What are some common problems with buildings?
Floors and Sub-floors:
- Insufficient sub-floor ventilation
- Issues with pile foundations
- Rotting foundations and sub-floor framing
- Excavations carried out under the house which have compromised the foundations
- Non-compliant alterations to foundations and sub-floor framing
- Issues with sub-ground retaining walls
- Ground level too high in relation to the finished floor levels
- Issues with surface water
- Issues with water-feed and waste pipes
- Excessive borer damage
Roofs:
- Poor general condition of roofing material
- Roof pitch too low for the type of roofing material used
- Poor flashing details
- Roofing material poorly fixed/secured
- Internal gutters poorly formed, including rainwater outlets and overflow outlets
- Downpipes poorly formed and installed
- Inadequate cladding clearances in relation to roofing
- Issues with skylight flashings and similar penetrations through the roofing
Exterior Joinery:
- Poor general condition of joinery
- Poor general condition of joinery hardware
- Joinery poorly installed
- Issues with flashing details around joinery items
- Weather-seals on joinery items in a poor condition
Exterior Walls:
- Openings created or enlarged for new joinery items
- New rooms added or existing areas converted into living rooms illegally
- Possible ground movement causing cracking on the exterior cladding
- Exterior cladding in poor condition
- Poor flashing details on cladding/wall junctions
- Incorrect cladding clearances in relation to landscaping, paving, decks etc
- Lack of control joins to allow for expansion and contraction of cladding
- Poor roof to wall cladding junction flashings and similar details
- Fixing of decks, pergolas etc to the exterior of the house
- Finishing of electrical meter box, gas meters, light fittings, vents, taps and similar penetrations through the exterior cladding
- Finishing of the exterior cladding around joinery items
Decks:
- Decks which form roofs over living areas below
- Finishing and flashing of these decks, including balustrading
- Penetrations through membrane decks
- Rainwater outlets and overflow outlets on the decks
- Height of decks in relation to the finished floor level of the house
- Connection of decks to the house
- Non-compliant balustrading
- Non-compliant construction of the deck
- General condition of deck and associated steps/stairs
Interior:
- Upgrading of service rooms- plumbing and electrical work carried out which requires compliance documentation
- tiled wet areas upgraded, including waterproofing membrane, where producer statements and possibly building consents are required
- Walls removed or altered, compromising load bearing and/or bracing walls
- Rooms added
- Evidence of moisture ingress
- Cracking in wallboard linings and possible causes
- Excessive borer damage
- Scrim Wall linings on older types of homes
Site General:
- Any obvious drainage issues
- Flood path issues
- Condition of retaining walls, fences, driveways, paths etc
- Risks regarding sloping sites
- Possible illegal site work carried out