Categories
New Homes Tips & Tricks

Better Buildings for Brisbane

Builders take Note

I’ve worked for more than 20 years as a structural engineer in regions of Queensland that suffer the threat of cyclones. With Cyclone Marcia looming off Rockhampton at the time of writing, I’d like to address those new home builders in Brisbane that think they can relax because “Brisbane doesn’t get cyclones.”

Brisbane Doesn’t Get Cyclones

Fundamentally you are correct. And the benefit is you can build beautiful, big, high ceiling houses using a lot less timber than you can in cyclonic areas.

But if you as a builder are cutting corners to trim costs: I put you on notice. Brisbane still gets storms – and they can be furious!

Brisbane Homes need to Built Better

The building structures and building practices Brisbane builders are using to save money are well below what I consider adequate.

Brisbane builders you are also putting your clients – the new home owners – AT RISK if:

  • If you have cut the budget for your soil testing
  • If you have strong-armed your engineers to produce ‘cheaper’ designs
  • If you use a particular certifier because they don’t inspect quite as thoroughly

We Haven’t Done That Before

Too many times in my career as an engineer I have heard concreters and carpenters say ‘We’ve never had to do ‘that’ before.”

Well guess what. Building standards were improved a long time ago and it’s time you updated you practices.

Start Building Better

It’s time that substandard designs, cut price soil tests and poor building construction techniques are eliminated.

Australian standard AS1684.2 is the manual for residential timber construction and you should be using it. Storms DO happen in Brisbane area. Are the products you are producing going to pass the test?

A Message to Home Buyers

If you are a home buyer and you are about to build a new home, there IS a way you can get value for money, a good design and peace of mind in the next storm.

You cannot simply rely on what you are being told by the builder. You cannot even rely on what other customers are saying.

To be truly responsible for your own decision, the only way you can be sure you’ve chosen a good mass market builder is to inspect the buildings they are building.

And if, as my old neighbour used to say, “You don’t know shit from clay”; get some expert advice on your side.

An inspection by an independent inspector or structural engineer of a building being built by your builder will give you peace of mind.

Check Out the Workmanship

I have some suggestions for you for next time you walk through a display home:

  • Look for cracks in the concrete.
    • Some builders cleverly disguise the concrete surface their display homes with vinyl, carpet or spray on floor coverings. Under that surface is a representative sample of the concrete finish you can expect with your new home.
    • Ask to see the concrete! When it comes to cracks, you’re as good at spotting them as me. So look and find.
    • Cracks in concrete mean a variety of things and may not be a problem, but if you are looking for bang for your buck, then aesthetics are important. Builders know how to produce crack-free concrete but they rarely do. DO NOT accept substandard concrete.
  • Push on the walls. Find the tallest wall in the house – it might be a feature wall or a vaulted ceiling. Push on the wall! See if the wall moves. Push on another lower wall and see if it moves too. Some builders are using skinny sticks of timber in walls and they have been for years. There is no excuse. Regardless of wind classification or cyclonic region you are building in, the walls in your new house should be sturdy and SHOULD NOT MOVE when you push them.
  • Check your walls for straightness. A friend of mine had a new house built near my place. He asked me to look at it two months after he moved in. He complained that the walls weren’t straight. He could tell because the line of the tiles didn’t align with the walls. His walls were crooked. It wasn’t too late to fix because the building was still under warranty but it left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. After a lot of hard arguing and complaining, my friend had his walls straightened and the tiles re-done. Get in early. Check out the lines of the display home walls against the lines of the tiles. Don’t accept substandard workmanship.

Arrange an Inspection

If you have found a builder you like but you want a hand inspecting a house under construction please contact an independent building inspector.

An independent inspection at timber framing stage or concrete slab stage will give you the expert advice you need at a price much less then the hassle of a substandard building.

If this article has helped you please leave a comment.

This article was written by Matt Cornell of Cornell Engineers.

Categories
Tips & Tricks

Home Inspections

If you are buying or selling a home, I recommend you get a building and pest report every time. Not from a structural engineer – although some structural engineers can do this work – but by a full-time pre-purchase building inspector.

I’m a structural engineer and I always engage a professional building inspector when I buy a property – and I’ll tell you why.

Categories
Home Renovation Project Updates

New Farm Renovation, Brisbane

Cornell Engineers are pleased to announce they have been awarded the structural engineering design and documentation of the proposed renovation of a duplex unit in New Farm, Brisbane.

