Are inspections during build necessary?

Hi all,

Pretty last minute but my builder (Simonds) will start laying out formwork in 2 days. Do I need to get an independent inspector to assess each stage of the house construction? Getting different opinions from everyone I know - line from my contract below (was told they'll use an independent surveyor, Checkpoint) -

A building surveyor is responsible for checking that your building project meets the minimum standards of the building regulations. They will independently:
- conduct the mandatory building inspections personally or have a building inspector conduct the inspections at the mandatory notification stages of your building project

I would recommend it. Note that the builder will probably put in a variation to increase the build days if you use one. I have also seen some builders try to charge you a fee for using one (which I would fight if that happened).

There are plenty of threads on here about independent inspectors and recommendations.

Well you're just as likely to get varying opinions on here as with your friends, so you'll just have to bite the bullet and choose.

But I would definitely recommend it. From experience, poor work in the slab which can be covered, in the frame which can be plastered over etc... Which might be fine early on, but when issues start happening - regardless if it's under warranty or not, guess who is giving up their free time to be at the house while repair work is done, or worse, have to pay for said repair work. And potentially have arguments with the builder about their responsibility, missed appointments.... it goes on and on.

You won't miss several hundred dollars now, when the trade off is that lingering doubt, plus thousands of dollars expenditure later down the track.

I would recommend using a private inspector. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

It really doesn't cost that much and gives you additional comfort. Plan on being there a couple of times though when your Inspector meets with the Site Supervisor. It's best to know if they are old mates connected through the building business,

Are there any reputable Building Inspectors (in WA) that members on this forum can vouch for based on their experience with them?

I chose to get one - I wouldn't have, but for the overheated Perth market. Chasing the money is likely to mean cutting corners, in my view, so better to be safe than sorry.

Who did you go with? How has your experience been with them?

Master Building Inspectors. We’ve only had one inspection so far - so not really enough experience with them to recommend them, but so far so good.