Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Jun 27, 2014 3:31 pm I am forever trumpeting the virtues of having independent stage inspections, expert review of your build at critical stages of construction including pre contract review. It will add around 3K (for 5 inspections) to your build and many would rather spend that on TV or an item of upgrade but it takes just one mistake to blow a lot more than that ( or even just overcharge on a variation or contract adjustment) and then what's the cost of hair replacement, stress or health loss if things really go wrong? I just carried out pre final inspection for a lovely young professional couple that engaged me for all critical points including contract review. This is what I had to say in my report summary: "Inspection Findings: This dwelling is well constructed, nicely finished and a credit to the builder. No further comment is required. Recommendations: The builder to attend IMMEDIATELY to wind damaged cooler unit and to prevent roof leaks that may damage ceilings." The last item was just something I picked up following high winds overnight After getting their report this is what the couple said: "Hi Branko, Thanks for the report, and for all your help with our build. We’re very glad that we invested in you so that we had an issue-free build! I’m not sure whether we got a really good site supervisor because they knew we had employed you, or whether it was a coincidence, but in any case thanks!!! As it happened I had been extremely critical of the same builder on another build (in my blog) where build was just dreadful, but after making the builder demolish and rebuild brickwork , fix many defects and getting him to refund all my inspection fees to the client + compensation we got there. It seems something was learned because this build apart from minor turbulence flew well and I had no hesitation crediting the builder with a job well done. 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: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 2Jun 27, 2014 3:48 pm building-expert I am forever trumpeting the virtues of having independent stage inspections, expert review of your build at critical stages of construction including pre contract review. It will add around 3K (for 5 inspections) to your build and many would rather spend that on TV or an item of upgrade but it takes just one mistake to blow a lot more than that ( or even just overcharge on a variation or contract adjustment) and then what's the cost of hair replacement, stress or health loss if things really go wrong? I just carried out pre final inspection for a lovely young professional couple that engaged me for all critical points including contract review. This is what I had to say in my report summary: "Inspection Findings: This dwelling is well constructed, nicely finished and a credit to the builder. No further comment is required. Recommendations: The builder to attend IMMEDIATELY to wind damaged cooler unit and to prevent roof leaks that may damage ceilings." The last item was just something I picked up following high winds overnight After getting their report this is what the couple said: "Hi Branko, Thanks for the report, and for all your help with our build. We’re very glad that we invested in you so that we had an issue-free build! I’m not sure whether we got a really good site supervisor because they knew we had employed you, or whether it was a coincidence, but in any case thanks!!! As it happened I had been extremely critical of the same builder on another build (in my blog) where build was just dreadful, but after making the builder demolish and rebuild brickwork , fix many defects and getting him to refund all my inspection fees to the client + compensation we got there. It seems something was learned because this build apart from minor turbulence flew well and I had no hesitation crediting the builder with a job well done. Where are you based? Do you inspect properties in Melbourne as well? Re: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 3Jun 27, 2014 4:26 pm vikramgiridhar building-expert I am forever trumpeting the virtues of having independent stage inspections, expert review of your build at critical stages of construction including pre contract review. It will add around 3K (for 5 inspections) to your build and many would rather spend that on TV or an item of upgrade but it takes just one mistake to blow a lot more than that ( or even just overcharge on a variation or contract adjustment) and then what's the cost of hair replacement, stress or health loss if things really go wrong? I just carried out pre final inspection for a lovely young professional couple that engaged me for all critical points including contract review. This is what I had to say in my report summary: "Inspection Findings: This dwelling is well constructed, nicely finished and a credit to the builder. No further comment is required. Recommendations: The builder to attend IMMEDIATELY to wind damaged cooler unit and to prevent roof leaks that may damage ceilings." The last item was just something I picked up following high winds overnight After getting their report this is what the couple said: "Hi Branko, Thanks for the report, and for all your help with our build. We’re very glad that we invested in you so that we had an issue-free build! I’m not sure whether we got a really good site supervisor because they knew we had employed you, or whether it was a coincidence, but in any case thanks!!! As it happened I had been extremely critical of the same builder on another build (in my blog) where build was just dreadful, but after making the builder demolish and rebuild brickwork , fix many defects and getting him to refund all my inspection fees to the client + compensation we got there. It seems something was learned because this build apart from minor turbulence flew well and I had no hesitation crediting the builder with a job well done. Where are you based? Do you inspect properties in Melbourne as well? Yes, office in Laveron but I will service greater Melbourne area 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: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 4Jun 27, 2014 11:05 pm For something as big as a house that most people would be paying off for a large part of their lives, It would be a no brainer to me. Antenna Direct Perth www.antennadirect.com.au 0423919037 Get your home NBN Ready Smart Wiring and Structured Cabling in Perth Antenna Installations | TV Wall Mounting | Data Cabling HD Security Camera Systems / CCTV Re: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 5Jun 27, 2014 11:48 pm building-expert vikramgiridhar building-expert I am forever trumpeting the virtues of having independent stage inspections, expert review of your build at critical stages of construction including pre contract review. It will add around 3K (for 5 