Mechanical system inspections

A mechanical system inspection tells you what condition your heating, cooling, ventilation and plumbing equipment is in, what is likely to fail next, and what to fix first. We inspect the equipment, review how it is operated and maintained, and give you a written report you can plan and budget from.

Mechanical systems are usually the largest operating cost in a building and the most common source of tenant complaints. Problems such as a failing heat exchanger, a stuck outdoor air damper or a leaking backflow preventer often go unnoticed until something stops working. An independent look, done by people with no equipment to sell, gives you a fair picture of where you stand.

What we look at

• Heating plant: boilers, furnaces, unit heaters, radiant systems, burners, flues and combustion air.
• Cooling: rooftop units, split systems, chillers, condensing units and cooling towers.
• Air handling and ventilation: air handlers, fans, dampers, coils, filters, heat recovery ventilators and energy recovery ventilators.
• Hydronic systems: pumps, expansion tanks, valves, piping insulation and water treatment.
• Domestic water and drainage: water heaters, recirculation, backflow preventers, sump and sewage pumps, visible piping.
• Controls: thermostats, building automation system points and schedules, sensors and the sequences the equipment is actually running.
• Records: maintenance logs, filter change history, past service reports and any outstanding deficiencies from mandated inspections.

How it works

1. We start with why. We ask what prompted the inspection: a purchase, a lease, recurring complaints, rising energy bills, budgeting or an upcoming mandated inspection. The answer shapes the scope.
2. Document review. We look at drawings, equipment lists, maintenance records and past reports before we arrive, so site time is spent on the equipment.
3. Site inspection. We walk the mechanical rooms, roof and occupied spaces, inspect equipment in operation where it is safe to do so, and note nameplate data, age and condition.
4. Analysis. We sort findings by risk and urgency: safety issues, items likely to fail soon, maintenance gaps and longer-term replacements.
5. Report and walkthrough. You get a written report and a conversation about what it means, and what to do first.

What to have ready before the visit

• Mechanical drawings and an equipment list, even if they are out of date.
• Maintenance contracts, service reports and filter change records for the last few years.
• The most recent certificates and deficiency notices from any provincially mandated inspections.
• A list of known problems: comfort complaints, leaks, noisy equipment, alarms that keep coming back.
• Access arrangements for the roof, mechanical rooms, ceiling spaces and tenant areas, and a contact who knows the building.
• Access to the building automation system front end, or trend data exported from it, if you have one.

Missing records do not stop the inspection. They do change what we can say, because without a maintenance history we have to judge condition from what we can see and hear on the day, and the report will note that.

What you get

A written report that lists each major piece of equipment with its condition, observed problems and recommended action. Findings are ranked so you can see which items need attention now, which can be planned into next year, and which belong in a longer capital plan. Where something is outside our scope, such as an internal boiler inspection or a refrigerant leak repair, we say so and tell you who should do it.

If you want help after the report, we can coordinate contractors, review their quotes against the findings and verify that the work was done.

A typical case

Consider a three-storey office building where tenants on the south side complain of being too warm in the afternoon and tenants on the north side keep space heaters under their desks. The gas bill has risen and the service contractor has replaced two thermostats without much change.

A mechanical inspection of a building like this usually starts with the controls rather than the equipment. Reviewing the automation schedules and trend data often shows things like outdoor air dampers fixed open, heating and cooling running at the same time in neighbouring zones, or zones left in manual override after a past complaint. On the roof, the inspector checks whether economizer dampers actually move, whether the units are short-cycling, and the condition of belts, coils and filters. In the mechanical room, the boiler, pumps and heating water temperatures are checked against what the controls think they are.

The report then separates the cheap fixes (releasing overrides, repairing a damper actuator, correcting schedules) from the work that needs a contractor or a budget decision, such as rebalancing the air system or replacing a unit near the end of its life. Fixing the controls first also makes it clearer whether any equipment really needs replacing.

Who it's for

• Property and facility managers who need a baseline before setting a maintenance plan or budget.
• Buyers and lenders doing due diligence on a commercial or multi-unit building.
• Tenants taking on responsibility for equipment under a lease.
• Owners dealing with comfort complaints, poor air quality or high energy use without a clear cause.
• Condominium boards planning for reserve fund studies.

If you want background before you call, our guides explain how commercial HVAC systems work, what goes into rooftop unit maintenance, and what to expect from boiler inspections. For whole-building due diligence, see commercial building inspections.

Common questions