Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 22, 2010 10:18 pm We are undecided on whether to pay a building inspector, or whether to rely on our SS and ourselves during each stage of construction. The cost of a professional inspector is quite expensive, so I was wondering what other peoples experiences have been? Are there certain stages that are more important than others to have professionally inspected? We are considering inspecting the slab ourselves. Not sure what to do for the following stages... Any advice is appreciated Lara and Joshua http://pdheywood25.blogspot.com/ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31186 16.03.10 Scrape 29.03.10 Slab 08.04.10 Frame 11.05.10 Lock Up 03.06.10 Fixing 24.08.10 Handover Re: Should we get a building inspector? 2Mar 23, 2010 12:18 am Many, many threads already cover this. Search for 'independent building inspector' Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Should we get a building inspector? 3Mar 23, 2010 12:34 am Depends on how you look at it really. It's a big investment - are you prepared to put your investment in the hands of a single person? Or would you prefer to have redundancy? Re: Should we get a building inspector? 4Mar 23, 2010 9:38 am I don't get the private inspector thing. Posts usually go like this - I found some problems in my frame, so I've paid a inspector to go over it (~$500!) So... you saw the problems... but you need an inspector to tell you about them? Why not just bring it up with the builder yourself? The inspectors people have mentioned here have no actual qualification and can't force the builder to comply to anything, they can only write you up a pretty looking report which your builder can disregard. I think if you educate yourself enough and get out to site to have a good look you can do the same thing yourself. I'd say only get an inspector if you have noticed some real problems, your builder isn't doing anything about it, and you need to get some building codes/etc (many of which are recommendations anyway, not legally enforceable) to back you up, and show the builder your fully willing to pay 3rd parties to enforce your expectations (ie. it suggests you may even take legal action without so much as a blink if the builder does'nt comply - a good threatening tool!) Course some people won't like this opinion Re: Should we get a building inspector? 5Mar 23, 2010 10:14 am I'd say get an inspector, they just may discover things you completely skipped or knew nothing about. I won't pretend to be an inspector, so I'll get a professional to do it. I know of a few people who had inspectors and they found serious problems that otherwise they would not have found. People don't often educate themselves enough. And it's rare for people to know as much as the professionals. It's got nothing to do with trusting your SS or whoever. It's about peace of mind. Just my 2 cents worth. At the end of the day it's a personal choice, but I know which way I'm leaning. Life is; then you tell yourself a story. Re: Should we get a building inspector? 6Mar 23, 2010 10:39 am would you get a car you bought inspected? I mean with a bit of self education you could tell if it's been in an accident. If you look under the hood you can see if there's oil leaks. You can look at the tires and tell if they'll need to be replaced. But chances are you'll miss an oil leak onto the timing belt. If a spark plug is misfiring. If the gearbox is about to crap itself. The point is, sure you can see the little things or things that stand out. But an inspector will go into much more detail and pick up all the things you miss. It also puts the responsibility on the builder should something go wrong. And you're paying $500 out of $300,000 to ensure that your house is structurally sound and you're getting what you pay for. ---------------------------------------- Building the PD Lisbon 24 http://www.porterdavis.com.au/#homeviewer/lisbon/24 Blog of our progress. http://lisbon24.blogspot.com/ Homeone build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28665 Re: Should we get a building inspector? 7Mar 23, 2010 11:52 am Thanks for all the opinions everyone I understand both perspectives, and I would like to have a professional inspect at least some of the stages. I think we will inspect the slab ourselves, because that seems fairly basic, and I have read quite a bit about what we need to look for. After that, I will probably have each stage inspected, unless I can aquire enough knowledge in that time to feel safe doing most of it ourselves. Really appreciate everyones input! Can anyone reccommend some good inspectors in the Melbourne South East area? Lara and Joshua http://pdheywood25.blogspot.com/ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31186 16.03.10 Scrape 29.03.10 Slab 08.04.10 Frame 11.05.10 Lock Up 03.06.10 Fixing 24.08.10 Handover Re: Should we get a building inspector? 8Mar 23, 2010 3:49 pm I say "Yes". We picked up 3 items and the inspector picked up another 12 structural issues with our build. If we hadn't used them we would never have picked them up. As a consequence, they have been extra careful with the remainder of the build, replacing plaster, moving a door by a few inches, etc etc. Worth a $1000? You betcha Re: Should we get a building inspector? 9Mar 23, 2010 5:26 pm I'd start with checking the warranty that the builder offer. In my case I have 50 years structural warranty and 12 months for minor stuff. In my opinion 12 months will be more than enough for all hidden problems to expose themselves and have those fixed at the builder's expense. I engaged an inspector for a frame stage.. Nothing special and even report was not that fancy. Will I do it again? 90% not. ... built a Promenade with Clarendon. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25104 20-10-09 - excavation and piering completed ... 12-04-10 - Basins fixed. Connecting to the electrical grid 23-04-10 - PCI 07-05-10 - HANDOVER! Re: Should we get a building inspector? 10Mar 23, 2010 9:27 pm Yeah. I'm not getting an inspector either. I'll continue to go by my arrogance and pretend I know more about building a house than the builders! Re: Should we get a building inspector? 11Mar 24, 2010 8:00 pm bigred Yeah. I'm not getting an inspector either. I'll continue to go by my arrogance and pretend I know more about building a house than the builders! Understand your sarcasm however, is the alternative when an arrogant 3rd party who could not care less about your house and won't accept ANY responsibility much better ? ... built a Promenade with Clarendon. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25104 20-10-09 - excavation and piering completed ... 12-04-10 - Basins fixed. Connecting to the electrical grid 23-04-10 - PCI 07-05-10 - HANDOVER! I would send it to the certifier who is technically your representative and working on your behalf not the builder's 1 2254 I do enjoy the drama:-D In his latest two videos he has started bringing security guards to site, I am waiting for the punch on to begin lol 6 45498 Adam Baines Grad Cert Bldg Surv / Grad Dip Bldg Surv / MSAAPA Accredited Building Professional APB20210035 Builders Lic 183023 Pest Control Lic 84868 Ph 0412202336 PO… 3 46814 |