HOME MAINTENANCE MADE EASY - THE SITE

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Building Inspections Tweed and Gold Coast

Because we’re passionate about property we believe maintaining your asset is the name of the game!!

Your property is always in need of TLC. But don’t get discouraged by the on-going nature of home maintenance. It’s easy to prevent your home from deteriorating slowly over time. It’s about more than just the aesthetics - really looking after the bricks and mortar, keeping an eye on the actual condition of things. Doing the preventative stuff instead of the repair work.

Friends have asked us before – How would I know if my house was about to fall down around me? The easy answer is call us in, we’ll tell you. The DIY answer is also easy – follow our home maintenance check list, put time aside to complete tasks that need to be done, then do them!

The professionals start with the site, and so should you:

Driveways and Paths – Most concrete driveways and paths show cracking over time, and there’s not much you need to do about this, just keep an eye on it to make sure the cracks don’t become a trip hazard.  If it’s beyond that point and they are currently a trip hazard, you can grind the lifted concrete back to make the crack even, or you could think about re-concreting the area.

Don’t fret about this kind of cracking, almost all driveways have it

Retaining Walls – Over time, timber retaining walls experience slumping from the pressure behind them.  The only real way to fix a retaining wall is to dig out the material that is being retained, repair the wall and replace the back fill.  This should be undertaken if the retaining wall is near collapse.  Slow deterioration of timber retaining walls is normal and a well-built retaining wall should only be expected to last between 10-20 years.  Rock walls don’t experience this and have a much longer life span, but can be subject to erosion to the soil behind if the water drainage system behind the rocks has worn away.

Surface Water Drainage – It’s so important to the interior of your property that you make sure that water can get away from your house.  Water is the enemy of any property from within and without so in any home maintenance situation, if there’s stray water anywhere, alarm bells should be ringing. If there are any spots in your yard, especially near the exterior walls, where rain water pools it’s a good idea to make a drainage ditch or re-plane the ground to slope away from your house.  This also applies to balconies that angle slightly back towards the property – they should be re-covered to drain away from the exterior wall, as water always finds a way in.

Garden Sheds – Most garden sheds are pre-fabricated metal sheet constructions set either on a timber or concrete slab.  If your metal has started to rust around the edges, you can grind the rust back then apply an anti-corrosive agent to stop further rusting.  If the shed is sitting on a timber base, check it to make sure it’s not been eaten out by termites – look for termite mudding, tap it firmly and listen for flaking timber/mud.  If it has been damaged, you’re better off removing the timber and replacing it with a concrete slab to prevent someone falling through deteriorated timber sheeting.

Fencing – Timber fencing requires regular maintenance.  If it’s starting to look “tired”, check along your fence with your hammer and nails, reinstating any palings that have detached.   Check for moisture damage, and if you see any, sand back the damaged timber – it should be relatively fresh underneath depending on how long the damage has been there.   Replace any palings that are too far gone.  Then paint or stain the fence.  This prolongs the life of the timber, preventing future moisture damage.  Ideally, a timber fence should be protected against the weather biannually.  Check all moving parts on gates to make sure they are working – DW40 is your friend.

If any particular element listed above is too far gone for your to tackle, or you think you need some outside help, call us and we’ll point you in the direction of a good local maintenance guy.

That’s it for your yard – next we’ll talk about the outside of the building.

CUSTOM HOME DESIGN FOR OUR COASTAL LIFESTYLE

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Custom Home Design

The real estate market in the Tweed Shire doesn’t seem to slow down for anyone. Interestingly, there have been a lot of vacant land sales in the area in the past few years which brings me to my point - designing your custom home with coastal environmental factors in mind.

Here at Dwell Building Services, we love interesting yet functional buildings that make sense in their location – and one big thing that gets picked up on all seaside pest and building inspections, even on nearly new houses is RUST! In fact ocean spray carries further inland than you’d believe, with houses in Tweed South and Bilambil Heights affected by it!

It’s a built-in problem near salt water and there are a few things you can do in the design phase of building to minimise this on-going problem:

1. Use as many non-rusting materials as possible to the exterior – light fixtures, awnings, posts etc – try for alternatives like timber and plastic

2. Hex-head screw fixings on your roof exterior should be thoroughly treated to prolong their life

3. If you have chosen metal fixtures and fittings they should be washed down with fresh water regularly. If you have a particular look in mind and can’t get away from metal, be prepared to treat or replace as needed

4. Use the natural breezes of the coast to cool your property by way of window positioning to create cross drafts - air conditioning should be a last resort

For more information about building creative custom homes, call Jason Dodds, Master Builder at Dwell Building Services on 0424741618.

