Draft an engagement letter and scope of work for a structural engineer performing a parking garage condition assessment

Steps

1. State the specific regulatory driver for the assessment (e.g., NYC RCNY 103-13 QPSI filing, NY State 19 NYCRR Part 1203 condition assessment, Florida milestone inspection, or a voluntary ACI 362.1R/562-based assessment) so the scope matches the applicable report-content requirements.
2. Define the physical examination scope: visual survey, sounding/chain-drag delamination survey, half-cell potential testing locations, PT tendon inspection (if applicable), and any destructive sampling (cores, grout samples) with access/traffic-control responsibilities assigned.
3. Specify deliverables required by the governing rule — e.g., a sealed report meeting 1 RCNY 103-13's or 19 NYCRR 1203.3(j)(7)'s minimum content requirements, including deterioration description, recommended repair timeframe, and a recommendation on the timing of the next condition assessment (19 NYCRR 1203.3(j)(7)(ix)).
4. Clarify the engineer's role versus the owner's: who obtains AHJ filings, who notifies unit owners/tenants (relevant for FL condo associations), and who is responsible for follow-up 'additional condition assessment' triggers if deterioration is later discovered.
5. Include standard professional-services terms: standard of care, limitation of liability, insurance requirements, and a statement that the assessment does not constitute a building-code compliance certification unless expressly scoped to do so.