Independent inspection to AS 4349.1 by a registered building contractor. What you are buying, read by someone who has built. Report within 24 hours.
A pre-purchase building inspection in Bassendean reads genuinely old stock. This is one of Perth's older river settlements, with a heritage-listed precinct, federation and interwar homes and some older still, on and near the Swan, and the building inspection to AS 4349.1 reads that age while keeping two Bassendean factors in view: the constraints that come with heritage, and the river ground beneath the lower blocks.
Age is the heart of the read. These homes predate the damp-proof course, so rising damp is assessed at the base of the walls and separated from the leaks and condensation it mimics. The old jarrah, in floors and framing and joinery, is read for borer, for the fungal decay old wet timber suffers, and for the delignification that softens it. Roofs may be original and past their span, and the lime-mortared masonry and tuck-pointing of the era are read for weathering and past repair. Asbestos entered the later additions, in eaves and sheeting, identified and flagged without being disturbed.
Heritage is the distinctive constraint. Where a home is heritage-listed or in the precinct, what can be changed is limited, so the building inspection notes where past alterations may have needed heritage approval, and a buyer should understand that future work carries its own approvals and costs, and that unapproved changes to a heritage home pass to the buyer.
The river is the third factor. On the lower blocks near the Swan the ground is damper and the water table higher, read through the subfloor and drainage.
The subfloor and roof space take particular weight, read for the damp, the old timber's condition, borer and delignification an old river home can carry.
Because it reports to AS 4349.1, the building inspection excludes timber pests, and on Bassendean's old jarrah and damp subfloors the timber pest scope is well worth adding, because those create strong conducive conditions for termites. The building inspection's value here is reading the real age of the home, the heritage constraints on it, and the river ground beneath it together.
We run the same inspection across the area, including nearby Ashfield and Eden Hill.
MISSING: phone number · Book online → · Flat $440 inc GST, report within 24 hours.
Its genuine age and heritage. Bassendean is one of Perth's older river settlements, with federation and interwar homes, some older still, and a heritage precinct. We read stock older than the interwar belt, keeping the heritage constraints and river ground in view, reported to AS 4349.1 with the areas not safely accessed.
That what can be changed is limited. We note where past alterations may have needed heritage approval, and you should understand that future work carries its own approvals and costs. Unapproved changes to a heritage home pass to you at settlement.
Yes. These homes predate the damp-proof course, so we assess how high the damp reaches at the base of the walls and separate rising damp from a leak or condensation, because each is fixed differently.
We read it closely. Old jarrah floors, framing and joinery can carry borer, the fungal decay old wet timber suffers, and delignification, so we probe and sound it rather than take it at face value.
It identifies and flags suspect materials without disturbing them. The later additions to these older homes can contain asbestos in eaves and sheeting, and knowing where it is before you renovate is the point.
On the lower blocks, yes. The ground near the Swan is damper and the water table higher, which we read through the subfloor and drainage.
A flat $440 including GST for the pre-purchase building inspection, or $616 including GST with the timber pest scope added in the same visit. The fee is the same in every suburb, and you have the report within 24 hours.
On Bassendean's old jarrah and damp subfloors, yes. The building inspection reports to AS 4349.1 and excludes pests, and old timber and damp create strong conducive conditions for termites, so the two scopes are well worth doing together.
That is your decision, but an old home is expected to show its age. We separate the significant structural issues from the character wear an old home naturally carries, so you can weigh what is really involved.
Yes. A clear building report separates the significant issue, structural movement or unapproved heritage work, from the character wear, and gives you a concrete basis to renegotiate.
Also available as a combined building and timber pest inspection in Bassendean — both scopes in one visit to AS 4349.1 and AS 4349.3, one report within 24 hours.
Combined B&P inspection →Our office is at Suite 55, 15 Labouchere Road, South Perth WA 6151 — on the Swan River foreshore near the Perth Zoo.
Tell us about the property and what you need. We'll come back to you with a firm quote and a time.
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