Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Municipal Building surveyor or private 21Jun 27, 2018 9:53 pm Like lilliana says, go with municipal as builders want their own suyveyor only for the fact that he generally will favour the builder who gives him regular work, often over looking the home owners rights, its one of the worst changes made and home owners are paying for it with regular bad results. Re: Municipal Building surveyor or private 22Jun 29, 2018 9:27 pm In Victoria - VBA states: Registered Building Surveyors provide independent oversight of buildings and building work throughout the construction process, and upon completion of construction ensure that buildings are safe for use, accessible and energy efficient. Registered Building Inspectors perform an important role in monitoring building standards in Victoria through carrying out inspections of building work on behalf of the relevant building surveyor. So there are challenges with this system as surveyor can be excellent, but the quality of inspections that occur may not be due it quality of inspector. In my experience they don’t necessarily send out the same person each time. They rely on certificates from trades and don’t check much. i.e. that rockwool barrier is complete, that there is a complete fire barrier installed in between frames where required, that retaining walls meet engineering design, that the frame doesn’t overhang the slab, the plumbing is graded towards pits even when it can be seen that they it does not with naked eye, that engineering design is met for plumbing or drainage...... When I requested the RBS act, as builder sent the incorrect measurements to the engineer to sign off a variation, the RBS said of course they would. They did not, act instead colluded with the builder and did not act until my private building consultant contacted the surveyor and reported the issue which meant plans did not meet engineering or town planning plans. The RBS requested the consultant email the builder and surveyor and said then they will act. On receipt they immediately put a building notice on the builder. Engaging a surveyor just for my 2 decks has been a costly exercise. I imagine the surveyors are paid less by builder than if if as clients we were engaging them due to volume of work provided by builder. This also likely impacts your on number of visits made and quality/thoroughness of inspections completed. I agree with above that for quality of build need to use private building consultant to check for things like plumb studs, insulation etc as surveyor relies on certificates saying it’s been done for things like 6 star rating and compliance. Problem with the situation in Victoria is the building surveyor gets the final say with ‘performance based’/alternative solutions for serious issues. I wonder if the building surveyor attends the site they are signing off much themselves. My private building consultant attended site after the Building inspection on behalf of RBS. It was visible how much more the private consultant marked as defects at frame stage as they used different coloured spray paint. My only concern with Municipal BS in my situation was, I was able to get CofO and complete my landscaping after moving in. With a municipal surveyor this would not hav even possible as it was a condition of my town planning permit. So if the inspections would definitely be better still best to go with municipal inspector, but best to know your situation and implications. I would be interested in hearing about experiences with RBS? - where contact has been required with them due to build issues. Re: Municipal Building surveyor or private 23Jun 29, 2018 9:33 pm Liliana Personally I would be going with the municipal surveyor. Our building designer pressured us into going with her surveyor, her reason being that municipal surveyors"require for details of standard construction practices to be explicitly written, which is useless for everyone involved". It turns out one of the details of standard construction practices she considered useless was a site survey. . I always thought about the RBS role on site during the build. It is only now that I am engaging my own RBS for decks (for my previously completed KDR) that I am realising the work they do in approving plans and making adjustments to builders plans to meet regs to obtain a building permit. How any RBS like yours is not automatically de-registered for agreeing to no site survey I do not understand. Re: Municipal Building surveyor or private 24Jun 30, 2018 12:18 am Gaudi In Victoria - VBA states: Registered Building Surveyors provide independent oversight of buildings and building work throughout the construction process, and upon completion of construction ensure that buildings are safe for use, accessible and energy efficient. Registered Building Inspectors perform an important role in monitoring building standards in Victoria through carrying out inspections of building work on behalf of the relevant building surveyor. So there are challenges with this system as surveyor can be excellent, but the quality of inspections that occur may not be due it quality of inspector. In my experience they don’t necessarily send out the same person each time. They rely on certificates from trades and don’t check much. i.e. that rockwool barrier is complete, that there is a complete fire barrier installed in between frames where required, that retaining walls meet engineering design, that the frame doesn’t overhang the slab, the plumbing is graded towards pits even when it can be seen that they it does not with naked eye, that engineering design is met for plumbing or drainage...... When I requested the RBS act, as builder sent the incorrect measurements to the engineer to sign off a variation, the RBS said of course they would. They did not, act instead colluded with the builder and did not act until my private building consultant contacted the surveyor and reported the issue which meant plans did not meet engineering or town planning plans. The RBS requested the consultant email the builder and surveyor and said then they will act. On receipt they immediately put a building notice on the builder. Engaging a surveyor just for my 2 decks has been a costly exercise. I imagine the surveyors