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Rust from seaside locations

12/4/2019

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​Seaside living has many disadvantages, one being the rusting of steel items around the home. Staircase balustrades in particular, if steel, requires constant maintenance. Best practice is for hot dipped galvanising of all external rails, balustrades etc. Painting of red primed or mild steel that has not been hot dip galvanised as a finished manufactured product will undoubtedly rust.
Pre manufacturing of fully galvanised balustrade sections is common on higher end houses, but unfortunately more budget orientated houses are often produced cheaper. This results in the issues such as in the picture above. Total replacement is required, costing many thousands of dollars.
​Having been involved in the replacement of complete balustrades as a building work supervisor, I know first hand that each balustrade section can cost over $1,100. 
Each balustrade section requires measuring up, manufacturing, galvanising, powder coating then fitting. Most balconies have several pieces, so it's an expensive project.
If your'e looking at buying a coastal home and you notice a bit of rust, think of the consequences and expenses that may be involved. Or better yet, pay for an inspection from some one who knows what to look out for, so then you will know what you are really buying.
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Timber trusses

11/27/2019

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Timber trusses are an engineered product that cannot be modified in any way. A truss must be installed without flexing, hence should be lifted into position using an overhead crane. Even when first delivered on site must be stored flat.
Every time I see a damaged or modified truss in a roof and this week I have seen two houses like it, the rectification work required will be expensive. To fix an issue such as in the photos below, require an on site engineer to visit and assess the damage and find a solution. Then the required modifications, if the truss can be repaired, will need to be done by a licensed builder. This will be followed up by other trades to make good the damage done to the ceilings. Repair bills will be thousands of dollars, it isn't a cheap fix. 


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Polystyrene ceiling tile dangers

10/27/2019

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Polystyrene ceiling tiles produced in the 1980's had no fire retarding materials added to them. They were commonly DIY installed to cover over prior ceiling issues, such as water staining or staining from mould. Styrene does have additional insulation benefits, however the issue of it's flammability is a huge problem during a house fire. Polystyrene easily melts, dripping hot burning liquid on to everything below and also releases highly poisonous fumes that can self ignite.
Considering this, if a property is to be rented out containing styrene tiles, it is quite legal to do so, however as a land lord you have a duty of care for your tenants. If it is a house for your own family, surely you would simply remove the tiles to negate any of the associated risk and danger.
These light weight tiles are often simply attached with a small blob of blue, so rectification work is quite simply patching and painting.
As an additional reason to remove these foam products, termites are also commonly found within polystyrene, as it provides a temperature controlled environment that they like to set up a sub nest within. It is easy for termites to borrow through styrene and unfortunately as an insulation material, it is hard to detect them.


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Roofing patch ups, what's the issue and do I need a re roof?

10/7/2019

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Buying a shack can be a great adventure, you may however only see the fantastic views, lifestyle and a place to call your own away from the pace of city life. 
During a house and shack inspection, I get to spend 90 minutes looking at every aspect of the building, from the roof downwards.
All these photos are from one shack on the Murray River, that I looked at last week. From the inside looking up at the freshly painted crisp white ceilings looked fantastic.
Using a thermal camera, no insulation can easily be seen, in either walls or ceiling space. This will be a hot environment for your family during daytime summer, even at night with the air conditioning struggling to cope.
Guttering, although new to look at from underneath, are so poorly attached, with only a few gutter clips installed, will undoubtedly cause issues once a heavy rain hits the roofing.
The roofing has been sleeved with a poorly attached skinny strip of sheeting, as it was too short to reach the guttering. Then rusted roofing holes were patched with any type of sheeting the last owner could find.
Rusted sheeting still not patched in other areas or silicone placed over anything that should have been replaced, to temporarily stop leaking.
The eaves, above the verandah, show the bulging from water and leaf ingress into the ceiling space.
Other obvious issues, such as the lack of barge flashing's and obviously leaking pipe penetrations all add up to an expensive repair that you were probably unaware of at the time of making your offer to the vendor.
This shack had many other issues, but this article was simply about showing the poor roofing maintenance or patching up to sell issues that are quite common. 

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Termite and house inspections should be done together but do you really need one?