BEFORE YOU SELL GET A PRE-SALE BUILDING AND PEST INSPECTION

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Building and Pest Inspections Gold Coast

Before you go to sell a property, you do a lot of different things in preparation: you declutter your house and maybe tidy things up, you get a few different agents in to give you an idea of price and how they plan to market the home, you talk to your solicitor/conveyancer and probably even your accountant. So why not also talk to a building inspector about getting a pre-sale inspection done?

Getting a pre-sale inspection will make selling a less stressful exercise and set you up for success.

The “satisfactory pest and building inspection” clause is very common in sales contracts, so you can be pretty sure that your house will, at some stage be subject to a pest and building inspection – so why not get a pre-sale inspection and find out what your purchaser will know eventually? That way, you can decide whether or not you’re going to fix potential issues, decide to sell “as is”, tell prospective buyers all, or leave them to their own due diligence.

It comes down to one thing – If you’re armed with the information in advance, you can make better decisions about how you’re going to proceed.

Do you really want to spend all the time and effort it takes to get a buyer to contract, just to have it fall over in the final hours because of something you could have prevented? A pre-sale inspection will reveal all sorts of things to you and ultimately can help you (and your agent) negotiate a fair price for your home.

Most people realise your house is not a new car, there are going to be maintenance items for them to deal with when they own it – that’s the nature of property. But how well do you know your home? Obviously it hasn’t fallen down around you so it must be fine, right?  Well maybe not…have you recently been in the roof space or the subfloor? What about on the roof exterior? The “hidden” parts of your home will be inspected upon sale – it might be the first time they’ve been looked at since you did your pre-purchase inspection however many years ago. Who knows what’s living up there, or what’s sagging down there??  It’s better for you, at point of sale, to be the one who knows first.

Our pre-sale inspections are thorough and you get a full consultation on site with our inspector. Your knowledge is our number one priority.

PRE-AUCTION PEST AND BUILDING INSPECTIONS

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Building and Pest Inspections Gold Coast

Marketing Tool or Waste of Time? Let’s examine the facts:

If the seller of the auction property gets one done, there’s a perceived potential for corruption between the inspector and seller. And if it’s left to the interested buyers to ALL get their own inspection, well. That’s a lot of money down the drain for a property they may not buy on the day.  

Likewise, if inspectors were to go around inspecting every auction property for free hoping that someone would be interested in their independent report, that would be a lot of work for nothing – trust us, as an interested party looking for a solution to this problem, we’ve explored every option. So round and round we go.

What we can say about pre-auction inspection reports is exactly what we would say for pre-sale inspection reports, but with a twist: Do the inspection for your own reasons (and then let the buyers know).

As a vendor going to auction, it is never a waste of time. There is inherent value in knowing the worth of your own property before The Market decides what that is anyway. There might be buyers who won’t trust your report, but you should. And it will tell you if there are any significant issues that need to be sorted out before anyone else gets a report done. Plain and simple, do you want the truth now, or do you want it later? You could live on the hope that no buyer will get a report done, but if you’re holding your breath, a 4 week auction campaign is a long time not to exhale.  It’s nice to feel confident.

And again, as a vendor, if you do get the pre-auction inspection done for your own information, nothing then stops you from mentioning it to potential buyers. Not as evidence that your house is perfect, but evidence that you know what is wrong with it. You can even point out to them what you have fixed and what you didn’t think was important enough to change or even that you didn’t fix anything.

The truth will set you free.

BUILDING INSPECTION SECRETS REVEALED

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Building and Pest Inspection

We have a building inspection process. And its followed every single time we do an inspection.

That doesn’t sound like a “Company Secret - Revealed” at first, but if you know what that process is, then realise the importance of following it every single building inspection, it’s the consistency, attention to detail and thoroughness that shine through in the result - the building inspection report.  It’s like a recipe for a secret sauce – no substitutions or short cuts allowed!

1. The 200-Point Check List: It’s followed step by step to the finish line every time.

2. Descriptive photos and detailed recommendations. We give our clients genuine builders advice. Even though this level of detail tends to make our reports longer than the norm, they are far more useful in the long term than your usual building report.

