Warehouse and Storage Facility Inspections
Warehouses concentrate their risk in a few expensive places. The roof is enormous and usually low-slope, the slab has to carry loads a house never sees, and the dock equipment gets used hard every working day. A warehouse inspection that spends its time evenly across the building is spending it in the wrong places.
Panther Inspections has inspected commercial property across Texas since 2013, led by Collin Nowak, a TREC-licensed Professional Inspector (#20772) and CCPIA Certified Commercial Property Inspector (#3223).
The roof is usually the biggest number in the report
On a distribution building the roof can be most of the footprint, which makes it both the largest single replacement cost you might inherit and the hardest area to assess from the ground. What matters most on a large low-slope roof is water getting off it: drainage paths, internal drains and scuppers, evidence of ponding, and the condition of seams, flashings and penetrations. Ponding water that never clears is a shorter-life problem than the same membrane draining properly.
Where a roof can’t be safely walked, or where the area makes walking it impractical, we fly it under an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. Drainage patterns and ponding are considerably easier to see from above than from a parapet.
Slab condition, because racking is not a residential load
The floor slab in a warehouse is a working surface carrying racking, forklifts and stock. We document visible cracking, joint condition and spalling, surface deterioration, and any signs of differential movement. Joint spalling along forklift routes is common and worth pricing, because it gets worse under traffic rather than settling down.
Documented elevation readings across the slab can be added where movement is a concern or where a tenant intends to install racking.
Loading docks and overhead doors
Dock equipment is the part of a warehouse most likely to be in visibly poor condition, because it takes impact daily. We look at overhead and dock doors and their operation, dock levelers, seals and bumpers, and the condition of the dock face and approach. Deferred maintenance here is usually obvious once somebody looks, and it’s the kind of finding that translates cleanly into a number during a negotiation.
Building systems in a mostly unconditioned space
Warehouses often have conditioned office space attached to a warehouse body that isn’t conditioned at all, or is only partially so. That means the HVAC assessment is really two assessments, and the electrical picture matters more than it would in an office, because service capacity is what determines whether a tenant’s equipment, charging stations or future racking lighting can actually be supported.
We document electrical service and distribution, visible wiring and panels, lighting, plumbing supply and waste, and the HVAC serving whichever parts of the building are conditioned.
Fire suppression and life safety
Sprinkler coverage, risers, extinguishers, emergency lighting, exit signage and egress paths are observed and reported on. Be clear on the distinction though: this is a visual condition observation, not a certification. Fire alarm and suppression systems are certified by licensed specialists in that trade, and if a lender or insurer needs a certification you will need that separately. We will say so in the report rather than leave you to discover it.
The site, not just the building
Truck courts and heavy paving fail differently from car parking, and repaving a truck court is not a small line item. We look at paving condition, site drainage, retaining and screening walls, and exterior lighting. Site drainage in particular tends to explain problems found elsewhere in the building.
What sits outside the scope
A commercial inspection is visual and non-invasive, and it is not a compliance certification. Environmental assessment (a Phase I ESA), code compliance certification, ADA compliance audits, and certification of specialty systems including elevators, fire alarm and suppression are separate exercises requiring different qualifications. Tenant process equipment is generally excluded too.
Racking systems themselves are inspected and certified by racking specialists rather than by a property inspector. Full detail on inclusions and exclusions is on our commercial inspection FAQ.
Who orders a warehouse inspection
Buyers and investors during due diligence, lenders as a condition of financing, and tenants before signing — particularly on a triple-net lease, where the roof and the slab you just read about become your responsibility rather than the landlord’s. Owners order them for capital planning or to establish a baseline before going to market.
Scope is set per property before any work starts, and your proposal states the scope, the fee and the report delivery date up front. The full process is on our commercial inspections page, and the scope-of-work detail is on commercial inspection services.