Lock-up Stage

Lock-up stage effectively refers to a point in time wherein you can actually lock up or finalize the house. It is a pretty significant stage of building a house. In this phase, usually all windows and doors of the house are on. Having the garage door installed is optional.

Once these external doors are on and windows are in, the house can be properly secured. The fixtures and appliances of the house, like the taps and fixtures can be installed now. An inspection has to be conducted beforehand though.

What are the Things to be Checked in the Lock-up Stage?

The lock-up inspection should provide the inspector with an opportunity to sight and inspect wall cavities, brick ties, wall flashings, window and external door flashings, prior to internal wall covering. Before making your installment in the lock-up stage, make sure you have this list. These are the areas that need the property inspector’s attention.

• If the external wall cladding has been properly constructed according to the frame or not.
• The pointing of all hip and ridge roof tiles is consistent in terms of color and texture. There are no cracks in the pointing.
• The roof covering ensures all different types of roof materials are correctly installed and fixed to the roof battens; and there shouldn’t be any damage.
• The bargeboards, fascia boards and gutters are correctly aligned and fixed in their position.
• Adequate fall is applied to the gutters around the house and the garage.
• Specially coated surfaces like gutters, downpipes, colorbond roofs are damage free. If these are scratched, perforated or dented the relevant manufacturer’s warranty can be deemed void.
• The brickwork should be level, plumb, square and straight.
• All articulation joints, weep holes and flashings are installed in correct positions.
• The mortar should also been checked for strength.
• There are no chipped, cracked or broken bricks.
• There are no cracks, scratches or chipped areas in the wall cladding or rendered surfaces.
• Brickwork is properly placed on the concrete slab and it does not overhang the slab by anything more than the accepted tolerance.
• Adequate clearance is available between the abutting brick sills and window frames.
• Particle board flooring is properly fixed to the frame and does not squeak or move.
• Wall flashings, brick tiles, windows and external door flashings are inspected before the internal wall covering.

This list may vary depending on type of building and factors that you have agreed in your contract. Usually interior linings/plasterboards, insulation are added to this list as mentioned by contracts too.

Most councils now require new waterproofing work to be performed by licensed waterproofing applicators. Once it has been approved a certificate is also issued by a certifier.

The structural components will have to be checked against the building plans to ensure they are in accordance and that the building works are prepared for finishing any surface material installation. You can hire building inspectors at Inspex for a lock-up-stage inspection. Having offices in Gold Coast and Brisbane, we operate throughout sourtheast Queensland. The inspection report is substantiated with adequate images to provide a clear picture of the exact situation.