Pre-Purchase Building and Home Inspections
Intended to provide our clients with an understanding of the conditions of a residential or commercial property for consideration for purchase. This type of inspection considers aspects of the accessible foundation, roof, structure, mechanical systems, electrical systems, and maintenance conditions so that the client can make an informed purchase.
Structural Inspections
This inspection type typically includes evaluation of the foundation, roof, structure, and maintenance conditions of property inspected; however, the scope of this inspection can be customized and limited to make the best use of time and resources to meet our clients specific needs.
New Construction
We keep our new construction inspections informative and cost effective offering a Quality of Construction inspection series broken down into inspection of the preparations of foundation construction, framing inspection at top-out stage, and inspection of the finished construction at the final walk through stage. We also offer inspection and consulting services at any stage of construction upon request. Contact our office for more information.
Foundation Evaluation
Provides an opinion of the performance and need for repair of a building’s foundation based upon measurements made at the foundation and structure and visual inspection of the structure which provide insights into the foundation performance. Additionally information on maintaining the foundation is provided to the client to assist in improving or maintaining future performance.
Consulting Services
Professional Engineering Inspections can provide a range of consulting services upon request. These services include: Legal inspections, development of design and specifications for repair, water entry inspections, roof inspections, phased quality assurance inspections, reserve studies, and evaluations of common properties for home owner associations. If you have special needs not addressed in this section please contact our offices for support.
Check out what our clients are saying
When Edward inspects a house you can tell that he is focused on the task at hand, but he will take the time to stop and answer any questions you have. During our first encounter he quickly identified me as a nutsy-boltsy kind of person and went into more than adequate detail with his explanations. His written reports are easy to interpret and extremely thorough.
Just a note to let you know how greatly your services helped me in getting my builder to do the repairs discovered during your inspection. I consider your service as money very very well spent. There is no way I would have been able to identify the workmanship quality problems you discovered and addressed in your report.
Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know the framing engineers spoke very highly of your report. They complimented the structure and design of the report, in addition to your wording and specificity – a “very professional engineer,” they said.
And for your information, they are correcting a majority of the items you listed on the report, because you were right, and they couldn’t prove otherwise!
Thank you for a job well done! I
Edward –
Andy and I want to thank you for your excellent inspection and let you know how much we enjoyed meeting and working with you. We used your report today and were so glad to have this tool to reference. Having the numbered pictures made pointing out the concerns much easier!
The walk thru went well, and they are in fact fixing many of the problems you discovered. The builder had gone in earlier this week and marked some of the very items you pointed out, and they are planning on addressing/fixing them.
We are so pleased that we had your expertise to point things out, and you do such a professional job.
Thank you again, and we wish you, your business and family all the best.
I am so grateful to Ed for his help lo these many years in his diligence in inspecting so many buildings we have attempted to buy… or have bought. My realtor says he has never met any inspector as thorough and professional and spot-on in assessments as Ed. The roofer has agreed to transfer the lifetime warranty he gave the sellers to me and to repair the roof…and I have the stucco guy ready to start as soon as we close. Our option period is up tomorrow evening, so I am moving forward to buy the house. Ed’s “eagle eye” was invaluable, as always.
My gratitude,
If you are looking at this, you’ve most likely now put in an offer for ‘your’ future home and are excited yet cautious if you’ve made the right decision. What if this house has problems and to what extent is it bad is a question that is dogging your mind. Well, you are right. It is an important question and decision and you need to know be rest assured that the investment you intend to make is not a toxic asset. If that is the case, then Edward from Professional Engineering Inspections is the right person you need. He is a rare breed of thorough engineers who is meticulous, diligent, professional, punctual, and honest. We recently experienced his services firsthand less than a week ago when we put an offer for a house. We called up the number of the web page and a very professional ….. <More On Yelp>
I was listing my home for sale and due to my international travel schedule, I made the decision to have my home inspected prior to listing to ensure that I knew upfront of any major repairs needed. This is the 3rd time I have used your firm over the years, and your professionalism continues to surpass my expectations. To my surprise, I received 2 competing contracts within 48 hours of my home going up on the market.
