Forensic Investigations

SALEM Engineering Group, Inc. provides Forensic Investigations to attorneys, arbitrators, insurance companies, and others in the evaluation and causation analysis of soil related distress to structures, earth movement, seismicity, and other matters related to adverse soil, geologic, or hydrologic conditions.  Our expertise includes investigation and assessment of distress, extent of damages, and determination of causes of distress.

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Construction Defect Investigation

SALEM Engineering Group, Inc.’s team of civil, geotechnical, and structural engineers provide comprehensive consulting and forensic engineering related to construction defect evaluation.

Our forensic experts specialize in failure analysis, assessments, evaluations and litigation support for building damage assessment and construction defect investigations including building envelope, HVAC, plumbing components, concrete structural steel, masonry, soils, and repair design and remediation.

Soil Settlement / Sinkhole Assessment

Soils as a whole are difficult to understand and in the engineering world, require some of the largest factors of safety during design. Selecting a forensic consultant that understands geotechnical soil related damage is critical in properly assessing the root cause of settlement issues and developing remedial measures to repair damage, while preventing future occurrences.

Poor soil and environmental conditions, inadequate foundation design, and/or improper foundation construction techniques, can all lead to differential foundation settlement, which can ultimately lead to varying degrees of damage to any overlying structures. The key to the proper design and repair of any foundation system which has experienced differential settlement is to adequately evaluate the cause of the observed settlements. The settlement evaluation process can take many forms ranging from visual foundation inspection to subsurface exploration programs aimed at characterizing the foundation subgrade. Once the cause of foundation settlement has been identified, then a corrective solution can be engineered to help repair the damaged foundation and help prevent any future foundation settlements from occurring.

Fire and Water Intrusion Assessments

A thorough evaluation is essential in all fire and water damaged structures including residential, commercial, or industrial buildings to assess key components of the building’s structural framing system.

SALEM Engineering Group, Inc.’s forensic engineers inspect columns, beams, joists, lintels, and floor and wall systems that have been damaged by fire and/or water to determine the extent of damage and provide comprehensive repair recommendations for affected structural systems. SALEM Engineering Group, Inc.’s engineers evaluate the structural elements for indications that the load-carrying capabilities are sound and have not been seriously compromised by the fire and/or water damage. Once the damage has been identified, a corrective solution can be engineered to help repair the damaged structural system.