In short: Inspecting once at handover is the most common choice and the least effective. Nearly everything we find in Rockbank is invisible by then.
Pre-pour
Vapour barrier coverage, reinforcement position and cover, and the ribs. We have recorded bars missed to loadbearing ribs beyond the prescribed span here. Visible for hours, permanent afterwards.
Frame
The highest-value stage in Rockbank on our own findings: girder truss support, strap tension, top plate anchors. A week of visibility, then plaster.
Lock-up and PCI
Weather envelope and finish. Genuinely worth doing, and mostly still accessible afterwards - which is why, if you are choosing, these are the ones to drop rather than the first two.
What it means practically
If you inspect once, inspect the frame. If twice, add pre-pour. Handover is the stage owners instinctively pick and the one where the least is still fixable at the builder's cost.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Rockbank. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