inspections) to your build and many would rather spend that on TV or an item of upgrade but it takes just one mistake to blow a lot more than that ( or even just overcharge on a variation or contract adjustment) and then what's the cost of hair replacement, stress or health loss if things really go wrong? I just carried out pre final inspection for a lovely young professional couple that engaged me for all critical points including contract review. This is what I had to say in my report summary: "Inspection Findings: This dwelling is well constructed, nicely finished and a credit to the builder. No further comment is required. Recommendations: The builder to attend IMMEDIATELY to wind damaged cooler unit and to prevent roof leaks that may damage ceilings." The last item was just something I picked up following high winds overnight After getting their report this is what the couple said: "Hi Branko, Thanks for the report, and for all your help with our build. We’re very glad that we invested in you so that we had an issue-free build! I’m not sure whether we got a really good site supervisor because they knew we had employed you, or whether it was a coincidence, but in any case thanks!!! As it happened I had been extremely critical of the same builder on another build (in my blog) where build was just dreadful, but after making the builder demolish and rebuild brickwork , fix many defects and getting him to refund all my inspection fees to the client + compensation we got there. It seems something was learned because this build apart from minor turbulence flew well and I had no hesitation crediting the builder with a job well done. Where are you based? Do you inspect properties in Melbourne as well? Yes, office in Laveron but I will service greater Melbourne area Can you PM me your number and address please. Do you work on Saturdays at all? Re: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 6Jun 28, 2014 8:50 am BJ88 For something as big as a house that most people would be paying off for a large part of their lives, It would be a no brainer to me. You are absolutely right! but many people that know better just cannot help themselves and think they can do without. As it is 90% of my clients come only after they have hit the rocks and dearly wish they had them done. Then there are contract adjustments, how many people have dropped thousands, perhaps tens of thousands without even realising. Being in control and preventing problems is much cheaper than having to deal with them. 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: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 7Jun 28, 2014 11:54 am I would definitely recommend getting Branko for inspections. That was our build he is referring to, and like he said, it was only the cost of an upgrade to have him do all the inspections, and it gave us piece of mind to know that the house we spent a lot of money on was properly built. We let the builder know when we signed the contracts that we had engaged a building inspector, and I suspect that they gave us their best site supervisor, who did an absolutely fantastic job on our house. It turns out that the timing of our final inspection couldn't be better, as the evaporative aircon unit blew off the roof the night before in those gail force winds. Branko recommended that they fix the roof before the rain started, and they did. We already have the new unit in place (securely this time!). cheers Meagan Re: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 8Oct 11, 2014 6:02 pm Thanks for your post Building Expert As a first home buyer I'm struggling with the decision on whether to use an independent inspector. My brain says "Are you crazy?? Of course you have to have one!" .. and my little inner kid is saying "but 2k could be spent on more shiny!!". I think this post has made up my mind, I will definitely get the 2-3 inspections done. I'm still unsure about the contract review, but I think I will need this too. As I have no idea what I am doing! My house is only a 300-350k single storey on less than 300m2 lot. I've decided to go with a small private builder and I recently got to see a home they finished about a month ago (the builder gave me the client's number for a review and the client invited me around). They said they didn't use any inspectors and they have had no problems, so I was beginning to think I could get away without using an inspector.. but the advice of everyone here is probably more true i.e. "one of the biggest investments ever you should make sure your getting what you pay for". Wouldn't mind engaging your services Building Expert. Will check out your website. Re: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 9Oct 17, 2014 12:50 pm I think it’s also important to find the right inspector to assess your home… We did engage independent structural engineer to assess our skillion roof (after we had troubles with getting our ‘engineering company’ to rectify all the stuff ups with the design that unfortunately we only picked up when there was time to order our roof timber…. well better late than never) Anyway the inspector came, looked at the roof for 2min and said all ok. We got report saying all is built as per australian standards and is structurally sound but that didn’t help us sleep better at night. In our opinion the inspector should have taken more time and care assessing the engineering spec, supporting columns, tie downs, timber sizes and only then we would actually get the peace of mind that we wanted... We now found a third (!) Structural Engineer that is designing our mezzanine floor and he is the Professional we were looking for (BTW he did suggest some additional supports in our stud wall that we always thought looked a bit thin….) So yes definitely get the independent inspector but get someone that can actually provide you with a professional opinion that you can rely on. Probably it’s best to employ someone that is recommended. Bad luck we don’t live in Melbourne!! Re: Building stage inspections, will you spend the money or 10Oct 19, 2014 5:04 pm I think your right . I originally had found a company online and they had a fancy website, the person on the phone was nice enough and the pricing was pretty good so I was going to go with them. Since then I've taken the time to look them up online and they have some really bad reviews. I got a quote from Building Expert, and I think I am going to go with their services due to all the reviews on here. I've just had a look at the website. The company are just building broker's. There are plenty of similar companies that basically draw your plans (they own them so you… 8 10837 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 18019 As a tradesmen get a private inspector although I don't think there worth it in their profession themselves the reminder they serve to the tradesmen doing the work is… 3 27337 |