The full list, room by room, while the final payment is still yours to hold.
At practical completion the house looks finished, which is exactly why an independent list matters. The recurring findings around Pakenham East cluster around water and air: rangehood and exhaust ducts terminating in the roof space rather than outside, capping flashings shaped so they retain water, junctions between cladding types left unsealed, shower screen channels not sealed at the wall. Add the safety items, such as non compliant external power point wiring and sharp edges on boundary fencing, and the list is usually long enough to justify a reinspection before you sign.
Annotated findings from Pre-handover (PCI) inspections on Pakenham East builds. Client addresses withheld.
1Bored piersAfter boring and cage placement, before any concrete goes in
2Slab pre-pourThe day before the pour, steel and formwork complete and open to view
3FrameOnce the frame and trusses are up and the roof is on, before sarking and lining
4Lock-up (pre-plaster)After roof, cladding and external doors are on, before the plasterer starts
5FixingAfter mouldings, doors and joinery, before the painter
6WaterproofingAfter the membrane is applied and before any tile is laid over itInstant online pricing, or talk to the booking team on 1300 471 805.
Two to three weeks before your handover date. Any later and there is no room for the builder to rectify, which turns the list into a settlement argument instead of a work order.
Yes. The reinspection marks each item as rectified, partly done or outstanding, and that document is what you take to the handover meeting.
You are welcome to, and many owners do. It is a useful couple of hours because you see the items in place rather than only in a report, and you can ask about anything as we go.
A list in the dozens is ordinary on a new build and is not by itself a sign of a bad builder. What matters is the split between structural and cosmetic, which the report makes explicit.
Each item cites the clause, tolerance or standard it fails, so the discussion moves onto that document rather than onto opinion. Where a dispute persists, the Victorian dispute pathway starts with the Building and Plumbing Commission's dispute resolution service.
Yes. An exhaust that discharges into the roof cavity puts warm moist air into the one place you least want it, and over a few winters that shows up as damp and mould in the ceiling.
