The daily pre-start walk: what a builder checks before crews arrive
The pre-start walk is the one check that looks at the site as it is this morning, not as the plan says it should be. Here is what to look at and how to record it.
11 min read
The PointCPD blog
Building industry news and articles
What is changing in Australian building, and what it means on site: construction technology, materials, energy, regulation, safety, contracts and the housing market.
The daily pre-start walk: what a builder checks before crews arrive
The pre-start walk is the one check that looks at the site as it is this morning, not as the plan says it should be. Here is what to look at and how to record it.
11 min read
Key-person dependence in a small building business: the owner as bottleneck
A small building business often runs through one person, the owner, who holds the licence, the client relationships and the approvals. This is where that concentration hides and how to reduce it.
11 min read
Digital hold-point checklists: setting up the gate for pours and inspections
A digital hold point is only worth having if it stops the next step until someone signs for it. This is how to build the gate, the sign-off and the time stamp so the record holds up.
11 min read
Hydronic underfloor heating: planning it into the slab before the pour
Hydronic floor heating is cheap to plan and expensive to fix. Once the concrete is down, every decision about pipe layout, manifold position and trade sequence is locked in.
12 min read
Using a designer’s plans: copyright and permission to build
Building from drawings you did not produce is routine, but the right to copy, adapt and reuse them is not automatic. Check it before the first trench is dug.
12 min read
Passing on card fees on trade invoices: the rules
A card fee is a real cost of getting paid, but recovering it is a disclosure decision as much as a pricing one. Get the disclosure wrong and the fee becomes a complaint.
11 min read
Polycarbonate roof sheeting: expansion and fixing
Polycarbonate moves far more than the steel frame beneath it. The fixings have to allow that movement, or the sheet cracks in the first hot season.
12 min read
Fitness for work and a drug and alcohol policy for crews
A worker who arrives unfit to work puts everyone within reach at risk. A written policy and a consistent supervisor response turn a difficult morning into a managed one.
11 min read
Choosing a niche as a small residential builder
A generalist business prices every job from scratch. A niche chosen against the business’s own capacity and the local demand makes estimates faster and margins steadier.
11 min read
QR codes on site: linking materials and inspections to records
A QR code on a pallet or a wall is only useful if the record it opens is the current, correct one. Labelling discipline and record control matter more than the technology.
11 min read
Heat pump outdoor unit placement: noise, airflow and clearances
The outdoor unit is the loudest and most visible part of a heat pump installation. Where it goes decides how well the system works and whether the neighbours complain.
12 min read
Structural engineer certificates: what builders should get in writing
An engineer’s certificate is only useful if it describes the work that is actually in the ground and on the frame, and the builder is the one who has to make that match.
11 min read
Why cash payments on a building job cause trouble
A client who offers cash looks like an easy win, but cash leaves no trail, and on a building job the trail is what protects the builder when something goes wrong.
11 min read
Free site templates for builders
SWMS, JSA, Take 5, inspection checklists, site diary, variations and payment claims. Word and PDF, free for commercial use.