About This Course

This course teaches the student how to perform a structural evaluation of existing buildings. The student will learn about the fundamentals of a structural assessment, including the principles of building design and commercial construction structural materials.

The student will also learn about the importance of a building’s current and future use and its relation to the IBC Use and Occupancy classifications for commercial buildings. The Structural Evaluation of Existing Buildings Course for Commercial Inspectors also teaches the student how to identify, describe, and report on commercial structures through a series of practice exercises. Additional material reviews individual and company reporting decisions for the various situations that the student may encounter. Some of the material in this course frames technical concepts by comparing a single-family home’s structure to different commercial building types. For more information, read Structural Evaluation of Existing Buildings Course for Commercial Property Inspectors.

Goal

This course aims to teach the student how to evaluate the most common commercial building structures.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • demonstrate an understanding of how engineers design structures;
  • perform a structural evaluation using the Simplified Structural Evaluation Checklist; and
  • implement company-wide policies for reporting on a structural assessment of a commercial building.