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 Westminster reads a quieter, more intact corner of the northern suburbs. Where neighbouring streets have redeveloped hard, much of Westminster remains original: modest, standardised homes from its state-development origins, now ageing and often little changed, some backing onto reserve. The building inspection to AS 4349.1 reads that plain, ageing stock honestly and gives the nearby bushland the weight it deserves.
The original homes are the heart of the read, and their age is the theme. Westminster's standardised 1960s and 70s houses are brick or double brick on shallow footings, and many have had little major work, so the building inspection reads them for the accumulated wear of decades: the brittle tiled roofs with perished sarking and the chemical delignification that softens old hardwood framing, the tired original wet areas, and the rising damp that pre-damp-course walls draw up. Asbestos is common in the materials of the period, in eaves and sheeting, identified and flagged without being disturbed.
Because so much of Westminster is little-modified, a buyer should understand that a plainly built, largely original home of this age often needs real investment, as the original roof and services and finishes reach the end of their working lives together. The building inspection is honest about what is worn out versus what has been renewed, so the works ahead can be weighed and budgeted.
The reserve is the timber pest factor. The building inspection reports to AS 4349.1 and excludes pests by name, but where blocks back onto or sit near the bushland reserve and open space, that bush is a reservoir for subterranean termites, so on those blocks the timber pest scope is well worth adding.
The roof space takes the longest time, read for framing condition, water entry, past repair and delignification under the ageing tiles, and where a home has been extended or a block developed, the addition or newer dwelling is read for structure, waterproofing and approval.
Westminster is a modest, largely original, ageing pocket on the edge of the bush, and the building inspection's value here is reading honestly what a plain older home is really made of, and what its years and the reserve nearby mean for it.
We run the same inspection across the area, including nearby Balga and Nollamara.
MISSING: phone number · Book online → · Flat $440 inc GST, report within 24 hours.
The plain, ageing original stock. Westminster's standardised 1960s and 70s homes are brick on shallow footings and often little changed, so we read them for the accumulated wear of decades, an ageing roof and asbestos-era materials, reported to AS 4349.1 with the areas not safely accessed.
Often, yes. A plainly built, little-modified home of this age reaches the point where its roof and services and finishes wear out together, so we are honest about what is worn out versus renewed, so the works ahead can be weighed and budgeted rather than come as a surprise.
For the accumulated wear of decades. We read the brittle tiled roofs and perished sarking, the delignification in old framing, the tired original wet areas, and the rising damp of pre-damp-course walls, so you understand the real condition.
It identifies and flags suspect materials without disturbing them. The standardised older Westminster stock can contain asbestos in eaves and sheeting, and knowing where it is before you renovate is the point.
Yes. Where blocks sit near the bushland reserve and open space, that bush is a reservoir for subterranean termites. The building inspection excludes pests by name, so on those blocks the timber pest scope is well worth adding.
Often, especially at this age. The tiled roofs of the era are brittle with perished sarking, so we read the roof for cracked and slipped tiles and water entry, and the frame beneath for any resulting damage.
The addition, read for structure and waterproofing and for whether it was approved, because unapproved work passes to you at settlement. On a largely original home we also note what has been renewed versus what remains original.
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.
It is common in a largely original older home and not a reason to walk away, but it is something to plan and budget for. We set out what is worn out versus renewed, so you can weigh the works ahead and factor them into your offer.
Yes. A clear building report separates the significant issue, a roof at end of life or asbestos, from the cosmetic, and gives you a concrete basis to renegotiate.
Also available as a combined building and timber pest inspection in Westminster — 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.
PERTH