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Phase 5 of 5 — practical completion

Walk the final inspection like a professional

Thirty eight checks: the published tolerance figures inspectors and NCAT experts actually use, a full services walkthrough from light switches to the handover pack, and exactly how to record defects so they get fixed.

The OC Inspection

At practical completion, you and your builder walk the house together, and one of you knows the tolerance figures. Today it is usually the builder, which is why "it's within tolerance" ends so many arguments that the owner was actually winning.

I am Shea Cullen, a registered architect on the Central Coast. The NSW Guide to Standards and Tolerances is the document that phrase is quoting, and it cuts both ways: it protects builders from millimetre hunting, and it classifies plenty of she'll be right workmanship as defective, in numbers. Most owners have never opened it. This checklist converts it into a walkthrough you can do with a straight edge, a level and a camera.

What to bring. The warranty clocks to diarise before you leave, because many items only count within 12 or 24 months of handover. The measurable checks, trade by trade. The items with no tolerance at all. How to write a defect list that reads like an inspector wrote it, and the exact escalation ladder if the builder goes quiet.

Do the walkthrough before the final payment. That payment is your leverage, and this checklist is how you spend it well.

What's inside

38 checks across 7 sections, each with the why behind it and the cost of skipping it.

Before you walk in

  • Bring the tools
  • Walk every room the same way
  • Write down the date of practical completion
  • Put the 11 month, 23 month and 5 year 11 month anniversaries in your calendar
  • Know your statutory warranty periods
  • Remember the 6 month notice duty

Structure and surfaces

  • Walls and frames: no more than 4 mm in any 2 m
  • Floors: no more than 10 mm in a room, 4 mm in any 2 m
  • Cracking: hairline is normal, approaching 2 mm is not
  • External masonry: articulation joints present, no stepped cracking

Doors, windows and openings

  • Every door and window operates freely
  • No water enters at any closed door or window
  • Door openings square, measured not eyeballed

Linings, finishes and trim

  • Judge finishes from the normal viewing position
  • Plasterboard: no nail popping
  • Critical light needs a level 5 finish, in the contract
  • Architraves and skirtings flush at every joint
  • Paint coverage even from the normal viewing position

Materials and compliance

  • Materials match the specification
  • External timbers are the specified species and treatment class
  • Every substitution has a written approved variation behind it

Services and fittings: everything works

  • Every light and every power point works
  • Every tap runs, gets hot, and drains away
  • Toilets flush and cisterns refill
  • Run every appliance
  • Exhaust fans pull air and every smoke alarm responds
  • Every door and window locks, and you hold every key
  • Gutters and downpipes are connected and weepholes are clear
  • Hold a copy of the occupation certificate
  • Collect every warranty document
  • Collect the appliance manuals
  • Collect the plumbing and electrical compliance certificates
  • Collect the paint codes and spare tiles

Recording defects and escalating

  • Photograph every item with the date on and a scale in shot
  • Write each item as a measurement against a published figure
  • Issue the list to the builder in writing and keep a copy
  • Allow the builder reasonable access to rectify
  • If it stalls: report, then Building Commission NSW, then NCAT

This is for you if

  • Your practical completion walkthrough is coming up and the final payment is still in your hands
  • The builder keeps saying within tolerance and you want the published numbers, not the shrug
  • You are inside the first 24 months after handover and want to claim what the warranty windows allow

Your investment

$29

Australian dollars, one time, instant download.

The full amount is credited toward a $220 Initial Consultation with the single use code in your delivery email, valid for 12 months.

If your download does not arrive or the checklist is not what this page describes, reply to your delivery email and I will make it right, refund included. Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply to every purchase. Terms of sale.

Questions people ask

How do I get the checklist after paying?

Instantly. Payment takes you straight to your download page and the link is emailed to you as well. It works for 12 months, which matters here, because several checks repeat at the 12 and 24 month anniversaries.

What numbers does it actually give me?

The published figures: 4 mm in 2 m for walls and frames, 10 mm per room and 4 mm in 2 m for floors within 24 months, the crack widths worth recording, the normal viewing position rules for finishes, and the no tolerance items like binding doors and water entry.

What if the builder ignores my defect list?

The checklist ends with the escalation ladder: an independent report, then a free Building Commission NSW complaint, where an inspector attends within about 22 working days and can issue a rectification order, then NCAT as the backstop. About 7 in 10 disputes resolve at the Commission.

Is the $29 credited back?

Yes. Your delivery email includes a single use code that takes $29 off the $220 Initial Consultation, valid for 12 months, useful if the walkthrough turns up something you want professional eyes on.

Walk in with the published figures and a straight edge, and the inspection becomes measurement instead of argument.