are paid less by builder than if if as clients we were engaging them due to volume of work provided by builder. This also likely impacts your on number of visits made and quality/thoroughness of inspections completed. I agree with above that for quality of build need to use private building consultant to check for things like plumb studs, insulation etc as surveyor relies on certificates saying it’s been done for things like 6 star rating and compliance. Problem with the situation in Victoria is the building surveyor gets the final say with ‘performance based’/alternative solutions for serious issues. I wonder if the building surveyor attends the site they are signing off much themselves. My private building consultant attended site after the Building inspection on behalf of RBS. It was visible how much more the private consultant marked as defects at frame stage as they used different coloured spray paint. My only concern with Municipal BS in my situation was, I was able to get CofO and complete my landscaping after moving in. With a municipal surveyor this would not hav even possible as it was a condition of my town planning permit. So if the inspections would definitely be better still best to go with municipal inspector, but best to know your situation and implications. I would be interested in hearing about experiences with RBS? - where contact has been required with them due to build issues. Gaudi, your synopsis of the state of the nation is spot on and your use of the correct occupation terms is refreshing. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Municipal Building surveyor or private 25Jun 30, 2018 8:38 am Gaudi Liliana Personally I would be going with the municipal surveyor. Our building designer pressured us into going with her surveyor, her reason being that municipal surveyors"require for details of standard construction practices to be explicitly written, which is useless for everyone involved". It turns out one of the details of standard construction practices she considered useless was a site survey. . I always thought about the RBS role on site during the build. It is only now that I am engaging my own RBS for decks (for my previously completed KDR) that I am realising the work they do in approving plans and making adjustments to builders plans to meet regs to obtain a building permit. How any RBS like yours is not automatically de-registered for agreeing to no site survey I do not understand. The only action the VBA took in my case was to send the RBS a letter warning him not to do it again, which he would have promptly thrown in the bin if he even looked at it, considering the dismissive and arrogant replies I received when I contacted him myself. And yes - they don't send out the same surveyor each time. In fact the RBS approves your build and then they hire inspectors to do the footwork for them - or probably carwork which stops at the curb. The forensic plumber who came to test our open flue gas heater yesterday also offers plumbing inspections for new builds and he told me stories about RBS's ( or their inspectors) he has seen call out from the comfort of their parked cars to ask whether the work has been done so that they can issue the certificate. He was also scathing of the VBA who often override or dismiss his reports of non-compliant plumbing work to the extent that he has taken the issue up with his local member. I didn't want to depress him but I doubt the local member will do anything. In our case the VBA took no action against the RBS for approving a slab that did not comply with the building regulations. So yes - you need your own private building consultant in addition to an RBS you have chosen and who reports to you. Re: Municipal Building surveyor or private 26Jun 30, 2018 5:20 pm Some Victorian new home buyers may not be aware of a recent legislative change to the VBA powers. See below. http://www.vba.vic.gov.au/disputes-and-resolutions/domestic-building-inspections "Domestic building inspections Due to legislative changes from 24 April 2017 the VBA will no longer provide Domestic Building Inspections. If you are seeking free advice and information to help you resolve a domestic building dispute you can contact the Building Information Line on 1300 55 75 59 between 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays). If you have a building dispute that you are unable to resolve yourself visit the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) website at www.dbdrv.vic.gov.au to lodge an online application for dispute resolution. DBDRV will be able to resolve building disputes without the cost and time often associated with courts and tribunals, and will have the power to issue legally binding dispute resolution orders and certificates. From 26 April 2017, builders and owners will have to apply to resolve their domestic building dispute through DBDRV before applying to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)." 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Municipal Building surveyor or private 27Jun 30, 2018 8:24 pm Liliana The only action the VBA took in my case was to send the RBS a letter warning him not to do it again, which he would have promptly thrown in the bin if he even looked at it, considering the dismissive and arrogant replies I received when I contacted him myself. With only a warning letter being the case makes even more sense why my builder (a term I use loosely as the registered builder was never on site during my build) was so arrogant and shrugged shoulders so often when non compliant work was pointed out. With the RBS in their pocket and the RBS also untouchable by VBA the builder had not a care in the world. Due to the state of the building industry DBDRV are so busy that there is a 3mth wait for them to contact you to discuss the issue being raised to decide if they feel the case meets their criteria. Not sure if at that point they are ready to immediately proceed with mediation or if it’s just another step in the process. (I’ve withdrawn cases twice during the wait time). Although I’m hopeful the DBDRV process would be helpful for clients, posts on this forum have indicated otherwise. 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 11763 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 25886 |