3. Consultation: You’re always encouraged to come along and we’ll do anything to get you there – we’ve even been known to pick up clients on our way to the property just so they could attend. We even do a consultation service with no report attached to just give clients an idea of potential renovations they could carry out to a property. We believe that being flexible and free with our expertise is better for everyone.

4. Clarity: We try to keep our building inspection reports as free from jargon and fuzzy meaning as possible so that you can read it now, then again in 6 months and maybe again in a years time. The insurance companies do require a certain amount of disclaimers and over-cautionary warnings but we do try to explain them in advance. Our building reports are meant to help you with your home in the long run, not just cover our asses.

5. Independent: Dwell Building Services is totally independent from influence either way. We are just interested in the truth about a building. We aren’t going to make things out to be worse or better than they are.  You would be surprised to know how many building inspectors get referrals from agents because they are “soft on property” and equally, how many are overly hard on buildings to look smart in front of their customers.

These five things combine to make up what we believe is the best possible building and pest inspection experience on the Gold Coast and Tweed Shire.

ALWAYS SIGN A CONTRACT - ENGAGE A CONTRACT BUILDER

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Fixed Price Contract Builder

It happens more than you’d think…hoping to save some money on GST or Home Warranty Insurance, people undertaking a large renovation sometimes do not sign a contract for the work they’re getting done.

The reality can be pretty harsh for those that do go down that path. Someone has to be responsible for the works carried out to your property, and if you don’t have a contract with your builder, you’re effectively an owner builder. Even if you don’t know you are.

Contracts exist to protect both parties, assign responsibility and prevent misunderstanding in the future.

When the quote is prepared, you, as the client get a chance to make changes and prepare for upcoming fixed costs. As the builder, we get the opportunity to outline the scope of works, progress payments and timelines.

If there’s no contract in the first place, it makes it very difficult to hold anyone to account on either side. The job can mysteriously “grow”, costs can blow out for no reason, there’s no insurance if something goes wrong, the builder may never get paid, or the time frame can drag on and on, who knows why? It doesn’t work out well for anyone!

Don’t fall prey to the old “she’ll be right, mate” attitude. Saving 10% on the GST is no compensation for a poorly done job or one that ended up costing 20% more in cost blow-outs anyway. 

Make sure you engage a reputable licensed contract builder and get it all in writing.

Dwell Building Services is licensed and insured in both Queensland and New South Wales, and we’re active members of the HIA, always using their industry standard contracts for every job.

RENOVATE WITH PURPOSE AND CAPITAL GAINS CAN BE YOURS

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Renovation for Profit

Australians are obsessed with real estate – for living in, investing in, and for making money!  The property market gets stronger year after year, however there are still bargains out there to renovate that could represent a brilliant opportunity for the astute investor!

People often don’t know if a well-priced property, given a clever renovation, will be the buy of their lives or a money pit.  The most important tip in this whole blog is: Purchase carefully.

Having a trusted builder and/or building inspector there to give you insight prior to purchase could be the most important thing you do!  With an hour-long consultation on site, the right building inspector can:

• Provide insight into a building’s potential and pitfalls (you can’t polish a turd)

• Help to brainstorm viable options for brilliant renovations that don’t over-capitalise and

• Give rough ideas of costings so you can decide whether or not the property fits your budget and whether the potential profit will yields adequate gains

Once you’ve bought the property that you’re renovating, there are some key things to stick to that will save or make you money:

1. Keep it simple – don’t renovate with crazy embellishments and artistic flourishes unless there’s a specific reason for it.

2. Use existing plumbing waste configurations if possible – even more so if the plumbing is embedded in concrete in a unit or ground floor area. This is a massive labour cost and doesn’t always work out the way you think anyway. For example, turning a bath tub into a shower can backfire with regards to drainage when the waste pipe can’t be altered to handle an increased water flow – you end up with a shower that doesn’t drain as quickly as it should.

3. Try to increase sun light into the property – this always increases visual appeal and makes a property seem more modern.

4. Always lighten up the paint job inside any property you buy.

5. Try to increase natural ventilation to increase air flow – if you can, open up or increase the size/number of windows – improved ventilation gives a home a better feel. Because it’s an improved feeling of well-being, people can’t always quantify it but they always notice when a home is dark and pokey – it makes a remarkable difference.

6. Lighting can be an easy path to modernisation for example in a new bathroom, in combination with new tiling concealed LED strip lighting under a wall-mounted vanity looks really nice and provides ideal night lighting which is a great feature and appeals to the masses.

