What Actually Happens During a Building Inspection

A building inspection is less mysterious than people expect. Here is the whole process, start to finish, so you know what you are buying and what you are not.

On the day: two to three hours

A typical inspection on an average-sized property takes two to three hours. Bigger or more complex properties take longer. You are welcome to be there, and if you are, the end of the inspection is the best time to ask questions — the inspector has the whole property fresh in mind.

What gets looked at

• The exterior: walls, cladding, eaves, guttering, downpipes, visible drainage and the condition of the slab edge or piers.
• The roof, inspected from where it can be safely and reasonably accessed.
• The roof space and subfloor, where there is safe access.
• Interiors: walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors, looking for movement, moisture and damage.
• Wet areas — kitchen, bathrooms, laundry — which in this climate are where problems show first.
• Outbuildings and structures on the property, including sheds, carports and patios.

What 'visible issues only' means

This is the most important thing to understand, and we would rather be blunt about it than have you surprised. We inspect what can be seen during a visual assessment of accessible areas. We do not cut into walls, lift flooring, or do invasive testing. We do not offer structural engineering opinions, and we do not speculate about what might be behind a surface we cannot see.

That limit is not us being cautious — it is what keeps the report trustworthy. A report full of guesses about hidden conditions is worse than useless, because you cannot tell which parts to rely on.

Where applicable, our reports are aligned with AS 4349.1, the Australian Standard for inspection of buildings. Where something is inaccessible, the report says so plainly rather than quietly omitting it.

The report: within 72 hours

Your digital report is delivered within 72 hours of the inspection. Every issue identified is documented and photographed, so you are not trying to decode a description — you can see it. Reports are designed to be forwarded: to your conveyancer, your agent, your builder or the other side of a negotiation.

If you have booked a building condition report, a remediation report comes with it at no extra cost, giving estimated costs to address the issues found. That turns a list of problems into something you can actually act on or negotiate with.