Building Defect Gallery
Examples of some of the most commonly found defects are documented below. Even though they are classed as major defects, some are easy to rectify while others can be a major job.
A major defect is a defect of sufficient magnitude requiring building works to avoid unsafe conditions, loss of function or further worsening of the defective item.
A minor defect is any other defect that is not described as a major defect.
Water, water, water and negligence. The 4 main things that can cause major damage to your house. Whether it be from roof leaks, faulty waterproofing(showers), leaky pipes, poor surface drainage and the list goes on. Water has the potential to cause subsidence, decay(rot) to framing timbers. The roof of this Gold Coast home has leaked causing damp and decaying timber. This is highly conducive to termite activity and the home has now been severely damaged by termites. This homeowner has been quoted $70000 to repair all damaged areas. How’s water effecting your property. Have an Industry expert inspect your home today.
This brand new home had just been certified and was ready to move into when I did an inspection. A few significant defects were found. The 1st photo is of a plumbing leak in the subfloor. I always turn on all taps and flush toilets before inspecting a subfloor. I find many leaks this way. The 2nd photo is of a window that has a sill height of less than a meter and has a drop outside of more than 2meters. This does not comply with current regulations. It should have its opening restricted to less 125mm or have a security screen or similar installed to prevent falls. The 3rd photo is of screening timber attached directly to the timbers of the house and is also in direct contact with the ground. This voids the termite management system of the house as it provides easy access for termites into the house.
We always use our moisture meter to check for moisture to walls behind showers. In this case that wasn’t necessary as it was obvious that water damage had occurred. The timber wall framing behind this area was badly decayed. Moist and decaying timber is highly susceptible to termite attack. In this case the water was entering where the tap bodies penetrate through the shower wall. All penetrations in a shower should be silicone sealed to prevent this.
It is very common to see steel posts in a subfloor rusting away at the base (The post on the left is completely rusted through) The cause is that soils build up around the base of the post holding moisture causing the rust. The posts on the right are high and dry sitting in raised concrete pads. This is what you want your subfloor to look like to avoid costly repairs.
This large gap between the concrete path and the external wall of the house acts as a dam trapping all the water running down the face of the wall. Water soaked ground beside foundations can cause heaving or subsidence of the house and creates favourable termite conditions. Simply having this gap adequately sealed can prevent major damage.
One common defect found is decayed handrails that have been bogged and painted over where they are fixed to the post. This severely compromises the strength of the fixing and can lead to falls from decks due to handrail collapse.