We Know Buildings

The quality and usefulness of any building inspection is only as good as the knowledge and experience of the professional performing the inspection. Experience is vital since many judgments must be based on the visible evidence. About us: Criterium-Liszkay Engineers are expert at picking up subtle visual nuances which may signal a problem. Understanding the technology of buildings is also critically important to interpreting the significance of observed condition.

For most, buying a home represents the single largest investment of a lifetime. With Criterium-Liszkay Engineers, you have the added peace of mind that your decision is the right one.

We Know Buildings

Since 1970, Criterium-Liszkay Engineers has evaluated more than 60,000 buildings throughout central Ohio. We look at more than 1,500 buildings and visit more than 100 construction sites every year.

Our staff of licensed, Professional Engineers offer skills in structural, civil, and mechanical engineering, project management, and much more. From diagnostics to due diligence, from commissioning to envelope performance to HVAC systems, we help our clients with even the most complex projects.

We welcome the opportunity to prove our value to each of our clients. Our proven reputation and consistent professionalism have made Criterium-Liszkay Engineers the engineering firm of choice for many of the nation’s leading investors, builders and developers.

We are licensed, Professional Engineers

Being a licensed, Professional Engineer is a career commitment and mindset guided by ethics, technical competence, clear communication and legal accountability. It is a calling.

In most states, becoming a licensed, Professional Engineer (P.E.), requires:

• a four-year engineering degree,
• at least four years work experience under a Professional Engineer,
• passing two intensive competency exams,
• licensing by the state board, and
• ongoing maintenance, improvement of skills and continuing education throughout their career.

Each Criterium-Liszkay engineer has invested years mastering a rigorous, demanding technical and professional discipline; this expertise and experience makes a difference for our clients and their ability to understand the buildings in which they live and work. You can trust us to ask the right questions, pay attention to detail, see and solve problems, and provide quiet wisdom you can count on. And we never forget the most important part of every building we inspect: the people who call it their home or workplace.

Our History

“… To place service before profit, the honor and standing of the profession before personal advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations.”

The year was 1970, C.R. “Dick” Withem, a Professional Engineer, realized that home buyers had no assurances about the mechanical and structural integrity of the property they were about to purchase. Dick discovered an engineer in New York named Arthur Tauscher, who in 1957 had developed the concept of comprehensive home and building inspections. Hence was born Home Inspection Consultants of Columbus.

In 1989, Donald Liszkay, also a Professional Engineer, began working with Dick Withem. Upon Dick’s retirement in 1996, Donald Liszkay purchased the company and changed the name to Criterium-Liszkay Engineers.  Mr. Liszkay expanded the companies specialty services over the next 25 years with the addition of commercial building inspections, association reserve and transition studies and building structural inspections.

In 2020, Adam Rich, a Professional Engineer, began working with Donald Liszkay.  Adam Rich purchased the company in 2021 and is currently building on the long history of technical excellence and client service that Mr. Withem and Mr. Liszkay provided to the central Ohio market.

Today, Criterium-Liszkay Engineers is the oldest engineering firm in the Central Ohio Area specializing in pre-purchase home and building inspections, staffed solely with licensed Professional Engineers. We are now expanding into architectural services.

Our reputation for excellence and integrity has been won with an unmatched record of experience, having inspected more than 25,000 structures.

Through the combined knowledge and experience of our engineering staff and our association with the Criterium Engineers North American network of over 70 firms, we continue to offer our clients the broadest bank of information in the field.

Our centrally located office, equipped with modern computer technology, is positioned to provide prompt, professional and confidential report services to our clients.

It’s time to talk to Criterium-Liszkay Engineers

If you want practical solutions from a long-term partner with professional engineering expertise, contact us at (614) 418-7200 to learn more about us or discuss your next project.