BUILDING INSPECTIONS ACT, CANBERRA & NSW

Often Building Inspectors are not Registered Builders, but We are.

At My Canberra Building Inspections ACT our work is in ACT, Canberra and nearby NSW.  That includes termites and timber pest inspections.

We can also inspect your shop, home unit, partial build, offices, medical centres, and anything you think you can use us for.  We have even provided expert witness testimony.

In ACT  any house put on the market must have its package of building inspections.  This applies to townhouses as well.  The four inspections in the package for ACT are listed below. Other states do not have this, but ACT does. It is the vendor who must supply these. Our price for this package in $977 plus GST. See our pricing page for more information.

So, for home units, most apartments and flats, the purchaser arranges all these as they need them.  The vendor however must still get the below energy rating done in ACT.

Here are the five:

1. ACT Building Inspections

The inspection is mostly about the workability of the of the house in relation to its age.  A forty year old house is viewed differently to that of a two year old house.  The structural integrity is looked at, as does the workability of the electrical; and plumbing items.

On the right is a correct pier. On the left is a pier that is dangerous and was only one of several hastily put together. 

We turn on and off power points and stoves and ovens and hotplates. We do not test dishwashers, farm pumps or solar panels.  We check that lights turn on and off. Do the smoke detectors work?  For the seller it assists his sale price when the buyer knows the house works.  Most people are proud of their homes.  And if they need help on how to fix some of these items, we can give free advice.  We can also give free professional handyman referrals. SEE THIS PAGE

Our price for just the home inspection alone is $497 plus GST.

2. The Termite and Timber Pest Inspection

Here we cover all timber pests, meaning fungi, borer, termites and so on.  With the cold the wood sometimes rots as it freezes and expands.  We need to also look out for termites and that they stay out of our home and do not breed next to us.  Fortunately the cold can keep the termite problems down.

Borers in trees also have to be reported.

The inspection will also mention materials found conducive to termites living there or being food for termites.  Damp areas in the house are looked at.

Timber Pest inspections should also include not just current termites and other timber pests. The reports should also include previous damage found, and what is seen as conducive material that would encourage future attack. Such conducive material should include stacks of untreated timber, areas that are damp under a house, as termites like damp areas. Plus one should report on any materials found in construction that are untreated.

Fungal decay causes backyard fences to fall apart. This is not uncommon, but must go in the report.

It should be noted that as vigilant and as professional as one can be, termites have survived through hiding.  An unobtrusive inspection has its limits.  Furniture can hide pests.  The inspector does not have a duty to move furniture, timber, bricks or anything else.  He may however note what he could not see and why, and then recommend an intrusive test.  But in saying this the inspector we have is good, and will spot well what is there to be observed. For more information: SEE THIS PAGE

Our price for the Building and Timber Pest Package is $647 plus GST, and this applies to nearby NSW as well as ACT.

3. The ACT Energy Efficiency Rating

This is a report from a computer-program, of which there are different versions in Australia.  Contact us and we will give you our best advice. The law on this changed in 2019. It is part of the overall mandatory building inspection package for ACT. Those who do the ratings are Building Assessors.

Newer homes have been built with more energy efficient materials and designs. The report has a section that shows how an owner can also increase the energy efficiency of their home. All this is so a buyer can evaluate one home to another and know what he or she are buying in relation to energy efficiency. The report has stars and a three star property is not as energy efficient as a four or five star property. There is no room for the building assessor to evaluate the report. It is simply what it is. For more information: SEE THIS PAGE

Much of this blown-in insulation has blown out over the years. It might state 75 mm on the plans, but there is 25 mm or less now.

4. The ACT Compliance Report

This inspection is to look at what was approved by the ACT Planning Authority, and compare it to what is there on the block of land.  Were all building additions approved?  Were all the changes approved?  And the sheds and pergolas, were they are approved or were they exempt from approval.  It is all evaluated and put into the report.  The report is precise, and what is looked for is no unapproved-structures on the site. For more information: SEE THIS PAGE

This inspection is part of the overall overall mandatory building inspection package for ACT.

This is recommended for all major commercial building inspections.

Some councils make this easy, but the smaller the council the more difficult it might be. Access Canberra is easy to work with.

5. The ACT Conveyancing File.

Then once all the above is done, the building file history summary is supplied by us, to you, from the ACT Planning Authority (ACTPLA). The vendor then has a copy of this file in the contract. A copy should also be at the home so that any prospective buyer can see items reported, and they can read the report and see how it refers to  compare it to what is really there on site. This is a summary of all the pages of plans, with their respective approvals stamped on them.

For NSW councils it can be more difficult, especially in the pandemic. We always advise that someone obtain these for any buyer. Even the buyer’s conveyancer can get these.

For more information: SEE THIS PAGE

Commercial Inspections

Commercial inspections can be of a shop or a a medical centre.  These are not uncommon. If they are existing buildings they can be a swiftly inspected, as shops and offices are open, without furniture, with little vegetation.

They can be factories, shops, medical centres, and even pups, small or big. But if big they may also need an engineer or a professional roofing plumber. Such professionals will often be recommended in bigger properties with their reasons for that property.

Commercial Inspections can also be a development off-the-plan.  This gets more complicated as that requires plans to be sent to us, and what the person contracted to buy. It always includes looking at common areas, as do existing shops and offices.  Also SEE THIS PAGE.

Generally these are $547 plus GST, but can cost more depending on the building, its size, and where it is. We recently did a pub a few hours out from Canberra.