KapTin Inspections · Lake Norman
Annual and as-needed inspections for HOAs and for businesses around Lake Norman — retail, office, medical, apartments, light industrial. Geotagged photos, aerial imagery when useful, the town form, and a board-ready cover in 5–7 business days. We do not sell the repair.
Three ways boards and businesses hire us
The yearly visit most Lake Norman towns expect for HOAs and for businesses: geotagged photos, the municipal form, and a one-page board cover that ranks likely fixes for your vendor — not a repair invoice from us.
NMR, NOV, or a letter with a date. We quote in writing, visit as soon as the calendar allows, and mark rush work at 1.4× when you need the packet faster than 5–7 business days.
HOA neighborhoods with two or three ponds, or a commercial lot with a pond plus a sand filter and a swale. One trip, one packet. HOA 2–3: $395 + $250 each additional. Commercial visits have a $650 floor.
Visual inspection of the stormwater pond / stormwater control (SCM) on your plat — not a maintenance catalog. Jump to a type, or read what an annual visit covers.
Visual inspection — not a work order
Dave walks the device from grade and records what a town form and a board packet actually need. Aerial imagery when useful. After the report, their landscaper or pond vendor does the work. We reinspect when they are done.
Woody growth, erosion, animal burrows, settlement, and whether a mower or a truck could still reach the crest.
What water uses to get in and out — pipes, weirs, orifices — including blockage, rust, and misalignment you can see from grade.
The structure towns always ask about. Debris, damage, and whether it still looks like it would pass a storm.
Deltas at inlets, loss of pool volume you can see, and a plain-English note if dredging looks likely. We do not measure bathymetry for hire and we do not dredge.
Cover that belongs versus trees on the dam, invasives, and bare slopes. We do not mow, plant, or treat algae.
Can a future vendor get a truck or a small excavator to the work? Locked gates and missing easements go in the cover letter.
Dry ponds that stay wet, bioretention that never drains, swales holding a pool. That is a form-fail, not a fountain or conversion opportunity.
Enough pictures that a board member or property manager who was not on site can see the same problems. Aerial imagery when useful.
The municipality’s checklist, filled from what we saw. If the town wants a PE seal we cannot provide, we say so before you book.
A ranking of likely fixes for their landscaper or pond vendor. We inspect. They repair. We can reinspect after ($150 within 90 days / $250 after).
Inspection support
KapTin Inspections has drone capabilities for SCM inspection support. When a walk from grade cannot show the whole pond, a roof drain, or a hard-to-reach slope, we can add aerial imagery to the same photo log and town packet. The drone is a documentation tool — not a repair service, and not a maintenance product.
Aerial documentation example
A wider look at the basin, embankment, and surrounding drainage when the footprint is hard to see from the bank.
Steep slopes, fenced cells, and rooftop or rear drainage that feeds an SCM — photographed without selling a climb or a repair.
Aerial stills go in the geotagged log with the ground photos. One visit, one cover, still inspection only.
By device type
Wet pond $450. Dry pond $395. Bioretention, swales, and level spreaders $375 first / $275 additional. Sand filter or MTD $550. Underground visual $750. Commercial visits have a $650 floor. Reinspect $150 within 90 days, otherwise $250. Rush 1.4×.
$450
Also called retention ponds, wet basins.
The usual Lake Norman job: a permanent pool with a riser, trash rack, dam, and spillway. We walk it, photograph it, and complete the town form. We do not dredge, treat algae, or rebuild the outlet.
$395
Also called detention ponds, dry basins.
Detention basins that should drain between storms. Standing water that should not be there is a form-fail, not a reason for us to sell a fountain or a conversion.
$375 first / $275 additional
Also called bio cells, rain gardens.
Mulch, planting, inlets, overflow, and whether the cell still draws down. We document condition. We do not replace media or plants.
$375 first / $275 additional
Also called grass swales, vegetated channels, spreader lips.
Grass and bioswales, level spreaders, and small conveyances — often on the same visit as a pond or rain garden. We inspect the channel and the lip. We do not regrade them.
$550
Also called media filters, manufactured treatment devices.
Surface-accessible sand filters and manufactured treatment devices. Visual from grade. No confined-space entry and no manufacturer rebuild.
$750
Also called cisterns, vaults, underground detention.
Visual inspection from grade and access points. No CCTV. No confined-space entry. If a camera crew is required, we say so in the cover letter.
If the town or the as-built requires confined-space entry or a camera run, we will say so and refer that work. We do not enter vaults and we do not run CCTV.
Quoted
Also called stormwater wetlands, wetland cells.
Constructed wetlands and wetland cells. Quoted after a photo or plat so we know the footprint and access. We inspect from the bank. We do not plant, treat, or regrade.
Quoted
Also called pervious concrete, porous asphalt, interlocking pavers.
Pervious concrete, porous asphalt, and pavers. Quoted after photos. We do not vacuum, restore infiltration, or run a certified infiltration test unless that is scoped separately — and even then we do not sell a restoration.
Independence is the product. A third-party inspector should not be selling the repair, the dredge, or the algae contract. After the report, their landscaper or pond vendor does the work. We reinspect after repairs — $150 within 90 days of the original visit, $250 after that.
We photograph sediment and say, in English, that a contractor is likely needed. We do not dredge, haul, survey bathymetry for hire, or run a vacuum truck.
We note algae and aquatic weeds. Treatment is a licensed applicator. We do not apply chemicals or sell a treatment program.
If a vault or wet well needs someone inside, we write that down and stop. Visual-from-grade only. You hire the crew that is trained for entry.
We do not camera storm lines. If a pipe needs a video, the cover letter says so and you hire that vendor.
We quote as inspector of record only where the town accepts the NCSU SCM I&M certificate. Charlotte, Davidson, and similar PE towns get a referral — we do not stretch a signature.
We do not rebuild outlets, dams, fountains, or shoreline, and we do not convert basins. After the report, your landscaper or pond vendor does the work. We reinspect when they are done: $150 within 90 days of the original visit, $250 after that.
How it works
1
Email what you have — a town letter, a plat, or a photo. You get a price and a PE caveat if the town is likely to want an engineer stamp.
2
Dave walks the device. Visual inspection from grade, with aerial imagery when useful. No chemical treatment, no confined-space entry, no camera truck.
3
Geotagged photos and the municipality’s form, completed from what was visible that day.
4
A one-page English summary ranking likely fixes for your vendor. Rush is 1.4× when the letter will not wait.
Tell us the community or business name, the town, how many ponds or stormwater controls, and any deadline on a letter. Typical same-week visit. Report in 5–7 business days. Wet pond $450.