Southbank
Building
Inspections
Know Before You Buy
Pre-purchase building and timber-pest inspections with clear findings, practical priorities and a conversation with Greg.
We also offer premium advice on energy efficiency, functional appliances, and the renovation potential of the home
Inspection Services
When you're ready to buy an existing home, let us check for quality issues, building condition and any pest issues - to ensure the property is solid and safe. Add energy efficiency and renovation advice, to improve your comfort and add to the property value.
Building and Pest inspection
Your comprehensive building and pest inspection will ensure you understand the property condition and quality issues before you commit. We search for and itemise significant defects, pests such as termites, borers and fungal decay. All accessible areas of the property are inspected: interior, exterior, roof, roof space, subfloor area.
A pre-purchase Building Report on the condition of the property, detailing major building defects, any safety hazards and damage from timber pests: this includes
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Damage
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Deterioration
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Damp issues
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Material deflection
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Operational issues
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Testing with latest technology tools for damp via moisture meter, and thermal imaging camera.
The Report is in accordance with Australian Standards AS4349.1 and AS4349.3.
Building & Pest inspection
+ Energy Efficiency
+ Appliance Testing
+ Renovation Potential
In addition to the comprehensive building and pest inspection, we offer premium advice on:
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How comfortable the home is likely to be, including infrared camera scan for insulation gaps, assessing orientation, window shading, heating and cooling efficiency, thermal mass, infiltration. The average thermal rating of Melbourne homes built before 2003 was 2.1 stars (out of 10), meaning many older homes will be very uncomfortable, or consume a huge amount of energy. Get a head start on energy efficiency with this valuable audit.
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Testing all appliances - cooktop, oven, dishwasher, range, hot water system, power points, to ensure their functional use.
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Renovation opportunities and risks. If you are planning renovations to an older home, we offer upgrade guidance. We can advise on structural walls, level of damage / deterioration that may make replacement more viable than repair.
The Report is in accordance with Australian Standard AS4349.1 and AS 4349.3. The Premium Advice Report is in accordance with AS4349.0
Why Southbank Building Inspections?
Greg Sparrius has worked in housing and pre-purchase inspections since 1995.
Your Inspector, Greg will supply your detailed Report within 24 hours, with the benefit of his...
EXPERIENCE
Greg has conducted thousands of pre-purchase building and timber-pest inspections since 1995. Not just a list of defects, he will explain the significance of the Report findings to your purchase decision.
HELPFUL
Greg loves helping purchasers at the crucial decision point, to further your knowledge of the property condition, understand how comfortable the home is likely to be, and any opportunities for upgrades.
KNOWLEDGE
Greg holds a Bachelor of Science (Architectural Technology) and a Certificate IV in Home Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. His work encompasses inspections, timber-pest work, building design and renovations.
THOROUGH
You'll get all the clear information and photos for your record. All the accessible areas of the property will be inspected, with extra care to document the hard to reach areas such as roof, inside roof space and under-floor areas.
Greg was great. He was prompt and thorough. Thanks again for inspecting our property at Lilli Pilli
Jane
Highly professional and very thorough. Would highly recommend
Peter
Very thorough and followed up our queries promptly
Jan & David
Servicing all suburbs of metro Melbourne,
Southbank, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne
Sample Defects
Wall cracking
An example of significant structural cracking. Wall cracks are an indication of structural movement of the house footings but are sometimes covered up prior to selling. A trained eye and experience can inform you if it is structurally significant, may cause ongoing damage, or just be of cosmetic importance.
Damp issues
Water is the most common cause of serious damage to properties. Here is an example where failed waterproofing in a shower recess was causing damage to the floor, seen from the sub-floor below.
Other water defects commonly found are leaking roofs and poor drainage.
Faulty construction
Overlapping roofs here was causing water damage to the roof structure.
A visually stunning house from the outside can hide faulty construction methods, which can cause expensive repairs down the track. We search in the roof, under-floor area, interior and exterior for any evidence of poor building practices.
Termite damage
Termites burrow through timber and damage from within and need an expert eye to detect their presence. They cause more damage to Australian homes than flood and fire combined, so we include this in every pre-purchase Inspection Report, unless requested not to.