Why campus buildings call for a forensic approach
School and university campuses are collections of buildings constructed at different times, to different standards, and often by different contractors. Classrooms, laboratories, gymnasiums, residence halls, and portable classrooms may share a single site and a single maintenance budget. Each building ages differently, and maintenance histories vary from one to the next.
Public institutions also answer to boards, budgets, and the communities they serve. When a roof leaks or a wall assembly fails, decision makers need a clear account of what happened. They also need to know what caused it and what a repair would involve. Funding, approvals, and public accountability shape how those repairs are planned.
Our expert witness experience includes universities and school districts, and both are part of Gregg de Haan’s current caseload. His construction litigation support includes university student housing, community college facilities, and K-12 school district buildings. We are experienced in school inspections.
Investigating around the academic calendar
Campus buildings are occupied by students, faculty, and staff for most of the calendar. Invasive investigation is often planned for breaks, weekends, or summer, when classrooms can be opened and tested without disrupting instruction. Even then, athletics, summer programs, and maintenance work compete for the same windows of time.
Building inspection and field documentation are among the most important aspects of construction defect conflict resolution. Our field personnel identify and document defects promptly, which helps when access is limited to a short break. Short access windows make careful planning and complete records especially important.
We use camera and video documentation techniques to provide trial-ready exhibits. A clear visual record lets boards, administrators, and counsel review conditions without walking every roof and crawlspace themselves.
Common systems in school and university disputes
Our investigative specialties cover the building systems that most often appear in campus disputes. Large low-slope roofs, exterior plaster and masonry, window walls, and site drainage around fields and walkways are frequent subjects. Gymnasiums add long roof spans, and older buildings often meet newer additions at a single wall.
Our associates are active in the building trades and familiar with current building materials. Campus buildings often use durable, institutional products chosen for long service, so a premature failure draws close attention. If materials are found to have manufacturing defects, we are aligned with several laboratories that test and analyze product failure.
We also take field samples to store at our office in case they are needed at trial. Districts and universities often must repair quickly to keep buildings in use. Preserved samples keep the physical evidence available after that work is done.
- Roofing and sheet metal
- Cement plaster, siding, and masonry
- Windows and doors, with product and installation water testing
- Site drainage and subgrade waterproofing
- Concrete, decks, and podium slabs
- Electrical and mechanical/plumbing systems
Research, codes, and project records
Public projects tend to generate extensive documentation, from bid sets and addenda to change orders and closeout records. Our associates are educated on past and current building codes and on current and past building product performance testing.
We perform construction document plan and detail analysis for constructability and for code compliance. That review compares what the drawings called for with what the field investigation found. Differences between the two often point to where a problem began.
We also perform comprehensive change order, project cost, and RFI analysis for litigation purposes. A large library of present and past product literature and testing data supports that work, including information on products that are no longer made.
Reports, costing, and testimony
We generate comprehensive field reports, photo documentation, conceptual repair scopes, and cost estimates promptly. Those documents give institutions, contractors, and counsel a common record to work from. Gregg de Haan specializes in preparing repair scopes, cost estimates, and complex defect reports.
We provide expert witness services for settlement conferences, mediations, arbitrations, depositions, and trial. We are retained by attorneys, insurance carriers, building owners, homeowner associations, and contractors in California, Arizona, and Montana. Gregg de Haan leads field investigations, gathers field data, and attends expert meetings, mediations, and arbitrations.
The firm’s philosophy is to bring together a group of experts, much as a building brings together its trades. The goal is a balanced, educated opinion for fair resolution, which suits public projects where many trades and decision makers are involved.
What makes these buildings demanding
- 01Campuses mix buildings of many ages, construction types, and materials.
- 02Occupied classrooms limit when invasive testing can take place.
- 03Large low-slope roofs depend on drains, flashing, and sheet metal to shed water.
- 04Site drainage around fields, walkways, and hardscape affects foundations and lower walls.
- 05Laboratories and kitchens add demanding mechanical and plumbing loads.
- 06Phased construction and modernization create transitions between old and new work.