All Inspections and Reports must comply with AS4349 parts 0, 1 & 3.
The Australian Standard for Prepurchase inspections, AS4349.0 “Inspection of Buildings – General Requirements”. AS4349.1 “Inspection of Buildings – Pre-purchase inspections Residential Buildings. AS4349.3 “Inspection of Buildings – Timber Pest Inspections”. Together these 3 sections of the standard outline how inspections are to be conducted and what reports should contain.
AS4349.0 – part 0 of the standard contains General Requirements.
AS4349.1 – part 1 of the standard outlines a number of key requirements for inspections and reports, such as: Areas to be inspected, Safe and reasonable access, types of defects, record keeping, report contents etc.
AS4349.3 – part 3 of the standard refers to: Scope and limitations, Inspection Agreements, Timber Pest Inspection Details, Pest reporting and details about timber pests icluding: types of timber, Borers, Fungal Decay of Timber, Termite damage in Timber and Detection of Subterranean Termites, Moisture issues and Strata considerations.
DAMAGE: The building material or item has deteriorated or is not fit for it’s designed purpose.
DISTORTION, WARPING, TWISTING: The item has moved out of shape or has moved from it’s intended position and no longer fulfills it’s intended purpose.
WATER PENETRATION, DAMPNESS: Moisture has gained access to parts of the building not designed to withstand moisture.
MATERIAL DETERIORATION: The item is subject to one or more of the following defects; rusting, rotting, corrosion, decay, and is no longer performing its intended purpose as designed.
OPERATIONAL DEFECT: The item or part does not function as intended.
INSTALLATION: The installation of an item is unacceptable, has failed or is absent.
We find that clear communication is a vital part of the inspection and reports. The Standards are a ‘minimum requirement’ and our inspectors go well beyond the Standards with clear and detailed descriptions of all major defects and great photos in all reports.
