A Good Building Inspection Is Better Than An Expensive Cure
Put yourself in Hao’s shoes. He buys his dream home only to discover a buyer’s worst nightmare: most of his buildings are illegal.
As the Whittlesea Council says: His bungalow was constructed without a permit. And to add insult to financial in...
Read moreInadequate Site and subfloor drainage
A sub-floor is the structure and crawl space between the lowest floor and the ground. High moisture levels in these areas promote fungal decay and other timber pests such as termites.
All sub-floors and crawl spaces should be considered as having ...
Read moreAm I An Owner Builder?
Whether you are or aren’t an owner builder can sometimes be a tricky concept to get your head around.
Even if you didn’t personally lift a hammer, but rather project managed different trades to do the work, – you are still, legally, the owne...
Read moreThings to consider when building your first home
You might decide that rather than buying an established property as your first home, it would better suit you to build.
Building your first home can be both an exciting and overwhelming experience. Building allows you to customise your home from t...
Read moreProperty Depreciation - Some Questions
Q: What’s property depreciation all about?
A: In a nutshell, depreciation is a tax deduction when your property’s value declines. The result: Less tax, more money in your pocket.
Q: Where can I find professional help?
A: Jim’s Buildi...
Read moreWhat's involved in a home inspection?
Most of the time we never get to meet our clients face to face and only a small handful are ever able to come along to the home inspections we organise.
So there is often a bit of mystery around what exactly we do during a home inspection.
...
Read moreSmoke Alarms - America's Move May Trigger Australian Action
It’s an important topic. Will moves in the United States regarding smoke alarms trigger a debate here?
The dirt: As the ABC reported, new US smoke alarm laws look likely to drive ionisation alarms out of business – and an American expert has b...
Read moreWhat Does Jim Know About Building Inspections Anyway?
ACTUALLY, QUITE A BIT MORE THAN WE EVER REALISED!
We recently discovered that Jim Penman’s dad was a forensic engineer.
From an early age Jim’s father was investigating materials, structures and their components which failed o...
Read moreConcrete stumps are not immune to decay under extreme conditions.
Many elevated properties sit on some type of stump support whether it be timber , steel , masonry or concrete . Whist most people would consider concrete stumps to be maintenance free , this is far from the truth .
Recently one of our Building Inspe...
Read moreThe Case For More Home Inspections
Building surveyors are calling on Victoria’s state government to mandate balcony inspections. This follows the tragic balcony collapse in Doncaster East in late 2017. Sadly, two people died and many others were injured, according to The Age.
In ...
Read more
