PROFESSIONAL BUILDINGS INSPECTIONS ACT

Let us inspect your home.

Building Inspections ACT

New South Wales country homes are a specialty

We service all surrounding New South Wales: Murrembateman, Yass, Queanbeyan, Goulburn, Cooma, Gundaroo, Tarago, Bungendore, Jindabyne, Berndale, Waga Waga, Cootamundra, Young and even further away than that. We are very close building inspectors for the local areas of Kippax, Holt, Macgregor, Flynn, Dunlop, Belconnen, Higgins, Latham, Melba, Charnwood, Florey, Fraser, and Spence.

Building inspections ACT

See our Inspection Types for more information. But we do the traditional Pre-purchase Inspections. We also inspect construction stages, noting the progress of your home as it is built. This can be useful if you are not in Canberra during the work. We do commercial inspections. We can also mediate between home builder and buyer.  We also do Timber Pest (termite) Inspections, and Energy Efficiency Rating Inspections.

ACT Building Inspections

ACT building inspections are where we inspect the home for obvious structural significant defects, minor defects, and maintenance issues. This is a structural inspection. In effect, we are looking for what should not be there that is, and what is there that should not be. This inspection includes walls, floors, ceilings, roof framing, and external structures such as pergolas, carports and garages, balconies and so on. We will also look at the water-tightness of the envelope of your building, as best we can. We will inform you of obvious places the water can get in and the light.

In addition to the structural inspection, we also inspect the plumbing and electricals. Basically, we want to see if these work or not. That is, does the heater turn on, the lights work, the taps turn off, toilet flushes without leaks and so on. Obviously, we are not plumbers or electricians and do not hold their certificates, but we can help you by determining what works and what does not. If you need an electrical inspection, from the switchboard in, then you will need to commission an electrician, and they can measure power drop and so on.

Please also understand, if we find something that needs fixing, and you are the vendor, we will give you the chance to fix it before we finalize the report. We feel this is fair as most vendors want to see their home go into the hands of well-meaning buyers, and they want to sell their home in the same spirit as they would like to buy it. So included in our prices are finalizing the report so it takes into account any repairs.

Timber Pest Inspections

The Timber Pest Inspection is more than just a termite inspection. Certainly, we need to let you know if we find termites, or if there has been evidence of them. But we also will inform you of any borer, fungus, and timber that is rotting. We will also let you know if there are materials on site that are conducive to breeding termites, and what to do with it. We also look for any damp or other conditions that may encourage termites. And we will always give you a solution for what we find, regardless of if you are vendor or buyer.

Compliance Report

The compliance report is where the ACT building inspector looks at the plans that ACTPLA (the ACT Planning and Land Authority) have supplied and then also looks at what is built. He compares them, what is meant to be there and what is actually there. The inspector then writes a Compliance Report. This report has all the drawings submitted by ACTPLA noted, and also noted are all the certificates of occupancy, the plan numbers, permit numbers and so on.  In addition, if there are structures that are built without approval, they also are noted as being there not in accordance with the drawings. In addition are also noted those structures that have been built, but which are also exempt from needing approval.

ACTPLA Conveyancing Package

This is a PDF file that ACTPLA send out. It is ordered online by the building inspector. It takes a standard three to five working days for the file to get sent back to the inspector. The cost of the file is incorporated into the price of all the inspections. The file has the floor plans of all approved structures, as well as their sections and elevations. It does not always have every page of each set of submitted drawings, but it represents each approved set of drawings submitted. This document also has copies of all the inspections and approvals for the construction as well. It also shows the original surveyor’s layouts, and so on. It has the evidence of if the property was a government building. And on government buildings, called ex-govies, these homes are strong, be they old. They were built by the Department of Works. So it is good to have legal confirmation if you have one.

Energy Efficiency Rating

The Energy Efficiency Rating is a digital algorithm known as First Rate 4. This is the fourth version of the First Rate programs. This program has the energy-rater to work out the floor areas, their floor coverings, any insulation, and then the walls, ceilings and so forth are all worked out and entered into the program. The windows are measured and their blinds and curtains are taken into consideration and any shade or blockages that might affect the energy needs of the building. It is all there, including vents, fans, window types, their frames and so on. When it is all inputted into the program, the final product is the energy rating is shown as so many starts, from 0 stars to 6 stars. There are also point values assigned as well. This system allows a person to compare the rating of one home to another. Included in this is the cost of the energy-rating fees payable to ACTPLA for doing each energy rating.

The first page of the energy rating document

Our prices are keen and fair

We give a good price. We are not expensive, and we provide professional service. Have a look at our prices page. Our standard 4 reports ACT Vendor Inspection Package is $897 inc GST for payment upon invoice, or we can accept payment upon Delayed Settlement for $977 inc GST; our Standard Building Inspection is $427 inc GST. Prices are inclusive of ACTPLA fees. Click here for price link.

One thing you will find refreshing about us is that we are a small group and believe integrity is important. We believe that helping you is the old style, but effective, way of doing business. If we help you, we feel it goes around. We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. That is the golden rule, and it works for all businesses, including ours. So when we meet you, we are trying to be in your shoes, buyer or vendor, and that is how we want to treat you. What would we want of us, if we were the vendor or buyer?