Concrete Slab - things to look for

Hi all,

This has been the 1st time we have come across a house on built on concrete slab in our inspection for the area we are looking in. Given the situation we will not have chance to go through proper build & pest inspection. I was wondering what are the common things we look for ...generally we look for

gaps between bricks and window frames,
cracks in brickwork,
look under the house to see its not wet
water discharging away from property etc.....

is there anything else we should look for. Given it is not on stumps, i wonder how the gutters are connected etc.....

Cheers

 

How can you check under the house if it's built on a slab? What do the gutters have to do with stumps/slab?

Why can't you have a proper B&P inspection? If you have time to do it yourself, there is time to get a professional to do it. Especially since you've never come across a house build on a slab before, why take a chance?

 

sure...valid questions. given the house is 10 years old and auction happening tomorrow we don't have chance for that. Yes we should have plan it better but that boat is sailed....

Generally for house on stumps, we generally check if there are any cracks inside house, cracks in bricks, gutter pipes are left open and water is being discharged underneath the house....etc...

so the question is if you are looking at the house with concrete slab what are the big ticket items will indicate issue....e.g. big cracks in brickwork, floors inside house not leveled, doors sticking...etc...

 

I'd say most the things would be the same. Except for the movement related issues if the stumps causing the house to move. It the block fairly flat or does it slope? In which direction? Look out for weep holes around the house and make sure these haven't been covered by concrete verandahs or garden beds etc.

A 10 year old house will be established and settled enough by now I guess. Modern day houses are built reasonably well (building compliance) compared to older ones. But usually with cheaper materials. I'd be as equally concerned to ensure there are no pest issues. There are strict termite controls for newer houses but I'd want to beyond reasonable doubt there is no damage and barriers of protection in place.

My personal opinion is, unless I was very, very experienced in assessing these things, I would best not bid at the auction and save my dollars for the next property. You'd be regretful if you were to bid at auction & win, then find issues later when it's too late to walk away.

 

thanks. Block is quite flat....there are various weep holes we found assume it to be good thing....currently house we are living have found issue where no water proofing done between outer layer of bricks hence causing water to go underneath the house.

Given its on stumps its easy to spot was making sure we were not buying in similar issue.

 

• Check any retaining walls within a couple of meters of the house.
  
• Look for cracking around the ceiling cornice or a putty job (a torch can be helpful). Settlement cracks may relate to compaction prior to the slab going down - sometimes other reasons.
• If you're super worried you can call up a Geotech and ask if the area is known for reactive soil. Most of the time they would have done a job nearby and happy to help out.