The inspection process and report which I received from Edward at Professional Engineering was more than I could have hoped for. The process was carried out methodically, accurately and in full from beginning to end. I now have concrete evidence of the flaws in installation by the contractors who worked on my house.
I want to thank you again for your very thorough report. My builder said he had never seen one quite like it! He agreed on almost everything on the report including getting the framer back this morning to reinforce framing and yesterday they blew all new insulation in!!!!….
….You were worth every cent we paid on this house!
More reasons to use us
Professional Engineering Inspections uses engineers to perform most of its inspections and consulting services unless you are notified otherwise at the time you schedule. Other inspection companies use state licensed home inspectors.
We bring 30+ years of experience in providing design, consulting, legal investigation, and quality assurance to our building inspection services.
The primary inspector has experience providing inspections and documentation for legal cases as well as testifying in court.
The level of education required to obtain an engineering license is higher than that required to obtain a TREC inspection license. Engineers requires a minimum of approximately 10 years to acquire an engineering license to practice when you consider school and work requirements. State licensed inspectors require only a few years to acquire an inspector’s license.
TREC inspectors often recommend a 3rd party opinion after their initial inspection. Inspections performed by Professional Engineering Inspections will result in an opinion on site and in writing in most cases.
The technical reports provided by Professional Engineering Inspections, Inc are superior to TREC reports and those provided by other companies. We do not provide a “cookbook” quality inspection report.
Our inspections, evaluations, and consulting services and related reports are not bound by a State of Texas mandated report format. As a result Professional Engineering Inspections, Inc. has been providing a level of detail unsurpassed by any TREC licensed inspection company and many engineering contractors. We can tailor your reports to meet your specific needs making them easier to read and understand.
The primary inspector has over 25 years of experience in doing inspections of all types.
The quality of service provided by Professional Engineering Inspections, Inc. is superior to that provided by others in the area. We have a staff available to answer your questions during normal business hours and our engineers or inspectors can normally return your call within a business day.
We find that the average customer of Professional Engineering Inspections, is far superior to other companies customers and as a result we enjoy working with our clients.
Gutter Maintenance – Spring Cleaning
Gutter Maintenance The flowers are starting to bloom, and spring has sprung (March 1-May 31) with all the maintenance the comes with it. One often overlooked maintenance item is cleaning of gutter systems and doing any necessary repairs to ensure they are functioning...
Post Repair Foundation Elevations
When a client calls about foundation performance issues and the office asks if they have any historical elevation data the first question we typically get is, “What are elevations?” The term “elevations” is used to describe a series of measurements made at the...
You Should Hire a Licensed Professional Engineer for Your Inspection?
What’s The Difference Between a Professional Engineer and a Professional Real Estate Inspector? The main difference is education and experience. There are many qualified Real Estate Inspectors in Texas, but they bring a different scope of work and a different skill...
You are Losing Kitchen Countertop Outlets
New home buyers are losing countertop outlets in the kitchen, and in some cases adjacent rooms, because of changes in the rules for island and peninsula outlets. As of the adoption of the National Electric Code 2023 Edition and under the provisions of this edition...
Hurricane Season Has Arrived Are You Ready?
This last weekend marks the start of hurricane season and while we don't have any threats, yet predictions are that this will be a very active season. We have put together a page of recommendations and links to keep you informed about hurricane preparedness in the...
Inspecting New Construction – When to Schedule
When a client calls into the office they often are unclear on when to schedule inspections during the construction process of their home or building. This is daunting to consider and unfortunately is often an afterthought when they think they see something going...
City of Houston Announces Adoption of 2021 Construction Codes
The City of Houston has announced that effective January 1, 2024 they will be recognizing the 2021 ICC construction codes as part of their code modernization program for construction in Houston. This includes: 2021 International Building Code 2021 International...
