Construction of your home is carried out in phases involving assorted contractors working on various components at different stages of construction. The finished product will be depended upon to last many years so you’d like to know when the dust settles and when handover time arrives that your new home has been built well and finished to an acceptable standard. In short, you want to be sure everything went according to plan. If not, you’re going to have to either live with less-than-ideal results, or spend a lot of emotional energy, time and in cases money, fighting to correct them. That’s where the sense in conducting construction stage inspections comes in.
Construction stage inspections allows the person paying for a home to be built the opportunity to engage an independent third party with acceptable experience to help ensure that sound building practices are utilised throughout each phase of the building process. These inspections evaluate key aspects of the home’s construction in several important areas.
- Slab – The very foundation of the home, the concrete slab is evaluated to ascertain that it was poured to the proper dimensions as per the plans. The inspector will check that drainage locations are in accordance with slab set-out plans and installed correctly, look for significant cracks and evaluate for quality workmanship and finish. If there are any findings that don’t meet Australian Standards, the report that is drafted after each inspection stage will highlight these items to help the ‘make good’ process.
- Wall and Roof Framing – The skeleton of the home, the timber framing is built upon the foundation / slab. At this stage, the inspector checks to confirm that the walls and roof trusses are framed and secured to an acceptable standard and in accordance with The National Construction Code and to the building plans.
- Pre-Lining/Lock-up Stage – After installation of the roof has been completed, the exterior brick/veneer has been added and all services have been installed (plumbing, electrical, gas etc), the inspector will scrutinise the quality of the workmanship both to the outside components and inside prior to the insulation and wall and ceiling linings being installed.
- Pre-Handover – This is the last stage of the inspection process. At this phase the home is essentially completed and the inspection occurs prior to the homeowner being handed over the keys. Inspection during the pre-handover stage is very detailed and includes appraising the finished / cleaned external works such as roof & guttering, walls, windows, doors and any external paved areas. Internally all wall and ceiling coverings, plastering, siliconing, floor coverings, fixtures and fittings and more are inspected and assessed for quality of installation and or of workmanship / finish.As you can see, employing a professional construction stage inspector is a valuable asset to a new home owner. Once you have taken ownership of a home, the repair of any previously undetected defects becomes a debated and unpleasant experience as no one wants to accept and/or deflects responsibility. It is clear that having a thorough evaluation of the key phases of construction before you are handed the keys will potentially save you a lot of grief. To protect your investment, and to ensure that the finished product is exactly what you paid for, the wise move is to hire an independent and suitably qualified building Inspector to act as your construction stage inspector.
To book a professional construction inspection, contact Houspect.
Houspect Building Inspections – Buy, Build, Invest and Sell with Confidence
