Getting a building certification is necessary before you can occupy any new structure or a building that has been renovated in any major way. If you're undertaking such a project, you would do well to understand a few basic facts about building certifications in Australia. Note a few of those here so you know what will be expected of you and involved in the certification process.
1. Critical stage inspections
A building is not inspected just when work is completed in order to get the necessary building certification, but it needs to go through what are called critical stage inspections. These are inspections that are performed after certain parts of construction or renovation are completed, or even before they begin.
Typically, these critical stages include after any type of excavation and before footings are poured, after the frame of a building has been erected and before it is covered, before covering any type of waterproofing if the work is in a wetlands area, and before covering any storm water drain connections. Be sure you have a list of necessary critical stage inspections needed, as failing to get them done properly can mean not obtaining your building certification, no matter the quality of the work.
2. Structural engineer
You may have a structural engineer on hand to perform inspections as the work progresses and may assume that an engineer is fully qualified to prepare some type of inspection report that would be sufficient for your state or city. However, unless that structural engineer is also part of what is called the Principal Certifying Authority, or PCA, of your area, their reports and inspections will not suffice for obtaining your building certification. Be sure you have someone who is authorized by the PCA perform inspections needed by your city or state rather than assuming that an engineer can do this.
3. Home warranty insurance
You will find that home warranty insurance is needed in the majority of cases of building construction and renovation projects in Australia, and this needs to be provided to the PCA mentioned above before work can commence. Not only will a building fail inspection if home warranty insurance is not provided, but the inspection may not even be scheduled unless a copy of this insurance is provided first. Be sure you understand this requirement for your project no matter its scope and size and have the home warranty insurance in place, so you know your work can be inspected and you can eventually receive your building certification.
For more information, contact local inspection services like Local Fire.
