The Politics Of Smoke Alarms
From 1993 to 2015, CSIRO conducted tests on smoke alarms but the public is yet to read the findings. This comes at a time when activists want ionised smoke alarms banned due to alleged issues with response times to common fires. In America, the alarm...
Read moreNeed To Know - Building Inspection Inclusions and Exclusions
It is important to understand what is generally included and excluded in a building inspection service. Jim's Building Inspections work hard to understand what type of property you are purchasing.
Factors that influence which building inspection...
Read moreDue Diligence for Home Buyers
Literal meaning of Due diligence is doing a comprehensive appraisal of any buying task undertaken by a prospective buyer, especially to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its potential.
It is utmost important to do your due diligenc...
Read moreDo you think that property you are looking to buy has asbestos?
If the house you are looking to buy was built or renovated before 1990, it is likely that it will contain some form of asbestos-containing materials.
Did you know that approximately one-third of homes built in Australia contain asbestos products?
...
Read moreWhat is Caveat Emptor?
Increasingly property buyers are aware of their responsibility to discover building defects before sale – this is known as the Latin principle Caveat Emptor or ‘buyer beware’.
The full quotation is ‘caveat emptor, qui ignorare no...
Read moreWhat Does Jim Know About Building Inspections Anyway?
ACTUALLY, QUITE A BIT MORE THAN WE EVER REALISED!
We recently discovered that Jim Penman’s dad was a forensic engineer.
From an early age Jim’s father was investigating materials, structures and their components which failed o...
Read moreBeating the Dangerous World of Mould - Related Illnesses
Moving to a share house is an exciting adventure for young adults. At least, that’s the theory. So when healthy Tim Kirby started losing weight, developing insomnia, experiencing frequent headaches and battling fatigue, he was in search of answers....
Read moreBuilding? Here Are Mark Campbell's Lessons Learned
“My rationale for building new was threefold,” writes Mark Campbell, a working-class Aussie. “Firstly, it enabled me to have control over the end product and it made sense from an investment perspective because I could maximise depreciation and...
Read moreAsbestos Concerns? Call The Experts
Here’s an all too familiar story from the Newcastle Herald: A Glendale property is demolished after its owners found deadly loose-fill asbestos insulation.
This type of asbestos was relatively popular in the1960s and 1970s.
Science now tells ...
Read moreRe-stumping red flags
A guide to Re-Stumping
Re-stumping - or re-blocking as it's known in Victoria - is big business in Australia and can be a very costly exercise, particularly if you don't know what you're looking at and you don't understand what you've bought into....
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