As you await the day you’re handed the keys to your brand-new home, there’s plenty to keep your mind occupied when it comes to the complex construction process. Sadly, there’s much that can go wrong before the build is completed to a satisfactory degree, which is why it’s so important to seek independent advice.
To give your ongoing peace of mind that you’re on track for a high-quality end-result, engaging the services of an external expert with proficiency in construction processes is essential. Your chosen Building Practitioner will have the knowledge and experience necessary to perform various inspections throughout construction and have the sort of eye for proper construction detail required to spot existing or potential defects.
Inspections will be backed up with detailed reports outlining any issues identified, alongside advice on how these should be addressed by your builder. We’ve compiled a list of some of the common problems a new home inspection consultant can support an owner to identify and address …
Time and budget overruns
Speak to a small handful of owners who’ve been through the new home construction process, and you’re guaranteed to find somebody who has experienced considerable time and cost overruns. These are, unfortunately, par for the course in a space with the potential for so many unforeseen – and often unavoidable! – circumstances that can hold things up and increase costs.
A home building inspection with regular checks performed at key milestones throughout the process is the ideal way to ensure your builder remains on-track. Where hold-ups and budget increases do occur, your impartial expert will advise on whether these issues are reasonable or not and, if not, raise them with the builder to support a satisfactory resolution.
It’s important to remember that an independent inspection report will offer written evidence of any breach of contract on the builder’s part. Therefore, if you need to challenge your builder where they have not delivered on things contractually agreed to, your report will provide you the basis for a successful resolution with all issues properly documented. Your Building Practitioner from Building Inspections Perth has the capacity to ascertain these issues and has the backing from Professional Engineers and Contract Managers to assist the owner to guide the builder to be able to sustain the completion time and any mitigation action necessary for completion and furthermore, to vet any variations that may be imposed on the owner unnecessarily.
Non-compliance with relevant Australian standards
Without distinct industry knowledge, the majority of owners undertaking a new home construction will be unaware of the building codes, regulations, and standards relevant to their project. Seeking out Building Inspection Perth services will help overcome this problem by actively looking for any failures in compliance throughout the build, thus keeping your builder accountable, and providing reassurance that you will end up with a high-quality building on completion.
Communication problems
Often, problems that occur between owner and builder are a consequence of poor communication on the builder’s part, either in the wording of the contract or in verbal discussions. There’s some technical jargon that hasn’t been explained properly, or there’s been a failure to let you know about a certain issue that’s arisen as the build has progressed.
Fundamentally, a new home inspection exists to support the effective resolution of any concerns or disputes between the two parties. In instances of poor communication, your impartial third-party Building Practitioner, can use their experience to assist with effective mediation and facilitate a resolution that satisfies both owner and builder. The ultimate hope is for this approach to negate the need for legal action to be taken by either party.
Safety hazards
In terms of the actual work completed by your builder, one key area your external inspector will look at is the overall safety of the building. By conducting thorough checks that encompass everything from the building’s wiring and electrics to sharp edges or potential slip, trip and fall hazards, you can have confidence that you, your family, and any visitors will be safe in your new home.
Structural issues
Of course, before the keys to your new home are handed over, you’ll want to be certain it is structurally sound.
Before plaster is applied to the walls and ceilings, your Building Practitioner, will perform a thorough check of the building’s frame, including its overall quality and any issues with straightness. Prior to this, a building surveyor should have already conducted a frame inspection, meaning this is an ideal opportunity for a further inspection to check any issues previously identified have been properly addressed.
Your Building Practitioner will also be on the lookout for inadequate brickwork workmanship, which can lead to potential cracking or leaking as time goes on. Other defects such as bowed and cracked slabs and floors can be a sign of poor construction quality, or excessive structural movement. These issues need to be addressed to prevent future problems, including wall cracking and subsidence.
Poorly installed doors and windows
When walking through your property, another key aspect your inspector will seek to assess is how well the doors and windows have been fitted. Poorly installed doors and windows have the potential to allow chilly air inside during the winter months, and warm air during the summer. A thorough new home inspection will identify these insulation problems and direct your builder to address them before the keys are handed over.
Inadequate waterproofing
Extensive damage can be caused by unwanted moisture in a building long before the problem becomes visibly apparent. That’s why a thorough waterproofing inspection is essential during construction. This will ensure the membranes needed to protect wet areas such as bathrooms, laundries and decks have all been well-installed, mitigating issues such as water penetration and leaking, as well as the potential for future mould outbreaks which can be hazardous to occupant health. In addition, cracked, warped, or sagging ceilings can be indicative of current or future water damage, while defective gutters that fail to direct water away from the roof also have the potential to cause leaks. Consequently, these sorts of issues will also be a top priority for identification by your inspector.