What property loss analysis involves
Property loss analysis examines damage to a building and the circumstances around it. The work generally addresses the extent of the damage, the conditions that contributed to it, and the scope and cost of repair. The goal is an accurate account that the people responsible for the building can act on.
Losses take many forms. Water entering through a roof, a window, or a below-grade wall can damage finishes and framing, and the source is not always where the damage appears. Plumbing failures, drainage problems, and wind-driven rain can all produce damage that looks similar from inside.
Property loss analysis is one of the services de Haan & Associates provides, and Gregg de Haan works as a property loss recovery specialist for builders, owners, insurance carriers, and attorneys. The work draws on the same field investigation, documentation, and costing work described across our other services. The investigation establishes the facts, documentation preserves them, and the scope and estimate translate them into repair.
Investigation and documentation after a loss
Building inspection and field documentation are among the most important aspects of construction defect conflict resolution, and the same is true after a loss. Our highly skilled field personnel identify and document conditions promptly.
We use state-of-the-art cameras and video documentation techniques to provide trial-ready exhibits. A visual record matters most when damaged materials are likely to be cleaned up, removed, or repaired soon after a loss. Photographs taken early may be the only record of conditions as they were.
Gregg de Haan, our founder and principal, leads field investigations and gathers field data. In general, careful field data makes later analysis more reliable and easier for others to review.
Separating damage from its cause
In a property loss, it often matters whether damage came from a single event, from long-term deterioration, or from a construction defect. These distinctions can shape how a matter is resolved, so they deserve careful attention in the field. Timing matters too, since some damage develops slowly and is discovered long after it began.
Our investigative specialties cover the building envelope and the systems inside it. They include roofing and sheet metal, windows and doors, subgrade waterproofing, site drainage, decks, podium slabs, and mechanical and plumbing systems. A loss can involve any of them, and often more than one.
Where windows and doors are involved, our specialties include product and installation water testing. Where a building material may have a manufacturing defect, we are aligned with several laboratories that test and analyze product failure.
Repair scopes and cost estimates
We generate comprehensive field reports, photo documentation, conceptual repair scopes, and cost estimates promptly. Gregg de Haan specializes in preparing repair scopes, cost estimates, and complex defect reports. A clear scope also helps the parties compare competing repair proposals.
A repair scope describes what must be removed, replaced, or corrected. The cost estimate follows from that scope, which is why both depend on a careful investigation of the damage and its extent. Scopes tied to documented conditions are easier for others to review.
Repair scopes after a loss often need to address both the damaged materials and the condition that allowed the damage. Repairing finishes without correcting the source can leave a building exposed to the same loss again.
When a loss becomes a dispute
We are retained by attorneys, insurance carriers, building owners, homeowner associations, and contractors in California, Arizona, and Montana. Our goals in any dispute are clarity and accuracy. An analysis that is clear and accurate serves every party, whatever their role.
Where a loss leads to a dispute, our expert witness services cover settlement conferences, mediations, arbitrations, depositions, and trial. Findings prepared for investigation and repair planning can also form the basis for testimony.
Losses often involve several parties with different interests. An organized, accurate record of the damage and its cause gives each of them the same starting point for discussion and, where needed, for testimony.
What we examine
- 01Visible damage and its extent
- 02Roofing and sheet metal
- 03Windows and doors
- 04Subgrade waterproofing and site drainage
- 05Decks and podium slabs
- 06Mechanical and plumbing systems
- 07Repair scope and cost
What you receive
- Comprehensive field reports
- Photo documentation
- Conceptual repair scopes
- Cost estimates