Why You Need to Hire a Building Surveyor When Building Your Home
Posted on: 27 April 2021
Decided to build rather than buy a home for your growing family? Congratulations for taking a bold step to owning your dream house: a house that will be exactly what you envision it to be and perhaps even more.
But now what?
Building a family home is a major undertaking that requires careful planning to execute properly. One of the things you need to do to increase the probability of project success is to enlist the help of the right people.
A building surveyor is one of the many construction professionals you'll need to hire before starting your project. Read along to find out what they can do for you at the various stages of your home construction project.
Pre-construction stage
Before you commence construction on your project, you'll need to obtain building approvals or permits. Building permits are required to demonstrate that the proposed building work complies with the building codes and standards that apply to the area you want to live in.
A building surveyor can only issue a building permit once they've received and reviewed plans and documentation that demonstrate compliance with the applicable legal requirements. If you proceed with construction without having the required permits, heavy penalties and fines may be imposed for the breach.
Construction stage
Houses are built in stages, and it's vital to get them inspected through all the important stages. The main stages involved in building a house include the following:
- Preparing the construction site and laying the foundation of your house.
- Forming the superstructure: the skeleton or framing system of your house.
- Enclosing or locking up of your house by installing external parts such as the walls, roof, windows and exterior doors.
- 'Fixing' the house by installing interior and exterior house fittings, fixtures and finishes, including ceilings, insulation, electrical systems, plumbing systems, paintwork and many more.
If issues with non-compliance are identified at any stage, you shouldn't proceed with work until they've been addressed.
Post-construction stage
With the entire construction process complete, you'll need to ask a building surveyor to inspect the completed job to see if there are any non-compliance issues they might have missed while inspecting the building at the various stages of its construction.
If any issue is detected, they'll recommend the necessary corrective action. If everything looks good, they'll issue a certificate of final inspection.
Building surveyors work as consultants and not employees of their clients. If you have questions, contact a local building surveying inspection service.
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