7. Another appealing “comfort” feature is under-floor heating added to a bathroom/toilet.  This is especially good if you are re-doing a tile bed anyway as the heating system can be used as a short term heating solution for our brief Gold Coast winters. If you’re living in the Southern States, it can be a luxury for chilly midnight toilet stops.

8. No matter what, always use licensed trades or a licensed builder. If you don’t, you won’t have the paperwork/guarantees and warranties that a purchaser will be asking for when they buy a newly renovated property…so you won’t get the best return on investment since, in this market, buyers are looking to beat down your price on any excuse.

These are our top tips!

We guarantee that if you’ve been watching a property on the market that teeters on the line between Renovate or Detonate, we can give you guidance and options, ideas and the information you need to make the right decision.

Jason Dodds is the Principal Contractor at Dwell Building Services.
Specialist Builders, Bathroom & Kitchen Renovators and Licensed Building Inspector

WHAT DOES A BUILDING INSPECTOR DO?

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Building Inspections Tweed Coast

Time to get to know your building inspector!! We get this question a lot, so I think it’s worth explaining what building inspections are all about and what you could reasonably expect your building inspector to do for you during a pre-purchase building inspection.

Building inspectors are all bound by the same standards and all building inspections are based upon the Australian Standard 4349.1 Inspection of Buildings Part 1: Pre-purchase Inspections – Residential Buildings – Appendix C.

Sounds like gobbledy-gook and unless you’re a trained professional it kind of is. What the Australian Standard does is set out the ground rules for what a building inspector is going to be doing on site and what they are required to report on, which in turn will affect the report you get.

Some key points to know about the Australian Standard are:

• The building inspection is visual only – we won’t move furniture around, peek into drawers or look behind paintings. We can’t see through walls either, but we have ways and means to figure out whether or not there is a likelihood that there is damage there.

• Some building inspectors don’t get up onto roofs, some do. We do unless it’s dangerous – it’s raining or else the roof is higher than 3.6m or has a dangerous pitch. If that’s the case, we will comment as much as we can.

• If your property is on acreage, the inspection will only cover the site up to 30m away from the main property.

• Building inspectors are looking for structural defects (major) and also maintenance items (minor) – whether or not they mention all the maintenance items is up to their discretion but we believe a complete report should. Within a year or two of owning any home, you will undoubtedly need to do at least some measure of maintenance - wouldn’t it be convenient to have a handy list of what needs doing?

• The building inspection does not cover other trades such as electrical, plumbing, air conditioning or small appliances – for that to even be possible, a building inspector would have to be an expert in all of the above, which won’t happen. An experienced building inspector will notice and comment if he sees something un-usual or irregular with a building’s electrical wiring, a missing safety switch or a leaking tap, but the finer details (does my oven pre-heat to 200 in the correct amount of time?) are left to their respective tradesmen.

If you have any questions about building inspections, what is included and what is not, call us on 0424741616 for a chat.

THINK YOU HAVE TERMITES? IT'S TIME FOR A TIMBER PEST INSPECTION!

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Pest and Building Inspections Tweed Coast and Gold Coast

With termites, as with tooth-decay, it’s cheaper to get a check-up than to fix a problem.

Termite inspections are a hugely important aspect of home maintenance, especially in this part of the world.  The Gold Coast and Tweed Shire are both noted as “Areas Of Concern” for timber pest infestation. Unless you live in a concrete box, an annual pest inspection is vital for all home owners.

To thrive, termites need a food source and a water supply. If those two possibilities are removed, they usually won’t settle in.

From a builders point of view, here are a few things you can do to reduce the likelihood of attracting termites to your home:

1. Make sure you don’t have a lot of timber laying around your property or stored underneath. If the timber is touching the soil, termites can burrow under, have a feast and then use the “cover” to get further.

2. Make sure the drainage away from your house is in good order – that means working out if your plumbing and overflow pipes, taps, drainpipes and guttering are in good order. The more constant water there is near your home, the more at risk you may be.

3. If you have a brick and tile home, check to make sure your weep holes aren’t covered by garden. If they are, it’s just like having a little ramp up into the house that they can use to come and go by.

They are a lot harder to see when your home is a slab on ground brick construction – with pole homes you can see them coming because they have to actually climb to get in – and to do that they have to build a little mud trail (tunnel) which is obvious to the naked eye.  If you see a mud trail, then they have passed that way.  There are other ways to detect them but the best way to work out whether or not you’ve got termites living with you is to organise a pest inspection with a local knowledgeable pest inspector. If you don’t know of one, ask us!

