Evidence preservation procedures are generally used to secure evidence, preferably when there is a risk that an object will no longer be in the state it was in at the time of the preservation of evidence after a certain time and / or measure.
for example, evidence preservation procedures are carried out if:
- construction work or similar can cause damage in the immediate vicinity
- damage to construction and defects in construction must be recorded
- evidence of freedom from damage must be provided
- the occurrence of damage must be documented
- etc.
A typical building survey for structural damage and defects is of course also a preservation of evidence, but due to a large number of damages, lengthy and above all financially stressful legal disputes, it is now common practice to preserve evidence to strive before building in the neighborhood. It does not matter whether demolition work, major renovation or new construction work in relation to a building, a property or a street, etc. is performed. Ergo also in road construction and / or sewer work and suchlike before commissioning your own property, it is advisable to commission a preservation of evidence procedure.
In addition to the legal circumstances mentioned, it is also often difficult to identify an old damage afterwards as old damage or a new damage afterwards as new damage. For example, evidence preservation procedures are not only commissioned by private individuals, but also by the entrepreneurs who carry out the construction work or their agents. The purchaser has the right to use an evidence preservation report. One cannot therefore assume that one can participate in the evidence preservation procedure commissioned by the counterparty. It is therefore always advisable to commission evidence preservation yourself.
For legally perfectly usable evidence preservation procedures, some aspects have to be considered, which not only require in-depth structural engineering knowledge, but also place high demands on the equipment of the construction expert. In principle, it should be noted that the evidence, whether before or after the occurrence of structural damage and construction defects, must be recorded and documented according to the expert principles. Only a photographic overview is almost always useless for securing evidence.
The expert office Holzmann-Bauberatung® carries out evidence preservation procedures in the entire building construction. This is how we secure evidence for buildings and components, gardens and leisure facilities, streets and squares and much more.
Evidence preservation procedures are usually carried out by the construction expert with wide-angle, macro & telephoto lenses with a digital SLR camera, and, if necessary, also with microscope cameras. However, the Holzmann-Bauberatung® expert office also has an experienced and well-trained photographer available to accompany the building expert’s evidence when the client orders the highest possible image quality.
Engineering and handicraft analyzes and evaluations of structural damage and construction defects can always be carried out or included if necessary. The high-quality preservation procedures of the expert office Holzmann-Bauberatung® are always legally flawlessly usable as detailed reports. If necessary, other specialists are available to assist the clients of the Holzmann-Bauberatung® expert office. In addition to this, we also have contacts to experienced, accredited specialist lawyers, whom we would be happy to provide to our clients if necessary.
The costs for an expert evidence-gathering procedure are fundamentally dependent on the extent of the found construction defects and damage, their investigation methods and their desired type of recording or documentation. In addition to this, access rights of owners and owners and general access options are generally to be taken into account for the preservation of evidence, which means that appropriate scheduling and / or measures must be taken.