“We inspect every home as if it were our own”
inspections@elysiumbuildinginspections.com.au
0421 505 282
Peace of mind. Not all Building Inspections or Pest Inspections will uncover major defects, safety hazards or timber pests; the house that you think is fine is the one that will have the problems.
For such a small percentage of the overall cost, a Building and Pest Inspection really is total peace of mind and you know you’re buying the property with your eyes wide open with no hidden faults or costly repairs.
Elysium Building Inspections is a family run business founded by Paul and Lisa Gay. Paul is a Registered Builder with more than 30 years building experience. With a tried and tested inspection process which exceeds Australian Standards AS4349 Elysium Building Inspections provides premium building inspections/reports throughout Brisbane.
It’s really important to ask your Inspector if he or she is insured.
The Pre Purchase Building Inspection industry is completely unregulated and many (so called) Inspectors do not have insurance and believe it or not, it’s not required by law! Your Inspector should have Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance for both Timber Pest Inspections and Building Inspections. Elysium Building Inspections are fully insured for your peace of mind.
It’s advisable to have an inspection whatever the age of the property. We see a surprising amount of Building Code Non Compliance on new and newly new properties. It’s the builder’s responsibility to build in accordance and provide no less than the Building Code of Australia.
All homes and units should be inspected. Freestanding houses, attached semis, terraces, villas, duplexes, townhouses, and all kinds of units or apartments can contain major defects or termite damage. Don’t be fooled by slick new developments or recent renovations. These buildings often contain defects such as leaking showers/baths, structural faults and poor workmanship.
If the property is for private sale the ideal time to have your Inspection completed is in the 3-7 day cooling off period after the contracts have been signed. However it is wise to consider having the inspection completed prior to signing the contract. If the property is going to auction the inspection should be completed as soon as you know you are serious about bidding. This is to give you time to go over the report and talk to your Inspector about all of your concerns and adjust your budget accordingly.
The inspection looks for major building defects such as Leaking roofs, Structural inadequacies, Leaking showers, damp issues, poor external drainage, water hammer and potential safety hazards. During a building inspection the following areas are fully explored: The Roof exterior – The roof coverings such as tiles, corrugated metal and membranes, valleys, flashings, cappings, penetrations and skylights, gutters and downpipes etc – Essentially we look for evidence the roof is not water tight or adequately plumbed. The Roof interior – The roof framing members and connections are checked for defects, the roof covering (from the inside) is checked for evidence of leaks, sisalation, insulation and electrical installations are assessed for potential safety hazards. The Building exterior – The building elevations are checked for cracks and other defects, windows and doors are assessed, balconies / verandahs deck and other timber structures are checked for structural adequacy, wood rot and other defects. The Building interior – Bedrooms, hallways and living areas and checked for defects including the floors, walls and ceilings, timber trims, windows and doors as well as joinery and cupboards. Wet areas such as Kitchens, Bathrooms and laundries are assessed for a number of things including water operation, evidence of water hammer, age and condition of hot water service, evidence of leaking shower recess / wet areas, defects to sanitary fixture and fittings, toilets are flushed, moisture readings are taken. The grounds – Paths and steps, retaining walls, driveways and external surface drainage are inspected for defects or inadequacies up to 30 meters from the main building. Large trees and other potential problems are assessed including the boundary fences. Up to one Outbuilding is inspected, such as a garage, granny flat or shed.
YES – It’s our view that this is an essential component of the report to help illustrate defects for you to further negotiate with the vendor to ensure you’re fully informed on the property purchase.
A Termite Inspection is great when you can get under the floor because you can see all the entry points that termites use to gain access to the timber frame, but houses on concrete are different. Termites do more damage to houses on concrete slabs because they usually have concealed entry into the building and can spend a long time munching on the structural timber without you knowing.
Many people believe that bricks and concrete stop termites entering their home, it’s actually the opposite. Termites only need a 2mm gap in the brick mortar, around pipe or cable penetrations or even a break in a termite barrier system to gain concealed entry into the house.
Houses on concrete slabs are HIGH risk and Termite Inspections are essential.
You could get your friend or friend’s friend or dad to inspect your home, but that’s not the way to have a Pre Purchase Building and Pest Inspection done.
You will not receive a comprehensive Building or Pest report, they will most likely have no Professional Indemnity Insurance and they will not look in all the places an experienced and professional Building and Pest Inspector will look.
Their overall impression may give you the green light, but what about the places they didn’t look? At Elysium Building Inspections we look EVERYWHERE and we are experts at our trade.
We require payment for your inspection prior to the inspection. We only accept direct deposit currently and we require you to email through a transfer receipt the night before the inspection takes place for confirmation of payment.
We can usually complete the Inspection within 24 hours of the booking and the report will be sent within 24 hours after the Inspection takes place.
The inspection usually takes between 1 and 2 hours to complete onsite.
We take between 100 and 150 photos per inspection and compile a detailed report, which is emailed to you within 24 hours.
We pride ourselves on our report writing. We do not use simple check lists – we put a lot of time and effort into our building reports. All significant defects are itemised with photos attached for ease of understanding. The findings are listed under each inspection area listed below:
YES – assuming reasonable access is available and deemed save to do so in accordance with the provisions of Australian Standards for Pre Purchase Building Inspections AS4349.1 – 2007. This is an important part of the inspection as there are often hidden defects that can’t be seen without entering the roof space. However beware, as many alternative building inspectors will only review the roof space from the top of the ladder in the manhole opening.
Our inspectors can notify you of any materials suspected of containing asbestos if requested. This is based on certain indicators such as property age, property type and other visual indicators. Please note however, we don’t carry out ‘asbestos inspections’ per se, because positive identification of asbestos requires removal of suspected material and laboratory testing. Visit our post to read about the likelihood and typical areas asbestos could be found within a house.