As previously mentioned, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A pest inspection will cost you a couple hundred dollars. Eradicating a colony and fixing timber pest damage can cost thousands!

CUSTOM HOME RENOVATION AND DESIGN

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Custom Home Design

There’s a well-noted trend that around November each year, people really start wanting to renovate their home…in time for Christmas! The big question is…why do we wait until it’s almost too late to do things? We’re all equally guilty in this particular phenomena. We over-estimate what we can do in a year but under-estimate what we can do in a decade. We have a naturally warped sense of time.

Critical to the building process is design. If you don’t have plans drawn up it’s hard to get to the next stage putting those plans into action.

Panic is the enemy of good planning. If you are going to try and get any renovation work done you need to go through the planning stage well in advance with the help of a professional. Who is not us. As much as we would like to take credit for all aspects of the beautiful things we build, there is that planning element of design that happens before we get the tools out.

It is a romanticized ideal of The Builder who can look at a room and measure it with only his eyeball then recall those figures when ordering timber.  This fictional character can pull an accurate quote out of thin air without consulting other trades. His name is Super Builder. He does not exist.

In the preliminary stages, you’re right to come to us and talk to us about budget parameters and general requirements - because why plan a renovation you might not be able to afford?  We’ll then recommend someone that we know and trust to draw the plans for your home renovation dream. There are a lot of great draftsmen, architects and interior designers in the area and depending on the look you’re after and the budget you’re working with, we know someone who can achieve it for you.

Once you’ve settled on a design, that’s when fixtures and fittings are chosen, an exact quote can be produced, contracts for work are signed and the renovation can start.  The planning and quote stage can take approximately 6-8 weeks and most renovations depending on size, can take between 4-8 weeks. So you can get from start to finish in 4 months if you’re dedicated to the project.

And on that note, happy planning  – it’s an exciting part of the process.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WET AREAS IN YOUR HOME

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Good Home Maintenance

There is one area of your house that is more critical, in terms of home maintenance than any other. The wet areas in your home, specifically, the bathrooms.  

Your bathrooms cop a beating day in and day out. They are wet a lot of the time - during a shower and then afterwards until the humidity clears, the seals and waterproofing membrane in that room are working hard to make sure that your bathroom doesn’t wreck the rest of your home.  They need to be maintained and when they aren’t, they start costing serious money.

Most issues in a bathroom come up due to regular wear and tear – cracks in the grout and worn sealant at the joins. Sealant and grout wears pretty easily, even after just 5 years of use, so even if your bathroom is not that old, keep an eye on the seals and joins. Tile abutments require maintenance before moisture gets a chance to get into the wall substrate.

Another reason your wet areas might need refreshing of the flexible sealant is (ironically) if your home is brand new or you’ve just completed an extension. A house tends to settle. Settlement in the footings or slab can cause the seals at the tile abutments to separate just enough to let water in.

Cracks that let water through can turn your subfloor into wet Wheatbix (pole home with cracked waterproofing membrane and plywood subfloor), or merely rot your structural framing (slab on ground construction).

By keeping and eye on the area and applying a flexible sealant when you spot problems, you can save yourself a lot of money.  The cost of a mid-range bathroom renovation tends to be about $15,000+.  The cost obviously goes up if there’s structural damage to rectify around the shower cubicle.

If you weren’t planning to renovate your bathroom, a tube of sealant from the hardware store and a Popsicle stick is a pretty attractive option.

BEWARE THE LONE BUILDING AND PEST INSPECTOR

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Combined Building and Pest Inspections Gold Coast & Tweed Coast

For Arguments Sake: Could one building and pest inspector be better than two? A disturbing trend broke a little while ago with pest and building inspections – the Lone Inspector.

In challenging economic times (and lets face it, most times, when buying property are economically challenging) people come up with various ways to cut costs to attract more clients, knowing that people often make buying decisions based on price. One of those perceived economies is The Lone Inspector – getting a one-man-band to inspect your home instead of two trained professionals.

This one combined building and pest inspector is meant to save you money (only a matter of $20-$40) by covering both the pest and building inspection himself. In reality, this inspector is usually

These three simple questions will easily put rest to the perceived advantages of the one combined inspector:

1. Have you ever heard of a lawyer who is also a mechanic? What about a plumber who runs an MRI machine at the local hospital? Not many people are an expert in two fields.

