision service, this also ensures that manufacturers’ guarantees are upheld.

Maintenance schedules & Budget projections

 

As experts, we understand how a system's lifespan is affected by factors like climate and wear and tear and can advise on how often a structure will require re-coating, and the anticipated costs.

Expert witness & mediation

 

As specialists in our field, we are often called upon as both expert witnesses and impartial reporters in cases of legal dispute or legal action.

Aerial photographic inspection

 

PDC offers a unique "aerial photographic" diagnostic service utilising a piloted aerial drone, thus allowing our consultants to inspect normally inaccessible areas. This avoids the costly and time-consuming erection of scaffolding.

Emergency call out services

 

Specific to emergencies that involve waterproofing failure or major water leakage, PDC can be called to assess a situation and take immediate action to contain further damage.

 

PDC © 2019