What does a building inspection actually check?

These reports are useful and routinely misunderstood. The inspector reports what can be seen on the day without damaging anything, and the exclusions section is the most important part of the document, which is exactly the part nobody reads.

Typically included

• Accessible interior and exterior, roof space and subfloor where there is safe access.
• Visible evidence of movement, damp, and past repairs.
• The roof exterior where it can be safely accessed or viewed.
• Timber pest activity if a combined report was ordered, which is usually a separate inspection.

Typically excluded

• Anything concealed by linings, insulation, stored goods or furniture.
• The condition of electrical, plumbing, gas or drainage systems, none of which are tested.
• Whether approvals exist for what has been built, which is a conveyancing question.
• Estimates of repair cost, in most standard reports.

Getting more out of it

Attend the inspection if you can, at the end, and walk it with the inspector. Ten minutes on site produces more than the report will, because they will say things verbally about severity and likely cost that a report drafted for liability will not. And order the electrical and plumbing checks separately if the house is old, because those are the two systems the standard report does not assess and the two most expensive to put right.