2. Even if this person is both an experienced pest inspector and a licensed builder, are there many people out there who can multi-task? It’s been proven that multi-tasking is a myth.

3. If you were shopping around for a brain surgeon, would you look for the cheapest, or the best? And would you want a surgeon who had a specialist team around him, or a one-man-band who was doing the anesthetists job too? Okay, we know that it doesn’t work that way, and it is hard to perceive a building or pest inspector as being as specialised as a brain surgeon, but just think about the average cost of a property these days. For a house, you will never be spending less than $200,000.  I don’t know anyone who would happily gamble $200,000+ for the sake of a couple dollars off the price of their due-diligence.

For the sake of $40, wouldn’t you want the best possible pest AND building inspections carried out? Don’t skimp on the inspection phase of purchasing a property – it is almost guaranteed to cost you more than $40 in the long run.

COOL CUSTOM BUILDING FEATURES

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Custom Building/Design

We love “collecting” building design ideas from the places we visit, something I’m sure a lot of people do!

We often take mini-breaks to North Stradbroke Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Coffs Coast. Every time we go away, we enjoy all the beautiful things on offer, the beach, the scenery and the peacefulness. We also enjoy the architecture – you always see something new, or something old done in a new way. There is something about the holiday beach setting that frames architecture differently.

One of the most relaxed-look things we’ve spotted is a timber slat driveway buried in the sand with grass growing through the slats – perfect for drainage in sandy soil.   This type of driveway isn’t new, but very effective both in its attractiveness and functionality. It’s also a funny thing for us to admire because in almost all of our building inspection reports, we comment on “timbers being in contact with the ground” – a defect only noted because it usually attracts timber pest activity.

This type of driveway represents the ultimate timber in contact with ground. In this case, the timbers aren’t connected to the house…but they do lead directly to it, straight into the carport!  Anyway.  We think this style of driveway looks awesome and really adds to the relaxed vibe of a beach shack.

This type of driveway also solves that somewhat boring but routine problem of a concrete slab driveway that inevitably cracks. Almost all concrete slabs ever poured end up with hairline cracking throughout and this is an easy, more attractive and cheaper option – albeit one that degrades pretty quickly - 5-10 years max.

We look forward to our next trip away - and the design quirks we spot when we’re there!

WHY YOU NEED A STANDARD INDUSTRY CONTRACT...A CAUTIONARY TALE

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Custom Home Builders

Last week we were contacted by a local solicitor to provide her client with a building defect report on a recent renovation. She also requested that we do a cost estimate to compare the price that was charged by the builder to what SHOULD have been charged. This is really difficult considering that in the open market, there is no “set charge” for building works. It is on the client to obtain 3 quotes or else get a recommendation for a trusted builder and make a purchasing decision that way.

The plot thickens.

No contract was in place for the renovation works. The price quoted to the client by the builder was $50,000 for an outdoor living/entertaining area, but the final cost blew out to $120,000. When documentation was requested of the clients by their solicitor, none could be produced. No contract, not even a written quote, no plans submitted to Council. Without ANY form of paper work, a cost estimate was impossible because there was no evidence of what the scope of works was in the first place.

A defect report was done and a quote for rectification of the shoddy work carried out, but nothing more.
Heart-breaking for the clients, who were an elderly pair of sisters.

There’s nothing worse than a Cautionary Tale of Woe that goes nowhere, so what can we learn from this exercise?

Often there is the incorrect perception that “cash work” will work out cheaper. That contracts indicate mis-trust. That you don’t really need Council approval for work carried out to your own property.

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth!! Without a scrap of evidence, these poor sisters probably can’t do anything to recover their money. A standard industry contract would have protected both parties. The builder would have been guaranteed his quoted amount in progress payments and the sisters would have had some sort of guarantee that the work would indeed be done to specification.

For anyone looking to obtain building works and/or a home renovation, the key to understanding the quotes presented in all building is:

Labour + Material = Basic Cost + Builder’s Margin + GST

As custom home builders and home renovators, Dwell Building Services uses the standard industry contracts provided by the HIA (Housing Industry Authority). We’ve been members of the HIA for 10+ years and their contracts are equitable and transparent. In fact, as a consumer, you can obtain a standard industry contract free from the Department of Fair Trading - they are quite similar to the HIA contracts and again, equitable and transparent.

Contracts Build Trust.

PLANNING TO SELL YOUR HOUSE?

