A tradition has revealed how many cuts are being made by dodgy builders and why homebuyers will be hit hardest.
Independent building inspector Russell McCarthy was hired to keep an eye on the quality of a new home built in Perth last week.
While the builders had already layered the brick walls and prepared to install the roof, Mr. McCarthy discovered a crucial mistake that could have resulted in disaster.
The inspector noted that the primary support beam for the roof was not only off-center, but also not secured, but simply placed on brick.
Mr McCarthy warned the homeowner that the mistake could result in the roof completely collapsing and causing ‘untold damage to the house and anyone in it’.
Western Australia is the only state in the country where compliance experts are employed by the builders rather than outsourced to a third party.
A homeowner would have to pay out of pocket for an inspector.
Mr McCarthy also claims this is leading to some builders ‘cutting corners’ and delivering defective construction that insurance companies are unwilling to cover.
WA-based building inspector Russell McCarthy (pictured) has exposed a horror trend of builders in the state delivering ‘shoddy’ builds without supervision
Fortunately, the Perth homeowner alerted Mr McCarthy to the mistake and ordered them to demolish the house and rebuild it at no extra cost.
Mr McCarthy said it was just one of many structures he had to inspect over the past five years, none of which were ‘defect free’.
He claims the state’s lack of regulations enforcing compliance has led to “shoddy workmanship,” leaving the homeowner back at square one.
“In the event it is identified, insurance will walk away every time because they won’t cover non-compliant work,” he told Yahoo.
‘Customers don’t trust builders and that’s fair enough.’
Mr McCarthy has since started posting videos on social media to further spread awareness of the dodgy practices in the state.
He found that the main support beam of a house in Perth was not only off-centre, but also disconnected from the house (pictured), which could have caused a devastating collapse
He urged Australians considering hiring builders for a project to also use an independent inspector to keep them in check.
“In cases like these, where the problems are not immediately visible to the untrained eye, having video evidence can make all the difference,” Mr. McCarthy wrote in a post on his website.
“When there are serious issues, as in the case of new construction, we work with both the homeowner and the builder to ensure the problem is resolved, whether that means repairs or, in this case, complete demolition.”
He added that skipping an inspection is a “gamble” and that there is always a chance of “significant structural problems,” even in new homes.
Mr McCarthy and his company, WA Building Inspectors, have also seen success forcing unreliable builders to build to code.
‘In cases where we have helped, the Building Commission has turned to a builder and said, ‘I’m sorry, but this client has gone out of their way to demonstrate non-compliance as best they can, and you have flat out ignored it.’ ,’ he said.
