Building and pest or building only for a Wollert purchase
Whether to add a timber pest inspection to your Wollert building inspection, what each report covers, and when building only is enough.
In short: Two different standards, two different scopes, usually one attendance. Here is what each one covers and how to work out whether you need both.
They are different standards, not different depths
A building inspection is carried out to AS 4349.1 and reports on the condition of the structure and its elements. A timber pest inspection is carried out to AS 4349.3 and looks for evidence of termites, borers and fungal decay. One is not a lighter version of the other. They ask different questions and produce different findings.
What a building only inspection gives you
The condition of the roof exterior and roof space, the interior, the subfloor where one exists, the external walls and the site within thirty metres, all assessed visually in readily accessible areas. It will pick up structural cracking, roof plumbing faults, drainage problems, wet area issues and evidence of previous repairs. It will not diagnose termite activity.
What the pest component adds
A timber pest inspector is looking for workings, mudding, damaged timber, subterranean leads, fungal decay and the conditions that make a property conducive to attack. That last part is often the most useful outcome, because it tells you what to change around the house rather than only what has already happened.
When building only is reasonable
If the property is a recently completed home with a current termite management system, an exposed and inspectable slab edge, no timber in ground contact and no owner built additions, some buyers reasonably take the building only option. Even then, the cost difference is small relative to the purchase price of a house in this market.
When you should not skip the pest report
Any property with a subfloor, timber decking or steps, a timber retaining wall, garden beds against the walls, a shed or a later addition, or any history you cannot verify. Also any house where the vendor cannot produce a termite management notice or evidence of a treated system.
How the combined report is delivered
Both inspections are usually done in one attendance and delivered as separate reports or clearly separated sections, because they sit under different standards with different scopes and different limitations. Read both limitation sections. Areas that could not be accessed are commonly different for the building and the pest components.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Wollert. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