10/3/2019

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Paying for a house inspection, you are getting your house examined for issues that include termite damage. However it takes at least another 30 minutes on top of the 90 minutes allocated for the house inspection to be thorough and look for active termites. This is why there is an additional fee, for a pest inspection in addition to the normal charge. If two reports are to be written up, there will need to be that extra fee. It's only fair for the time spent and it is in your best interest to have it done. I like to be pro active but also up front with my clients, I will only charge out the additional fee once on site and if an issue has been discovered. If I see no need for the pest inspection, I will not call you and advise it should be done. The way I see it, if you want to have both services done, I am more than happy to spend 2 hours at the house and supply two reports. If you are happy to just know that damage was discovered, you then know that there is likely structural damage and not want to proceed with buying the house, that's fine too, why should you spend more at this point. 
Fees and charges are explained on the home tab above. Thanks for having a read and I hope I can assist you with your biggest purchase, your next rental property or with an inspection for your holiday home.
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Maintenance matters

9/14/2019

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Maintenance matters when you are selling a house, a simple repair that was not done years ago can become an expensive fix up later on. All these photos came from one house inspected last week and these were just some of the faults, other ones were structural with repair bills of several thousand dollars on each repair. 
Reviews such as this one from George ​regarding the house from above say it all.Steve is honest, reliable, thorough, communicative5 / 5
Steve was so thorough on the inspection he did for us. I had used a building inspector before on my first purchase, and it's now evident that compared to him Steve is in another league when it comes to building inspections. He took the time to chat to us after the inspection about his findings, and his report was straightforward and easy to read, with pictures also. From his report we were able to see that the house we were purchasing wasn't the one for us. Thanks Steve.
Quality:5 / 5Reliability:5 / 5Friendliness:5 / 5
George
Gummie since 2012
10/09/2019
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Damaged Truss Members

8/23/2019

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Modifying a roof truss places stress on the timber trusses around the modified one as well as changing the load dynamics of the truss itself. The web that was removed from this truss seen below, supported the truss load from the tiled roof above. Removing the nail plate from the other web member on the opposing side has made this truss unstable and likely to distort and collapse. Rectification is urgently required and a structural engineer is required to remedy the situation. As the property is a rental, the duty of care for the tenants family is paramount. Even if it was just a house on the market, it should be pulled from sale until repaired.
Truss plates when trusses are not adequately secured or braced, can pull out, also leaving the webbing loose and the truss able to collapse.
The bent truss shown below is due to an unsupported top chord. Supported by tile battens on one side, but as part of this roof was conventional cut with rafters following a ridge supported by girder trusses, the unsupported side has bowed. The maximum allowable bow is 50mm. No truss should ever be altered in any way from the original design.


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Wall cracking in houses and when it is an issue

8/4/2019

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Most clients will notice the walls have cracked but are unsure if it is an issue to be concerned about or not. There is no simple answer, as it depends on the amount of cracking, the location of the cracking in relation to other cracks and the size of the crack width. 
Hairline cracking is normal (cracking less than 0.1mm in width) and can be associated with the plaster work drying out at the construction stage. The mortar around brickwork also can have small cracks which is quite normal. 
Cracking that is more noticeable (but less than 5mm in width ) is also not a real issue and normally occurs over or around windows and door openings. Cracks this size are easily filled and will probably re open seasonally, due to shrinkage of the ground when drying out and close up again in the wet season from the ground swelling due to excess moisture. This is of course dependent of soil type.
Larger wall cracks (cracking 5mm to 15mm) do require some maintenance work depending on the locality of the cracking. Any localised cracking with multiple cracks in one area, such as above a doorway should have the loose brickwork removed and re instated to rectify the issue. With wall cracking up to 15mm, windows and doors may require maintenance and adjustment to open and close. Weatherproofing around windows may be an issue 
Extensive cracking (15mm to 25mm) may involve replacement of wall sections and slab underpinning. Walls may be bulging with serious house structural issues. A report should be obtained at this point by a structural engineer if you are still wanting to purchase the property. Most underpinning companies will have a report written up by their engineer that you can purchase prior to deciding on what course of action you take, this report will however cost around $1,500. 
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July 28th, 2019

7/28/2019

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Asbestos

6/17/2019

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Asbestos was used in many products manufactured for house building and renovations in Australia. Buying a house built prior to mid 1980's can be a major concern to the home buyer.
The flat building sheets, Hardiplank (as seen in the photo on the right), Villaboard (used in most bathrooms) and Hardiflex (used for the eave cladding around the outside of the house) were the most commonly used products and the asbestos was removed from these products in 1981. The same looking product was still produced without the asbestos, but using cellulose fibres, so dates are important to know what product your home is built with.
Compressed Sheeting often used in upper storey additions or balcony flooring contained asbestos up until 1984 as was fibre cement drain pipe and pressure pipe.
The Super 6 fence sheeting (as seen in the photo on the left) was still manufactured with asbestos up until 1985.
Shadowline wall cladding (used in a lot of shacks as external wall cladding) also was sold up until 1985 containing asbestos.
Asbestos is not a threat if the product is in sound condition, this must be noted, however the product can become brittle with age and easily damaged, releasing asbestos fibres into the air.
Cutting, breaking, drilling, sanding, grinding, pressure cleaning or scraping can release the asbestos fibres.
Asbestosis may become evident 5–15 years after continued exposure to high asbestos fibre concentrations.
Mesothelioma does not become evident for 15 - 20 years.
​Lung cancer is also related to Asbestos fibre inhalation, by its own or in conjunction with smoking within 10 - 40 years.
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