Building Inspector - how many & what stage

[ameliasolis]

Hi All
Reading through all the various posts and am interested in thoughts from those that have used independent building inspectors.
Would you use them at each stage ie: slab, plate, roof, look up, and PCI? Or just certain points throughout the build, and if so which one/s.

We are still in the early planning stages, just waiting for our pre-start to happen but want to know to factor costs in for a building inspector. Have had a couple of quotes and they range in prices from $1400 - 2000 if buying as a complete.

I'm thinking it's worth it but with all the costs constantly adding up am also having a wee anxiety attack each time I look at the list. But also mindful of if something is wrong and not picked up how much it could potentially cost us later on.

Thoughts, please?

 

[ameliasolis]

Hi All
Reading through all the various posts and am interested in thoughts from those that have used independent building inspectors.
Would you use them at each stage ie: slab, plate, roof, look up, and PCI? Or just certain points throughout the build, and if so which one/s.

We are still in the early planning stages, just waiting for our pre-start to happen but want to know to factor costs in for a building inspector. Have had a couple of quotes and they range in prices from $1400 - 2000 if buying as a complete.

https://proqm.com.au/

I'm thinking it's worth it but with all the costs constantly adding up am also having a wee anxiety attack each time I look at the list. But also mindful of if something is wrong and not picked up how much it could potentially cost us later on.

Thoughts, please?

thanks in advance for any help

 

[tmurray]

I actually did this before working for a municipality.

What I did was sit down with my client to understand what they were concerned about, review the plans and develop an effective inspection regime to meet the concerns from the owner and the general construction issues that may arise. While there are "normal" inspections that I would always expect to do, a lot of what I did was to mitigate concerns from my clients in specific areas, requiring different inspections than what I would normally do.

The real question is how good is the government inspection regime where you are building? If they are diligent on their inspections and enforcement, a third party inspector may not be necessary. Alternatively, government inspector's do not work directly for you, so the protections provided are limited. Ultimately, this is the largest investment most people make and added protection make most people more comfortable.

 

[e hilton]

Some jurisdictions require third party inspectors for much of the work.

 

[ICE]

The typical inspections that AHJs perform are all of the important inspections. Basically, everything shall be seen prior to covering it with more construction. When I have helped friends by inspecting their construction, I go after the the jurisdiction inspector. By doing it that way I will hopefully find anything that was missed….I can get a feel for the inspectors knowledge/commitment …. I can identify incorrect/incomplete corrections.

I recommend that anyone hiring a contractor to perform any work, from additions to service panel upgrades, make sure that a competent inspection takes place. How can you know if the jurisdiction or private inspectors are any good? I trust myself and a select few others. I know a contractor that lives in England. He is someone that I trust and I was the inspector on a house that he built here in the States. Top shelf all the way. I have no idea where he is in relation to you but if you send me a private message I will give you his email address.