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Jag har sammanställt en baschecklist inför ett husbyggande eller husköp eftersom jag själv letar hus. Listan är skriven på engelska eftersom den då lättare kan användas som diskussionsunderlag tillsammans med en byggare. Det finns säkert fler punkter som jag missat men de här är de som jag kommer på just nu.
Göran
BASIC BUILDING CHECK LIST
PRE-BUILDING CHECKS
• Check the local authority building permit – no permit yet? Forget this property!
• Check the individual land title plot for your house, i.e. has the main Chanote been ‘cut’ yet; this takes some time so it should be done before the show house is even finished. Stop here if the Chanote isn’t ready!
• Check the architect’s drawings, detailing the structural items.STRUCTURAL CHECKS
• How long has the infill earth been left before they started building? The infill needs a whole rainy season to settle before it should be built on.
• Do they use compacting machines to ‘pack’ the earth down? If not, forget that property as it will get cracks.
• Check that the footings go down at least 1.5m through established earth (not newly built up earth), with at least a 1.2m square concrete padstone under the footing.
• Check whether they’re using 12mm diameter reinforced steelwork in the underground beam system and above ground columns and not a thinner size (some only use 9mm or 10mm).
• Check the underground beam layout from the architect’s drawings to make sure that all walls are built off these beams and not off in-filled concrete.
• Check if they are using concrete lintels above doors and windows and not just building bricks off the wood frames.
• Check if they are using grade ‘A’ cement.
• Check what type of wall material they are using. The best is to build with double brick rows with an air space, which can be with added insulation, in between. Concrete blocks will lead to a poorly insulated house that will be hot.
• Check if they are using fine sand (more expensive) for the rendered walls, no plastering here. Run your hand over the walls to see how lumpy/rough the rendering is.
• Check if they are using quality roof tiles that are hooked into one another and not bolted in, which will create leeks.
• Check if they are insulating the roof with aluminium foil or polyurethane. The aluminium foil should have the glossy side upwards and there must be a minimum space on five mm to the roof tiles.
• Check whether the attic is properly vented with in- and outlet openings. The openings should have nets to prevent animals to enter the attic.WATER AND DRAINAGE CHECKS
• Check if they are using steel traps, flexible hoses, valves (‘ballofix‘) and fittings in the bathrooms, rather than plastic ones where the joints blow after about a year.
• Check if they are using 4 inch waste water pipes, too often is only 3 inch pipes used, which more easily can clog.
• Check the water supply, city water, own tank (size?) or own well? And with/without booster pump for sufficient water pressure.
• Check what type of hot water system they are putting in and for which taps, individual flow-through heaters, a central heater or solar water heater?
• Check if they are putting in gutters and stow pipes and that the rain water is led away (underground) from the house.
• Check which solution they use for sewer.
• Check if they are installing water locks.ELECTRICITY CHECKS
• Check if they are using ‘3-phase electrics’ with their own dedicated transformer, tapping into the higher located 11kV supply, rather than the lower single phase cables the whole area shares, which goes down often or is insufficient in certain areas.
• Check the current level for the main fuses, 15A, 20A, 25A or what?
• Check if they are putting electric cables in conduits (the yellow ones – the blue are meant for water) and that the conduits are sealed in each end on the outdoor ones.
• Check if they are using the latest regulation 3-pin sockets and that they are grounding them to earth, ask to see the earth rods in the ground outside. The rod should be of copper and be put at least 1.5m deep into the ground.
• Check if they are installing a proper surge protection (‘åskledare’) for the house – see the figure below , which shows the basic protection against a lightning strike according to the US National Energy Commission.
• Check if they are installing RCDs (Residual Current Device – ‘Jordfelsbrytare’).
WINDOW AND DOOR CHECKS
• Check what type of material they use for the window frame. If it is plastic frame ensure it is made from uPVC that is UV-resistant; if it is a wooden frame ensure it is made of teak; and if it is alumina frames then it should be made of cast alumina.
• Check whether the windows are single or double glass and whether it is of a sun-block type or not.
• Check that the hinges are of good quality and large enough to carry the weight. Must often the hinges are too weak.
• Check what type of locks they are using. Most houses are fitted with much too poor quality window and door fittings.
• Check the material of the doors.
• Check the level of all doors and windows and ensure they are opening and closing smoothly.INDOOR CHECKS
• Look at the plasterboard ceilings and see if you can see the joints, you shouldn’t be able to that if they are quality tradesmen and ‘skim’ properly.
• Check the tiling to see if the tiles are even or if any corners are jutting out, just run your hand across them. Tap gently on the tiles with the handle of a screw driver or something similar. By this way you will easily find the tiles that are not properly fitted and those with air pockets behind them.
• Use a level to check walls and floors, especially the bathroom floors so the water is properly drained.EXTERNAL CHECKS
• Check if they are using quality pool equipment, or the like, e.g. from Australia, and not cheap Asian equipment.
• Look at the swimming pool water line against the tiles to see how good/straight their tiling is.
• Check if they are putting in pest control system.
• Check if they put concrete access roads in.
• Check if they are installing an underground drainage system going out of the project to the local drains.
• If you want to know whether they can build walls straight, just look at the cut tiles along a run of wall.CONTRACT CHECKS
• Read the conditions in the contract carefully and do not sign any document until you fully understand it. Do not trust the developer or the real estate agent and get an independent lawyer to check it over. Negotiate changes if you’re not happy with certain conditions.
• Ensure that your down payment is secured through an Escrow account or an advance payment bank guarantee. Ensure also that the contract has an LD (liquidated damage) clause in your favour (protects you against delays) and a proper suspension and termination clause.
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