Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 22, 2009 11:48 am Hi all From what I’ve read & heard a lot of home owners think that the appointed surveyor is like a quality insurance inspector. Just because there are 4 mandatory inspection they must do, it does not mean you are protected from poor workmanship. I have heard builders and home owners say "it will be inspected by a surveyor" "It must be OK it passed inspection" or” as long as it passes inspection that’s all I have to do" Their main role as I understand it is to check plans & designs to make sure they comply with regulations & issue a building permit. Conduct inspections to make sure work is being done in accordance with the drawings. ie the roof is on the top & the slab is on the bottom. On completion of your home, they inspect it to see if it’s liveable. Then issue an occupancy permit. "The certificate does not relate to the quality of the building work, and they expressly state that they are not evidence that the work complies with the relevant building legislation & regulations."Law hand book fact sheet ch. 27 So if you think the surveyor is keeping an eye on your build and making sure its up to standard you best think again. It may be time you got and independant, qualified building inspector to do all stages not just hand over. Cheers KW................ “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: The role of a building surveyor. 2Nov 22, 2009 2:03 pm Hi KW, Many of us have seen how the surveyor works it is not quality control nor to make sure that work is done to Australian standards. I urge everyone to get their own independant inspections to make sure the house is built to contract. Many builders can and will cover up errors to save them time and money, we have our own business and always treat our clients how we would like to be treated ourselves, unfortunately not every one has the same ethic. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Re: The role of a building surveyor. 3Nov 22, 2009 2:51 pm I’ve been informed as soon as there is a problem the surveyor is of the hook as long as work has been done to plan. The builder will then pass the buck to the engineer. You can have a surveyor pulled off the job, no problem. By making an application to the building commission. I’ve had a look at some sites recently and I wonder if anyone has even looked at it. Consumers are now becoming more educated and aware of their rights. We now life in a litigating society so I guess people take short cuts at their own risk. [quote]Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me[quote] I think the above is true for sure, but below even truer. You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time. Kind Regards KW…………….. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: The role of a building surveyor. 4Nov 22, 2009 3:01 pm Re: Consumers becoming more educated. The internet is a wonderful thing, it empowers people with information, such as this very forum. Google is my friend Re: The role of a building surveyor. 5Nov 28, 2009 12:36 pm As someone who worked in the industry for the past four years, I think you need to cut building surveyors some slack.. You really should realise that as owners, we work for you not the builder. The inspections are so much more important and more involved than you make them seem. We check structural, code and regulatory compliance at the mandatory inspections, it seems like your main complaint is that our inspectors don't check the quality of your paint, tiles, etc which is not something that falls under the scope of the building permit. Asking the inspectors to make sure your tiles are laid in a straight line would be like calling an ambulance to fight a fire - as a contractual issue it's not their job, it's not their responsibility. Quote: So if you think the surveyor is keeping an eye on your build and making sure its up to standard you best think again. It may be time you got and independant, qualified building inspector to do all stages not just hand over. This is just insulting, you insinuate that a building surveyor is not independent? As a surveyor we answer to the building commission, not the builder. No surveyor would put his neck on the commissions chopping block doing a ******* for the builder. Also, all building inspectors must be registered by the building commission, which means they must have completed (at the bare minimum) the TAFE courses and displayed the proper knowledge and experience. I might also add, that these "independent inspectors" owners like to hire often have no proven qualifications at all. As in any industry, there are rogues out there - ******* surveyors and ******* inspectors, but from what I've seen most of the more responsible builders stay away from them, and with a few recent (welcome) changes from the commission we're seeing most of the shifties getting a kick up the arse. Sorry if this was a bit passionate, but I'm sick of the surveyors being turned into scapegoats by owners on the warpath. Just keep in mind, there's alot of hard work behind the scenes that goes into making sure your house doesn't fall down or sink into the earth.. Re: The role of a building surveyor. 6Nov 28, 2009 3:06 pm Well said slugnoid My dad is a private Building Surveyor. This line bothers me King willy I’ve been informed as soon as there is a problem the surveyor is of the hook as long as work has been done to plan. The builder will then pass the buck to the engineer Whether we employed another Independent Building Surveyor, or my Dad... I know that they are working for me, not my builder. Re: The role of a building surveyor. 7Nov 28, 2009 3:20 pm I assume that the "private Building Surveyor" is the same as a "Site Supervisor" here in SA. Their job is to ensure the house is up to code (SA Housing code here) and that certificates are issued, then to sign off prior to occupancy.
Is this right? Re: The role of a building surveyor. 8Nov 28, 2009 3:25 pm Hills Guy I assume that the "private Building Surveyor" is the same as a "Site Supervisor" hera in SA. Their job is to ensure the house is up to code (SA Housing code here) and that certificates are issued, then to sign off prior to occupancy. Is this right? Re: The role of a building surveyor. 9Nov 28, 2009 9:21 pm Oh, I just noticed this post!! My understanding is that King Willy was talking about the PCAs, not building surveyors hired privately by the owner. Anyway, I will say again that "our" PCA has been nothing but a shocker so far. Eg. he hasnt turned up at all for the piering inspection, he hasnt spotted issues with our formworks, he "forgets" to notify us when is he coming so he doesn't hane to meet us ... Actually, ever since we realised that we "applied" for them to be our PCA (yet another quick and very dirty trick by our skilled builder - commissions??), we were feeling down, and amazingly - our fears are all well founded. Anyway, enought about us .. Yeah, I investigated what can be done ... apparently we need to have the agreement from the PCA!! "If the current principal certifying authority (PCA) for the development, the person who appointed the current PCA and the person who is proposed to be appointed to replace the current PCA all agree" (quote from BPB's form) ... well, I wonder how does this work in practice. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110560 Even if it's not being sub-divided and you want to keep it as Torrens title, you will still need to talk to a town planner or Council themselves, to see if they will allow… 1 11033 |