Showing posts with label Home Inspection services Perth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Inspection services Perth. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Footing design for home

By: Peter Huber
Posted By: BHIS
Source:http://bit.ly/1Ww1RM1

What is probably as important as consistent compaction is the design of the footings and the actual digging and pouring is equally as important. Firstly footings should be designed according to the nature of the soil. For example you would not design the same size footing when building in clay soils as you would if you were to build on sandy well drained soil.

Building Inspection Perth

It has always been our advise to firstly sample and categorise the soil, if you are to build on clay or loamy soil, especially where drainage is poor. This will then determine the type of footing design for the home and will minimize any settling or cracking that would normally occur.

Pre Purchase Building Inspections Perth

Well we now have got, consistent compaction and a footing, designed specifically for the soil and a slab to match. The next step is to examine the perimeter masonry walls to see if and what type of settling cracks have occurred if any.

Property Inspection Perth WA

The settling cracks that are visible on the brick work or internal walls are a signature or blue print as to what has occurred under the slab.

Professional Building Inspections Perth 

The walls are a reflection or and indication as to the stability of the foundation. Below are some diagrams showing the different type of cracks that can occur and why.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

What to inspect when buying a home?


By: Peter Huber
Posted By: BHIS
Source: http://bit.ly/1VHVbtP

It goes like this, before you buy something, and a friend had described it to you in detail ”warts and all”, it would have helped in shaping your ideas in the purchase of that something.

Home Inspection services Perth

Well the same goes for when buying a car or a house. These are major purchases for most people and for some it is the single most important investment in their live. This being the case then, would it then not make sense that before buying, some one thoroughly checks out your proposed purchase before a final commitment is made on paper in the form of an offer to purchase. Preferably a mate in the building industry or a professional inspection institution can be called upon to give an unbiased opinion based on the structural nature of the building.

Professional Home Inspections Perth

The things that a buyer should be aware of is that firstly the foundation, walls and roof construction are sound, as theses components constitute the shell and anything else is purely cosmetic.

Building Inspection services Perth

Firstly the foundations:- If they are Limestone, then one would have to appreciate that they are large chunks of rock, shaped and placed into a hand dug trench and mortared into position, there was never any compaction carried out to the soil below the first laid limestone, hence the ground could move and settle as the weight of the walls was placed upon the Limestone. Large homes were built upon the limestone foundations and later the settling took place and was and still is evidenced in settling cracks noted on wall.

Professional Building Inspections WA

These days we build the foundations a different way, mostly it is a concrete perimeter beam and a floating slab is resting on top of these footings. This latter method is built on soil that has been compacted to a uniform compaction. If this compaction is not uniform then uneven settling can be the major source of settling cracks, as the foundation settles under the weight of the walls and roof. The importance of uniform compaction is so vital that theoretically, if the compaction was uniform then no settling would occur.

Independent Building Inspections Perth

The importance of keeping the perimeter foundation at a constant moisture level is equally as important since a constant change in concentrated moisture levels content will cause the soils supporting the perimeter footing beam to move. This movement is transferred to the walls and settling cracks appear over windows and doors as these are the most vulnerable areas. So it is important that the down pipes are connected to soakwells which are at least 1.8 meters away from any footing.

Pre Purchase Building Inspection Perth
Next week we will continue with this, so that by the end, you will have a comprehensive check list.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Best Wall Coverings practices | Pre Purchase Building Inspections Perth


                                 
By:Peter Huber
Posted By:bhis.com
Source: http://bit.ly/1iIkPO6

Vinyl wall coverings (vinyl laminated to paper or fabric) have become very popular over the last few years, largely because they are more easily cleaned than the uncoated open-textured types. Yet it is just this impervious, otherwise-desirable surface that sometimes creates a mould problem.

Pre Purchase Building Inspections Perth   

In one home examined by the Division of CSIRO, red and purple stains were found to be showing through from behind a light coloured vinyl wall covering within two weeks of application. The stains, which originated in the paste layer, were identified as a type of mould. The key factor in this rapid mould growth was the fact that paste had been sandwiched between a painted wall and a sub-substantial vinyl membrane.