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Pre-Sale Building Inspection

If you’re thinking about selling your house, chances are you’re busy. You could be selecting a real estate agent that you feel will get the job done. You might be contacting your conveyancer to let them know you’re putting your home on the market.  Possibly you’re looking at your house trying to de-clutter and decide what to do about “loose ends” with a view to making your sale more straight-forward.

If you’re selling your home, you might want to carry out a pre-sale building and pest inspection to catch defects (or pests!) before someone else does!

All houses have things – a wall that was damaged then never got patched, a mark on the carpet that you can’t do anything about…

Often, home sellers opt to sell their property “as is”. This is a good idea, if you don’t want to carry out a lot of DIY work that may not make any difference to your final sale figure. A lot of things won’t improve your bottom line anyway.

A smart option, in this case, is to have a pre-sale building inspection carried out.  That way, you have a document that itemizes all the various maintenance type issues as they are at present within the home for potential purchasers. It also gives you, as the seller, a head’s up if there are any major defects that you weren’t aware of.

You should think about a pre-sale building and pest inspection if your home is:

• 25-30+ years old and mostly in original condition

• If you have had previous timber pest activity

• If there have been extensions or renovations done

• If it has been a tenanted property in the past

Also, if you do plan to do a small renovation “facelift” to tidy up the house, a professional opinion could be the difference between a good renovation and a bad one, so use the opportunity to get some honest advice from our building inspector.

If you are selling your house via the auction process, you really should have a pre-sale inspection report on hand to show buyers. They might not trust it 100%, because it will be coming from you, the seller, but they will at least know you are serious about selling.

More than likely, people who are interested in purchasing your property will probably get their own pest and building inspection carried out anyway, however if they are aware in advance of most issues, they are not likely to come back to you afterwards and ask for a lesser purchase price.  And if they do, you have something to come back with.

DON'T RENOVATE WITHOUT A DESIGNERS HELP!

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020| Custom Home Design/Renovation

In the past, we’ve attended various building and pest inspections that included “custom construction” inside the properties. By “custom construction” we’re referring to the home owner making substantial modifications to their home without consulting the experts. We’re not talking about replacing the kitchen cupboard doors or a fresh coat of paint…

Renovating your home yourself, for aesthetic or practical reasons can be tempting. Without professional advice, in many instances, ad hoc renovations do not actually improve the dwelling itself.  Overall, the effect is that re-sale value dips, and the actual renovations, during a building inspection, are considered defects to the home.

We completed a building inspection in Molendinar on the Gold Coast that had been renovated by the owners themselves. The customisation was the addition of a cat door embedded into a second storey wall instead of to an external ground floor door.  Design-wise, this is considered wrong for a few different reasons, but mainly because with the position of the door.  Moisture, not to mention vermin could enter the home easily.  With nothing to stop the outside from coming in, this cat door seriously detracted from the effectiveness of the wall, not to mention the stability of the property.

Another instance of a customisation gone wrong was not the result of an ill-conceived renovation, but an architectural flourish that went too far.  The building inspection was in Kingscliff on the Tweed Coast, and again, the defect centered around moisture.  The owner had installed a timber slat platform inside the shower recess that must have appeared exotic at the time.  However after thousands of showers, the timbers had started to show serious moisture damage and also served to trap moisture, preventing the shower recess from draining properly and damaging the tiling/grouting underneath.  

These are just two examples of renovations gone wrong.

Before you decide to make a statement through renovation, or when you’re building your property make sure you make building decisions with these factors in mind:

* The future re-sale value of the home – will this be of value to others?
* Will there be any repercussions for the actual building – could this renovation be considered damage?

Most importantly, with all home renovations, it is important to weigh up the cost of planning and project management (“good” costs) vs. future costs to rectify damages (“bad” costs). We would always recommend you consult a master builder or interior designer when it comes to making changes to your property.

DOING A RENOVATION? MAYBE THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO INSULATE?

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020| Renovation

Summer always comes around pretty quick…and it’s always a hot one. This is the time to do everything you can to save money and keep yourself cool!! If you’re renovating your property adding insulation is a preventative measure that saves you money and adds to your comfort levels…

We lived in a west facing home for nearly 10 years. And after 8 of those super hot years, we decided to insulate the roof space and the metal patio covering. It only took a day’s worth of man power and it made a bigger difference to the home than almost everything else we did to it. The plane and rain noise diminished. It’s even took the edge off those annoying crows. But most importantly, it was so much cooler.

