Obtaining Existing Drawings 4

[CrabbyT]

I've got a prospective client who just bought an existing building, and they asked if I would be interested in helping them to determine the load capacity of some existing precast slab panels. They want to know if it's OK to drive a fork truck on them, and they span about 30'. My first thought is that it's unlikely, but who knows?

If the owner doesn't have drawings, does anyone have advice for how I could go about obtaining drawings? Seems like they'd be on record somewhere whenever the permit was filed. I've never had to reach out to a building official for drawings, but that seems viable. Thoughts??

 

[phamENG]

The owner can reach out to past owners and see if they can run them down that way, or you can contact the AHJ. If you're lucky, they'll be in a warehouse somewhere. How old is the building?

Another option could be figuring out the manufacturer of the slabs. Are they a proprietary shape? Check catalogs from the era and see if you can find anything. Then reach out to the manufacturer and see if they have any old files. If they're out of business, find out who bought them - another precaster may have purchased them and has their files. If it's generic, check with local precasters that were around then and see if they know anything.

 

[JStephen]

 

[dold]

Like Pham said, owner might be able to find them from former owners. But what I've had the best luck with is using FOIA (freedom of information act) requests submitted to the AHJ. If they have the documents, they are obligated to provide them to you (sometimes for a nominal fee...). Sometimes there is red tape involved, in which case the AHJ must track down the original architect/engineer to get their permission to release them to you. Sometimes there is a time limit on that: if the original arch/eng doesnt respond, or is deceased, etc., they might still release them to you. Other times, it has to go to the AHJ's lawyer for approval, etc, etc, etc. It can be a long process, but existing drawings are gold.

I typically request the documents as follows:
"I am requesting any and all construction documents associated with the structure located at [address/tax parcel ID/tax assessor ID/etc etc]. Documents may include architectural/structural drawings/blueprints, building permits, inspection reports, calculations, etc."