Pre Purchase Building Inspections Perth   

On one hand, the impervious vinyl layer prevented evaporation of moisture from the paste layer while on the other hand, the painted background drastically reduced absorption of water into the wall. Thus, the paste was kept moist long enough for mould growth to start. Had an adhesive offering less nourishment to moulds been used, mould growth would have been unlikely. Similarly, had the wall covering been a plain paper or one of the “spongeable” wallpapers (papers with a very thin plastic film on the surface), or one of the “breathable” vinyls, mould growth would again have been unlikely since such coverings “breathe”, enabling the paste to dry by evaporation.

Pre Purchase Building Inspections Perth  

When hanging wall coverings of solid vinyl sheet laminated to paper, it is a wise precaution to apply a fungicidal wash such as two percent sodium hypochlorite solution to the wall before sizing it with a dilute solution of a cellulose adhesive with fungicide added. For best results manufacturers suggest applying lining paper to the wall before finally hanging the wall covering, using the heavy-duty cellulose adhesive for both operations. In the case of mould staining described above the vinyl wall overing had been hung, without a preliminary fungicidal ash, using a starch paste (instead of a cellulose adhesive) with fungicide added. Obviously this was not enough protection.

Pre Purchase Building Inspections Perth    

When the weather is very cold and damp the cellulose adhesive may take a long time to set, so an acrylic-reinforced latex adhesive might be advisable under such conditions, to avoid lifting of the seams. Alternatively, he cellulose adhesive could be used and, if the seams do lift, they could be bonded to the wall with the latex. When hanging wall coverings of vinyl sheet laminated to fabric, only the specially formulated adhesives recommended by the manufacturers should be used.

Pre Purchase Building Inspections Perth    

Normally, coverings are not hung on absorbent surfaces. Manufacturers recommend that bare surfaces be painted with a flat oil paint, and it has been assumed in the above that this has been done.

For now till next week when we will discuss

“RAIN PENETRATION OF SOLID MASONARY WALLS”
your “Handy Jock”.

Any questions that our readers may have would be gladly welcomed and endeavoured to be answered as seen fit.


Source: http://bit.ly/1iIkPO6

Friday, August 21, 2015

Inspect Home before Selling | Professional Building Inspections Perth


By:bhis
Posted By:Peter Huber
Source: www.bit.ly/1NzosBy
Before You Sell Your Home, Have it Inspected!

So you’re considering selling your home and now you want to be sure that there will be no unpleasant surprises to upset the settlement process. Well, we’re here to help make sure of that! Building and Home Inspection Service currently has five offices spread around the wider Perth metropolitan area, all of which draw on a wealth of experience to ensure that your home is thoroughly inspected with the most up-to-date equipment and reports digitally collated for your future reference.

Professional Building Inspections Perth
Common Problems with Building Integrity

1) Termite Infestation and Damage

This is one problem you never want to let get out of hand. Termites just love untreated pine and will turn structural timbers to dust in months if left unchecked. We will endeavor to find their trails, any timber that has been affected from ceiling supports to floor joists, and record all the sites photographically and in your written report.

2) Foundation Settling

A common problem with suspended houses – those on stumps – but also on concrete slab foundations are cracks that appear as a house settles, or as the ground dries out or becomes wetter over years. Cosmetic or structural repairs are called for, but in terms of selling your home, so long as the issue is catalogued, no-one can complain they didn’t know what they were buying.

Professional Building Inspections Perth
The movement of buildings can also result in problems with main lines in and out of the structure. While electricity and gas are not usually a problem, due to the malleability of the materials used, even modern day PVC pipes are susceptible to fracture. This can result in leakage from waste pipes wherever the connection becomes stressed – even in the wall cavity of your home.

3) Construction Short-cuts


We don’t want to seem overly critical, but even the width of mortar joins between bricks must meet a minimum standard – too much mortar compromises the structural integrity of the wall. Elsewhere, poorly secured flooring can result in buckling of verandah floors, or the use of untreated or uncured, water-sensitive wood close to down-pipes can result in much the same thing.

Professional Building Inspections Perth
All these and many, many more criteria are examined and checked with a Building Inspection reports Perth – there is one for your budget and building, no matter where in Perth you are located. Call one of our offices today! or else go to:www.bhis.com.au/contact-us/

Source:www.bit.ly/1NzosBy