It was interesting to see the difference it made to our energy bill. We don’t generally use air conditioning, but we did have fans and we didn’t need to run them as often as we did before the insulation. Also, as anecdotal evidence, our baby’s day sleeps went better. It became substantially cooler in his room, and he slept much more soundly.

There are a few different options for insulation (fibre glass batts, cellulose blow in type insulation, etc) but it really depends on your property and who is doing the installation as to what you finally settle on.

Make sure you choose your product and provider carefully, and if your home has down-lights, make sure your installers are aware of their location. Don’t be afraid of looking like a goose for pointing that out.  Also, if you’re planning to do this yourself, make sure you turn off all electricity before getting started.

BUILDING AND PEST INSPECTIONS FOR FIRST HOME BUYERS

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | Pest and Building Inspections

Ask anyone who’s interested in investing and they’ll tell you the best time to do it is…Right Now.

And that includes investing in your future in the form of buying property. Right now is probably the best time in years for first home buyers – interest rates are at an all-time low, there are still pockets of opportunity for reasonable prices on the Gold Coast and Tweed Coast, and if you have a good mortgage broker who can steer you through the bizarre lending landscape, you’ll be winning.

Come along with us, we’ll help you through the complicated and sometimes daunting process.

Here are 3 Tips to Get You Started:

1. Don’t Cut Costs: We realise that at this time in your life, you’re probably having second thoughts about taking on so much debt, worried about money and don’t want to over-spend in the buying process…but if you try to cut costs on your “team” you could do yourself a serious disservice. We’re talking about “online only” conveyancers and “one man band” pest and building inspectors. Always use professionals you trust. In your team, you will need an experienced solicitor/conveyancer, a mortgage broker, and a licensed pest inspector and building inspector.  Don’t be afraid to call around and actually talk to people about the service they provide, make sure you are comparing apples with apples before committing.

2. Don’t Discount Ugly: There are a lot of houses out there that are ugly. But then miracles happen: you buy an old fibro shack at auction for $300,000, slap some paint on it, put in a new kitchen in and presto-chango, you’ve got a really nice house. Our building and pest inspections can save you thousands of dollars in the long run because you get a chance to have a full consultation with our inspector (who is a master builder) on site. He will give you insight into renovation potential as well as let yo know what needs to be done to maintain your dream property!

3. If you don’t trust real estate agents or are not confident negotiating…you’re not alone. There are other options if you’re not sure you can do the deal yourself. There is such a thing as a buyers agent. They are licensed real estate agents who are actually working for you and who will guide you and negotiate on your behalf. They have their fingers on the pulse of the current market and can be worth their weight in gold if you really don’t know what you’re doing. If you don’t have the money for that, get a friend or family member to help you. Think about all the people you know – is anyone a real estate agent? They could help you by sussing out properties for sale and negotiating on your behalf. If not, pick a stiff-necked uncle and go in there swinging with someone on your side…it’s not embarrassing especially once you’ve go the keys to your new home in hand.

Good luck and happy house hunting!

Dwell Building Services is your pest and building inspection expert on the Gold Coast and Tweed Coast. Our qualified and experienced inspector will ensure that you are armed with the best possible information going forward with your purchase! 

BUILDING INSPECTION ON THE GOLD COAST

by Dwell Building Services | August 2020 | A Building Inspection Case Study

You wouldn’t think that a brand new concrete high rise on the Gold Coast would need a building inspection prior to purchase.  Theoretically, if everything has been done to code and approved by Council, it shouldn’t.  However.  March 2012 we were engaged to inspected a unit in a new complex in Coolangatta – at the time approximately only 1 year old.

It’s worth blogging about because buyers can get complacent about buying into a concrete block of units and might not think they need a pest and building inspection done at all.  The initial inspection was pretty good, as you would expect with a practically new unit, but there was a retaining wall with cracking to the base, and water was leaking through it all over the entry patio.  The body corporate (via the builder) was taking care of it for our purchaser before his contract went through.

It’s important, as a purchaser that you get at least a building inspection done, even if you don’t think you need one.  Any defects present to the block of units will, in time, end up costing you through your body corporate contributions. Your initial reaction to external issues may be “that’s a body corporate thing” but remember - it’s your money that goes into the body corporate, and eventually gets spent on those issues.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that if a complex is only a year old and already has a couple of problems showing up in a building inspection report, there might be more to come sooner than you’d like.

Best to do what our property purchaser did, and hold off on the transaction until the problem was fixed.