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 West Leederville reads two things closely: the period homes the suburb is known for, and the old lake ground some of them sit on. The housing is largely Federation and interwar, with Californian bungalows and character brick homes on generous, established lots, and the proximity of Lake Monger gives the building inspection to AS 4349.1 a genuine ground factor to weigh alongside the structure.
Lake Monger began as wetland, and the low-lying West Leederville blocks nearest it carry that history: a higher water table, softer or filled ground, and drainage under more pressure than the sandy rises further back. The building inspection reads those blocks for the structural signs that ground brings, differential settlement in the footings where fill was involved, cracking that points to movement rather than shrinkage, and a subfloor sitting close to damp ground with the ventilation and drainage that demands. Where stormwater goes once it leaves the roof matters more here than on higher, free-draining land.
The homes themselves are period masonry read in period terms. The Federation and interwar houses are solid or early cavity brick, and the oldest, built before a damp-proof course, draw ground moisture up, so the inspection assesses that damp for what it is doing to the brick and the plaster and the timber. Cracking is read for meaning against the shallow footings of the era and the ground below, and the Californian bungalows are read for their heavy masonry and distinctive low rooflines. Original jarrah floors and the period roof structure are checked for spring, rot and the wear of a century.
West Leederville is a suburb people improve, so additions are the norm. Room extensions, second storeys, studios and pools have been added to most homes, and the building inspection reads each for structure, for the waterproofing of any retrofitted wet area, and, where a second storey was added, for whether the original footings and walls were up to carrying it. Whether the work was approved is part of the read, because unapproved building passes to the buyer.
The roof space takes the longest time, read for framing condition and water entry, and for past repair and the chemical delignification that turns up in the hardwood under the ageing tiles.
Because it reports to AS 4349.1, the building inspection excludes timber pests, and given West Leederville's mature gardens and the extra moisture the lake brings, the timber pest scope is well worth adding in the same visit. The building inspection's value here is reading a period home and the ground beneath it together, because near Lake Monger the two are closely tied.
We run the same inspection across the area, including nearby Subiaco and Leederville.
MISSING: phone number · Book online → · Flat $440 inc GST, report within 24 hours.
On the low-lying blocks nearest the lake, yes. The lake began as wetland, so those areas can have a higher water table, softer or filled ground and harder-working drainage. We read the footings for differential settlement, the subfloor for damp and ventilation, and where stormwater goes, because that ground shapes the structural picture.
Largely Federation and interwar, with Californian bungalows and character brick homes on generous lots. The oldest predate the damp-proof course, so we assess the rising damp their walls draw up and read the period roof structures and joinery for condition and age.
For meaning, not by counting. We separate cosmetic shrinkage from structural movement, read it against the shallow footings and the ground, and account for any influence from the higher water table or fill near the lake. The pattern points to the cause.
The load and the junctions. Where a second storey was added, we check whether the original footings and walls were up to carrying it, and we read old masonry against new framing and the waterproofing of any retrofitted wet area. We also flag whether the work was approved.
It can be. A subfloor sitting close to damp ground can suffer poor ventilation and standing moisture, which feeds decay and termites. We read those subfloors closely and note the ventilation and drainage improvements they need.
Often. The tiles are brittle and past their life, with perished sarking, and the hardwood framing can show chemical delignification, which reduces what it can carry. We read the roof structure closely and probe for it.
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.
Given the mature gardens and the extra moisture the lake brings, usually yes. The building inspection reports to AS 4349.1 and excludes pests, so the two scopes are commonly done together in the one visit.
Yes, and near Lake Monger it matters more than usual. We follow where stormwater leaves the site, look at whether the low-lying ground drains, and note where water is pooling or held against the structure.
Yes. A period home on old lake ground carries notes, and a clear building report separates the significant issue, footing settlement or subfloor damp, from the cosmetic, giving you a concrete basis to renegotiate.
Also available as a combined building and timber pest inspection in West Leederville — 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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