Director, Matt Cornell, said “This building has a lot of hidden potential. The owner has great insights and will be able to turn this property into a gem!”

Cornell Engineers provide structural engineering for new houses, extension and renovations in Brisbane and Mackay. The Brisbane market is performing really well and a tasteful renovation and extension makes great sense. Matt Cornell said, “We’ve had some great feedback from clients. We offer a personalised and intelligent structural engineering service and that complements committed and involved owners and builders. We particularly love working with our home owners and designers. I guess that’s what makes us a little bit different to the current offerings in the market.”

Rear wall to be removed
This wall will open up into a new light-filled courtyard.

Before Photeo - Reno Project
This building will get a spruce up with some minor structural upgrades.

 

Categories
Tips & Tricks

Professional Indemnity Insurance

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI Insurance) is designed to assist professionals that provide advice and services to customers in the event of a claim alleging breach of professional duty or misconduct.

For structural engineers, professional indemnity insurance helps protect a structural engineer from bearing the full cost of defending a negligence claim and the damages that could be awarded in a tribunal or court case. The negligence claim could be made in relation to faulty designs, partial failures or even building collapse.

Even if the engineering professional successfully defends a claim, the costs involved in preparing a defence against allegations can be financially oppressive.

Is Professional Indemnity Insurance Compulsory?

In Queensland, the Board of Professional Engineers advises that Professional Indemnity Insurance is not compulsory.

However I strongly recommend that all structural engineers carry PI Insurance with a minimum value of $1 million dollars.

Happy Engineer at Work
This Engineer is Protected by Professional Indemnity Insurance

How does Professional Indemnity Insurance help Customers?

Professional indemnity insurance gives customers peace of mind.

If you’re about to engage a structural engineer, find one that carries PI Insurance.

Mind you, professional indemnity insurance is a last line of protection for a professional structural engineer. A lot of things have to go wrong for a policy to be enacted:

  • A mistake has to be made.
  • It has to be missed by all those concerned with the design and construction process.
  • It has to be supplied, built and checked off by installers and suppliers.
  • The fault has to be detected by either a failure or early signs of failure. According to the news lately this all happs way too frequently.

All through this downhill process, communication and feedback process needs to be broken or stilted.

However mistakes still get made and still get built. Insurance is still required!

Should My Engineer have Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Professional Indemnity Insurance, like all types of insurance, is expensive and so not all structural engineers in Brisbane and Queensland carry professional indemnity insurance.

Cornell Engineers has a current Professional Indemnity Insurance policy. I think structural engineers that carry insurance show that they care about their customers.

Would you ever NOT insure your house?

No. To me it doesn’t make sense to have your home designed, renovated or repaired by a professional that doesn’t carry professional indemnity insurance.

So the answer is YES. Your structural engineer SHOULD carry professional indemnity insurance.

To compare quotes from two engineers – one that has PI insurance and one that doesn’t – is like comparing apples to oranges  (well actually – rotten apples). It just isn’t fair to compare one with the other. One cares for you, expects to do a good job, has protection and expects to be around in a few years. The other doesn’t.

How can Australian Engineers Arrange PI Insurance?

Our preferred insurance broker for professional indemnjty insurance is BRIC . Check out their website and have a chat about getting your engineering consultancy progfessional indemnity insurance up to date.

Does your Structural Engineer Carry Insurance?

To find out if your structural engineer structural engineer has a current professional indemnity insurance policy, you need to ask.

When you check your structural engineer’s Certificate of Currency:

  • it should be in date
  • it should have a limit of indemnity greater than your project value
  • it should specify the type of work the structural engineer is protected for

It’s your right and PI Insurance is for your protection too. Insist your structural engineer has a current professional indeminty insurance policy..

Categories
New Homes Project Updates

Samford Valley Projects

Samford Valley, Brisbane! What a beautiful spot to build your new home or plan an extension. Rolling hills. Country living close to the city. I think it is an absolutely delightful spot and I love heading out there to do inspections.

Cornell Engineers are proud to have been involved in a couple of Samford Valley construction projects recently. We’ve got one house

Photo of new house being built at Samford Valley
Samford Valley House

under construction in Angshelle Court already with another one to start very soon! They are magnificent homes with nothing left to chance. If you want to live in a beautiful country setting live at Samford Valley. If you want your new home designed and certified by a great structural engineer, call me – Matthew Cornell – 07 3102 2835.