What Happens in a PCI Inspection?

Whether you're looking to keep your builder honest or simply to place your mind at ease that your new home has been built to a high quality before you take the keys, a PCI Inspection (Practical Completion Inspection) is an inspection of the building work done on your new house build just prior to you taking possession of your property from the builder.

Identifying construction issues

Identifying construction issues in a PCI inspection is an important final part of the home construction journey. This allows you to point out mistakes and allow your builder to fix them. The inspection also allows you to avoid long term problems and costs.

PCI inspections are conducted before handover, a few weeks prior to your home's completion. During the inspection, the PCI building inspector will walk through your home and point out any problems. The inspection should be conducted before your final milestone payment is due. Your builder will is required to address any issues and defects detected in the inspection.

You can use this report to make sure that your home is built to the appropriate standards and that the work is completed as per the contract and to a high build quality. It also helps to track any regulation or compliance violations that might be present.

Having defects attended to at the PCI stage

Having defects attended to at the PCI stage of an inspection will help reduce the list of items to be addressed in your defects liability period and during occupation. This helps prevent the builder from committing to unnecessary repairs and provides the builder with an opportunity to correct any items while the property is still empty. This can reduce the time required to rectify defects, thus ensuring that your home is ready for handover.

PCI Inspection vs Stage Inspections

The PCI report is a detailed assessment of the internal and external structures of the property as it presents at the final stage of construction. It focuses on the visible  structural elements of your property as it stands at this completed stage.

There are staged inspections that are carried out at critical points throughout the building process and are highly recommended for a complete picture and assessment of the building quality.