Building Surveyors

A building surveyor is trained to understand and interpret building law, whether it be state or, more usually, local council. A building surveyor is authorised to assess building plans with a view to ensuring they are compliant with the regulations. A building surveyor must have recognised qualifications, be registered and have appropriate insurance to practice their profession.

Traditionally, the issuing of building permits has been controlled by local councils. Now, private building surveyors are given the power to issue permits if they show they are compliant with council law. But building surveyors do much more than just issue permits. They carry out inspections of buildings to determine their condition and their level of safety; they check the exterior walls, the framework of the building, its foundation, the roof – all of it. The building surveyor is the last link in the chain to make sure the building is safe to inhabit.

After you have submitted your plans to the building surveyor and they have been approved, the building surveyor monitors throughout the build. In the case of building a new home, inspections are carried out prior to placing the footings, at completion of the frame, and there’s a final inspection before the occupancy permit is granted. During this process, if the inspection fails, the building surveyor is authorised to take enforcement action, where necessary against the responsible party to ensure that the works are corrected and brought into local building law compliance.

A building surveyor is crucial to the safe construction of your home, new garage or extension. You may not always like what they has to say, but if you follow their instructions you will soon understand that approval could mean the difference between a safe habitation and an impending and expensive disaster.