The PCA Walkthrough Checklist: What to Observe and Photograph in Each Building System

E2018-24 tells the field observer what to identify in each of ten systems and leaves the checklist to the firm. This is the one Baseline PCR's engine is built around, written for a phone screen on site. Every line ends up somewhere in the report: the description, an observation, a deficiency with a cost, a reserve line, or a limiting condition.

Before the walk

• Confirm the escort, the areas available, roof access and mechanical-room keys. Note what is not available and why; that sentence becomes a limiting condition.
• Have the questionnaire answers and the prior PCR, if any, on the phone. Look where they say to look.
• Weather, temperature, time of day. Site lighting cannot be observed at noon; say so.

1. Site (9.4.1)

Identify: topography and drainage; catch basins and their condition; ingress and egress; paving type, condition, approximate area; curbing, walks and flatwork; striping and accessible-parking signage; landscaping, retaining walls, fences, dumpster enclosure; site lighting type and count; utilities and where they enter. Photograph each elevation, the lot from two corners, each drainage structure, every paving defect with a shoe or tape for scale, and the accessible spaces. Ask: when was the paving last overlaid or sealed; where does water stand.

2. Structural frame (9.4.2)

Identify: foundation type as visible; frame type (steel, wood, concrete, masonry); floor and roof framing where exposed (mechanical rooms, above-ceiling glimpses); evidence of settlement, cracking, deflection or racking; slab cracks and their character. Photograph exposed framing, any crack with a gauge or coin, and door frames that show racking or do not. Ask: any known settlement, any prior structural review.

3. Roofing and building envelope (9.4.3)

Roof: membrane or covering type, approximate area, slope and drainage, ponding, flashings at parapets, curbs and penetrations, seams, drains and strainers, hatches, coping, evidence of leaks below. Photograph the field from the hatch, each drain, each unit curb, every seam defect, ponding with algae, and the parapet base. Envelope: cladding type and condition, sealants at joints and openings, fenestration type and failed units, doors, efflorescence, staining, spalling, corrosion at embedded steel. Ask: roof age and warranty, leak history, sealant and window replacement dates.

4. Plumbing (9.4.4)

Identify: supply and waste piping materials where visible, domestic hot water equipment (type, capacity, nameplate date), backflow preventer and its test tag, fixtures by restroom group with their vintage, sump or ejector pumps, evidence of leaks or slow drains. Photograph the water heater nameplate, the main and backflow, each restroom group, and any staining. Ask: piping replacements, recurring drain or leak problems, fixture renovation dates.

5. Heating (9.4.5)

Identify: heating equipment type, fuel, capacity, nameplate dates; distribution; controls; maintenance contract. Photograph each unit and nameplate, the mechanical room, and any corrosion. Ask: age, service history, who holds the maintenance contract.

6. Air conditioning and ventilation (9.4.6)

Identify: cooling equipment by unit (packaged rooftop, split, chiller, cooling tower), tonnage and refrigerant from nameplates, condition of cabinets, coils and curbs, exhaust fans, and anything shut down or not operating. Photograph every nameplate and every unit from two sides. Note what you heard (bearing noise, short cycling) and what you smelled. Ask: replacements, refrigerant conversions, recent service calls, tenant-owned equipment.

7. Electrical (9.4.7)

Identify: service size and voltage, main switchboard and its condition, distribution panels (open a representative few with the escort's permission and note the brand), branch wiring type where visible, metering, emergency and exit lighting, site lighting, generators. Photograph the switchboard, each opened panel interior, and any corrosion or missing covers. Ask: service upgrades, known problem panels, aluminum branch wiring.

8. Vertical transportation (9.4.8)

Identify: elevators and escalators by count, type, capacity, controller vintage; the current inspection certificate in the cab; the service contractor. Photograph the cab, the certificate and the machine room. If there are none, say so; that is an observation.

9. Life safety and fire protection (9.4.9)

Identify: sprinklers or not, standpipes, fire alarm panel and its inspection tag, pull stations and devices, extinguishers and their tags, exit signs and emergency lights, rated doors and closers, egress paths. Photograph the panel and tag, a representative extinguisher tag, every exit sign that is dark, every door that does not close and latch. Ask for the last inspection report.

10. Interior elements (9.4.10)

Identify: common-area finishes and their vintage, a representative sample of tenant spaces, restrooms, stairs and treads, ceiling tile staining, general condition. Photograph each corridor, each stair, representative suites and every stained tile. Note suites not accessed and why.

Additional considerations, if scoped

Accessibility screen (parking, route, entrance, restrooms, elevator); moisture and suspect growth (staining, odor, visible growth, no sampling); flood zone and seismic notes from public sources.

Leaving the site

Walk the notes against this list before you leave. Anything on the list that you did not see is either a photograph you still need or a line in Limiting Conditions. The engine will not invent it either way.

The sample report was drafted from a walkthrough that followed this list; the photograph requirements guide covers the appendix.