Gutter Maintenance – Spring Cleaning
Gutter Maintenance The flowers are starting to bloom, and spring has sprung (March 1-May 31) with all the maintenance the comes with it. One often overlooked maintenance item is cleaning of gutter systems and doing any necessary repairs to ensure they are functioning...
How to Get Ready for a Home Inspection
Get Ready for a Home Inspection As a homeowner, selling your home is one of the most difficult decisions you will ever make. That’s because, for most of us, our homes hold sentimental value, and selling them means letting go of the places where we have built precious...
Proper Drainage After Foundation Repairs
Drainage is an Issue Do you ever think about the drainage conditions around your foundation and how they might affect the performance of your foundation? Poor soil grading at repair piers can cause foundation settlement. Prevention of poor drainage allowing water to...
Getting a C.L.U.E….. Report
Information on Your Home Is Available I receive a lot of advertising emails daily and one I recently received was selling access to historical property condition information on homes assumably to be used by a potential buyer. I don’t know anything about the company...
Poor Tape Flashing Application
Poor tape flashing application is common in residential window installation in new construction, and this can result in water entry. In the video water entry was found to be occurring even during framing stage because it rained pretty hard during the inspection. ...
Nail Holes In New Construction Roof Systems are Common
Nail holes in a new construction roof system are common. They most commonly occur where scaffolding anchors or toe boards are nailed through the roof system to apply siding at or above the roof. They can be difficult to detect during inspection and are often...
The Professional Engineering Inspection Gallery
Quips and Images from the field with short explanations. As a result excuse our errors. Not quite a blog….
Blistering of Composition Shingles
Blistering of composition shingles is not uncommon in the Houston area. It tends to occur when there’s a defect in the manufacture of the shingles, causing moisture in the layup of the shingles to vaporize after installation and causing small blisters. These blisters...
A Little Short on Insulation
Commonly we find insulation is a little short when measuring blown insulation in attics of production construction homes. Often you will see the insulation is the proper depth at the depth gauges installed by the manufacturer, but often not at the center of a room or...
Yes! We Look For That Too.
Think you don't need a Quality of Workmanship Inspection? in the, "We Look for That Too", category scratches on solid surface counters are one of the things we try to find. This was going on while I was working in a home this last week. This guy is standing on a...
Damaged Brick – New Construction
There is not much excuse for some of the damaged finishes we see in new construction inspections. Damage brick veneer is common and falls in that category. It is very obvious they are damage when they are placed. In some styles of brick this is not an issue, but...
Corroded Coils Common on Newer Systems
Corroded condensing coils has become a common occurrence with modern high efficiency equipment. The newer coils are thinner to promote better heat transfer and are more susceptible to corrosion damage and failure. This is one of the limiting factors for modern...
Foundation Corner Chips
Foundation corner chips are fairly common where the foundation is supporting brick veneer along the edge of the foundation. They look scarry but they are only a probable indicator of foundation movement. Chips commonly occur because the brick supported by the...
New Construction Defect – Nails Through Window Frames
A common question on inspection is, "what are you looking for?". Often, I can answer this question based upon the systems being inspected, but there are some cases where you are just looking for something that is not supposed to be there. Such is the case with nail...
Expansive Soils and Differential Settlement
Expansive soils and differential settlement are common in our area. Expansive soils are the leading cause for differential movement in foundations in our area as well. If you enjoy YouTube and technical construction issues you should...
Your R Value is a Little Low.
This is one of the items we check during the inspection of new construction. One of the energy code requirements is to have proper insulation in the attic space. The required depth depends upon the standard you follow, which is either prescriptive or performance. ...
Splash Blocks – How Not to Install Them
Professional Quality
We have been providing professional, high quality engineering services for nearly 30 years. Over that time we have developed repeatable reporting methodologies, report delivery, and deliverable clarity surpassing most other engineering firms. Our quality inspection and reporting services will assist you in making informed decisions. Our reports are well written and easy to understand.
Edward Robinson
Locations Served
- Houston
- Katy
- The Woodlands
- Kingwood
- Baytown
- League City
- Friendswood
- Pearland
- Galveston
- Richmond