Verification of workmanship and materials against drawings, specification and manufacturer requirements — by someone who has no involvement in the work being inspected.
Most quality records on site are produced by the subcontractor doing the work. Photographs get taken by the installer, of the installation, for sign-off — and they rarely tell the full story of the job. Anything awkward tends not to be in the frame.
This applies well beyond one trade. Anywhere a subcontractor self-certifies their own work, an independent inspection at the hold points produces a record that means something when it is handed over, and catches the work that would otherwise be closed up and forgotten.
Thirty years in fit-out, twenty of them in the specialist trades and more than ten managing packages and contracts, means the inspection is carried out by someone who has built the assemblies as well as inspected them.
A firm that inspects and also carries out the remedial work has an interest in what the report says. An installer photographing his own work only ever photographs what suits him. This practice has no installation arm and no remedial supply chain, so there is nothing to upsell and no stake in the outcome. The finding is the product.
Fire compartmentation and passive fire protection are inspected and reported to the extent they are visible, and referred to a specialist where a formal fire assessment is required. This practice does not hold itself out as a fire risk assessor.
An independent, room-by-room inspection of your new home before you complete — or while the developer is still obliged to put things right.
Read more →The last point at which your developer is obliged to fix defects under the initial warranty period. Most people let it pass without using it.
Read more →An independent view of what you are actually buying, written so you can understand it without a construction background.
Read more →Photographed, time-stamped schedules of condition — independent of both landlord and tenant, which is what gives a report weight if a deposit is disputed.
Read more →I'll tell you what it costs and when I can be there. No call-out charge and no travel charge within the coverage area.