If you are planning some construction work on your property do you know what sort of impact that work will have on your home and surrounding dwellings?

There is always the potential for unintentional damage to be caused to neighboring properties as a result of carrying out major construction work. If you don’t know what state those buildings are in before you start the work, it could open the door to expensive claims and litigation.

Searching dilapidation report Melbourne, for instance, will put you in touch with someone who can provide you with a comprehensive overview of what risks you might in building a home face before you start digging.

Here is a look at what a dilapidation report is and why you need one.

What exactly is a Dilapidation report?

The clue is in the name. It is a report that details the condition of a property so that any potential defects or issues are identified in advance of any major demolition or construction work taking place.

The report is designed to highlight any existing issues or weaknesses in a building that could be impacted by work being carried out nearby.

In effect, what you are getting is a before and after report that helps identify any existing problems so that it can’t be claimed that your construction work has caused these problems to develop.

What sort of details are in the report?

A qualified building inspector will take a detailed look at a building so that they can assess the current condition of a number of key aspects including vivint doorbell cameras that could be potentially affected by construction work.

These include checking for any existing cracks on internal or external walls. Any loose or missing frames, brickwork cracks, or concrete paver cracks will be noted so that it is recorded they were already there before any construction work began.

Other aspects of the report include checking for any evidence of existing ground movement. The report will also look for other potential problems such as misaligned architraves, and report any roof shingles that are loose or missing altogether.

This report will provide an accurate reference point as to the condition of a property that can be used as a timeline in case some alleged damage occurs during construction work. It allows you to demonstrate that the work was not responsible for causing certain damage that can be shown to have been there beforehand.

A dilapidation report is a legal document and that means the inspector’s findings are not able to be disputed because they will have been carried out by a license holder with the right accreditation and reputation to put their name to the report.

Do I need to obtain a dilapidation report?

When you consider the potential cost of litigation if you can’t prove the condition of a property before construction work begins and something goes wrong, the answer is yes.

Some local laws make it a legal requirement to obtain a dilapidation report. Even if your area does not make it a legal requirement, having the evidence to support or deny damage claims is a very prudent strategy.