When is a defect actually a defect
Most disputes are not about what is there. The fight is over whether it falls inside an allowance.
In short: A report that cites the tolerance turns an argument into a measurement.
Two separate questions
What was built, and whether what was built sits inside an allowance. Only the second is ever really contested.
Where allowances come from
Your contract, the National Construction Code, the relevant Australian Standard and the Victorian Guide to Standards and Tolerances.
Why citation matters
An item described as poor workmanship invites a debate. The same item cited against a tolerance becomes a measurement.
The genuine grey area
Some things sit inside tolerance and still look wrong. A report that says so is more useful than one listing everything the owner dislikes.
Structural versus cosmetic
Every report makes that split explicit, because it decides what is worth pressing and what is worth letting go.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Craigieburn. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
