Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Mar 19, 2015 3:37 pm Are inspections during the build generally included in the contract of builders like Coral homes or is the builder warranty enough? I'm not sure if we need an inspection during construction at each stage or just a final inspection on our proposed new build. Some places want up to $480 to do an inspection at each stage: Slab Frame Roof Brickwork and roof cladding Waterproofing Pre hand over At up to $480 per stage this starts to add up. Building in Deebing Heights, near Ipswich QLD Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 2Mar 19, 2015 4:17 pm If you take time to read blogs on my web site You will find that many owners dearly wish they had them done. $480 is cheap but then you get what you pay for. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 3Mar 19, 2015 8:09 pm So what cost should I be allocating for the above mentioned stages? If some of these are included in the contract do I need independent inspections? Checking out your site now. Cheers Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 4Mar 19, 2015 9:34 pm Has to be your independent inspector or your relying on a on the payrol subi who wont rock the Arm that feeds him, wont have to pick up much to pay for himself . don't play Russian roulette when you dont have too. Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 5Mar 20, 2015 4:58 am Inspections by professional independant person is worth it in my opinion. I've just noticed that this post is number 100 too. Good forum this Homeone Forum and whole web site too. Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 6Mar 20, 2015 2:41 pm I think you will regret it if you don't not only have a building inspector but an independent one too! Money worth spending! My build thread: Custom build on 40 acres viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75656 Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 7Mar 20, 2015 4:52 pm Ok, I'm going to start by asking am I right to think everyone has missed your question. Coral homes will include the mandatory inspections.... Footings Slab Frame Plumbing Final These are completed to suitably qualified and registered people, but they are done by businesses of the builders choice. The builders warranty is on top of this and is not a form of self certification if this was the impression you were under. The inspections you seemed to have priced are independent inspections that people may wish to engage on top and above the mandatory inspections as a second opinion. They can carry weight if they find the builder hasn't done something properly There can be hit and miss between inspectors which leads people to find that some extra inspections can be worth it. In saying that, and from my time on this site it appears QLD has a lot better building commission than other states, not saying it's fool proof though. Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 8Mar 20, 2015 8:00 pm In a former life I was a tradesman (electrician) who wired up Coral Homes for 4 years so I saw a lot... I don't want to say too much, other than I recommend that you get the independent inspections. Coral are a budget builder, they operate on the margins of quality necessary to be able to offer low prices. Sometimes things get missed or stuffed up. 33amc is right - we do have a pretty good building regulation in Qld compared to other states, the private certifiers are pretty good. But there is still a lot of self certification with individual trades, so I still recommend the independent inspections. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 10Mar 20, 2015 9:47 pm 1960sModernistHome In a former life I was a tradesman (electrician) who wired up Coral Homes for 4 years so I saw a lot... I don't want to say too much, other than I recommend that you get the independent inspections. Coral are a budget builder, they operate on the margins of quality necessary to be able to offer low prices. Sometimes things get missed or stuffed up. 33amc is right - we do have a pretty good building regulation in Qld compared to other states, the private certifiers are pretty good. But there is still a lot of self certification with individual trades, so I still recommend the independent inspections. I think you have nailed what I was worried about causing offence with. Coral are a budget builder. Their rates for contractors are about as low as they get last time I heard them so that only attracts fresh contractors or those that are a bit rough. It also leads to a high turn over of contractors which makes it hard for them to keep up standards and be consistent. I'm not saying they are d o d g y, it's just that you sort of get less care when you pay less. Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 11Mar 21, 2015 6:20 am I remember quite a few times where the slab was setout wrong and ended up being too small, in some cases this just meant the bottom plate and/or aluminium door threshold was only partly suppprted by the slab, on some cases steel angle was dynabolted to the edge of the slab so the frame had something to sit on. Have no idea if this is an acceptable fix, but didn't seem right to me at the time. Was covered up by brickwork never to be seen again. Just examples of why I think you should have independent inspections. If nothing else, just the knowledge that you are getting independent inspections might be enough to ensure the builder is on their toes, and the inspector might not find any issuea. By the way I am certain that these issues are not limited to CH Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 12Mar 21, 2015 8:19 am 33amc Coral are a budget builder. Their rates for contractors are about as low as they get last time I heard them so that only attracts fresh contractors or those that are a bit rough. It also leads to a high turn over of contractors which makes it hard for them to keep up standards and be consistent. I'm not saying they are d o d g y, it's just that you sort of get less care when you pay less. So true! Quality is a function of price and no one has yet managed to deliver Mercedes Benz for the price of Lada without going broke. On the other hand many have gotten rich promising more and delivering less. There is nothing wrong with budget builders or any other builders so long as you know exactly what you are getting for your money and so long as your expectations are in tune. The problem arises at one end when the customer selects budget builder and pays budget price but then expects more than they paid for, it doesn't wash. Many times I have had to dress down my customers expectations, I don't get repeat business from them but I don't care. More often though it is the builders that over promise and under deliver. That's why you have to have your own checking. A good inspector should be able to guide you by tempering your expectations and ensuring that builder delivers on the promise. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 13Mar 21, 2015 9:01 am Going slightly off topic here, but does CH still use the steel screw piers with "floating" slab? As far as I know at the time (around 10-14 years ago) they were the only ones doing that system. Any other builders/inspectors/engineers have any thoughts on that system? Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 14Mar 21, 2015 12:23 pm Screw piles require a concrete pile cap for bearing and you need to hire a big expensive rig, I prefer drilled insitu concrete piles, smaller rig, concrete boom pump & DIY it's alot cheaper. Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 15Mar 21, 2015 2:21 pm I have a friend who i a plumber and another who is a quant surveyor. Both say not to waste your money on building inspections. They said there is enough in terms of protection with warranties and consumer law. BLOG: http://www.ourphoenix38.blogspot.com.au H1 THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70454 Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 16Mar 21, 2015 5:50 pm Warranties last a short time -7 years. I want a house to last longer than that. If you spend money on independent inspections that pick up serious building issues and improve construction practices and have issues corrected, you are more likely to have a house that lasts a lifetime, not just 7 years. So I suppose it depends on if you are just building a house that you are not going to live in or keep longer that 7 years, then don't worry about independent building inspections. If you want a home you will live in far beyond 7 years then be concerned about building practices and workmanship. Private inspections keep builders on their toes and show builders you are concerned about what the finished product that you will be handed is like. It shows that you care about building practices and workmanship. Put your head in the sand and you can be sure that you will get an inferior product. Keep your eye on the ball I say. Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 17Mar 21, 2015 6:10 pm Very well said Goody Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 18Mar 21, 2015 6:18 pm So you are implying that if if you dont have a building inspector you are not concerned about the finished product? That is a very big assumption. BLOG: http://www.ourphoenix38.blogspot.com.au H1 THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70454 Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 19Mar 21, 2015 6:27 pm I don't think that is what is being implied. I believe the implication being made was that it lets the builder know you are serious about quality and workmanship. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Are building inspections during a build worth it? 20Mar 21, 2015 6:31 pm Your plumber and QS mates are certainly welcome to their opinion, but I would beg to differ. In my entire career as an engineer, I don't recall ever undertaking an inspection where I have issued a report with no legitimate defects on it Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 You have mandatory building inspections and privately engaged building inspections. The difference between the two comes down to inspecting the building so it's safe and… 3 18058 Can you give advice on how to get missing certificates needed for a form 21? Our bank requires us to provide one but we are missing 4 building certificates from our first… 3 71778 i would suggest nothing is unreasonable for PCI. we did all sorts, including checking the hot water, checking all the GPO's had power, testing that the showers were… 9 98623 |