Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 19, 2012 5:02 pm Hello, Looking to engage a PCA (principal certifying authority) to issue a construction certificate and do all the checks along the way for our renovation. Any experiences with getting a council vs private PCA? Thinking lead times, availability, quality of service, costs etc. Thanks. Follow the renovation of our Inner West terrace: http://207young.blogspot.com Re: PCA - Council vs Private 2Aug 20, 2012 8:49 am Were there any aspects of your DA that could have been 50/50 as to whether it was passed or was it all well within the councils DCP and LEP? It also depends a lot on which council you have. I'm guessing Leichardt from your blog, but I am unfamiliar with them as I tend to stick to this side of the bridge. That being said, I usually still advise my clients to go private. The councils tend to charge more because in a lot of cases they still outsource the PCA to private guys even if it states that they ( the council ) are the nominated PCA. All they do is put an amount on top for their cut of the pie. By going through the council they tend to want to cross every T and dot every I too. Stewie Re: PCA - Council vs Private 3Aug 20, 2012 10:03 am Thanks for your response Stewie! Everything was well within the council requirements so that shouldn't be an issue. Yes we are with Leichardt council who are notoriously difficult for DAs, but not too sure when it comes to other services. I will get a quote from them and see what they come back with. It will be interesting to see how much the prices vary between them and private! Aside from costs, is there anything else I should be looking for when choosing who I go with? Cheers Follow the renovation of our Inner West terrace: http://207young.blogspot.com Re: PCA - Council vs Private 4Aug 20, 2012 11:42 am References etc or find one locally that friends or neighbours have also used if possible. Some builders also like to use their own PCA's but I think they should be independent of the builder so if there is an issue there is no conflict of interest. Note that the PCA is there only to ensure the building work is done to BCA code as well as complying with the terms of the DA and council regulations. They have nothing to do with the build quality. That is between you and the builder. Structural engineers and other consultants are a different story. When I was building I used to recommend our engineer only because he was older with a lot of experience and I'd used him many times before plus he was usually cheaper than most others. Stewie Most of the time, council will push you out to a private certifier as it ties up their limited resources. Where a builder has gone belly up, the certifier passes the file… 7 5372 Hi everyone, Looking for some advise. We are about to build an above ground pool in our backyard. There is a private sewer line running under the pool at 1.6m… 0 11760 If you already have a contract, is the inspection cost stated in there? If not they would be forced to issue you a variation which you could of course object to. 12 25866 |