How the NSW defect liability period actually works
The defect liability period in your contract is not the same thing as the statutory warranty period that runs regardless of what the contract says. Confusing the two is how builders end up paying for work twice.
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.
How the NSW defect liability period actually works
The defect liability period in your contract is not the same thing as the statutory warranty period that runs regardless of what the contract says. Confusing the two is how builders end up paying for work twice.
11 min read
Setting up bookkeeping systems for a building company
Most builders do not have a bookkeeping problem, they have a structure problem. The accounts are tidy enough; the job costing underneath them does not tell you which job made money until it is too late to do anything about it.
13 min read
Render and texture coat failure: diagnosing cracking, delamination and efflorescence
Render failures rarely begin in the render. Read the crack pattern, the drummy map and the salt bloom together and they point to the substrate, the mix or the water that is still getting in.
13 min read
Supervising apprentices: your WHS duties and the competency record
An apprentice is a worker under WHS law, and a young one with almost no ability to see risk. The duty sits with you, and the evidence of how you discharged it sits in your records.
13 min read
How skills shortages affect subcontractor rates and availability
When trades are scarce, the price you are quoted and the date you are promised both move. Understanding why lets you price the risk instead of absorbing it.
10 min read
Sensor monitoring for concrete curing and early age strength
Curing sensors do not make concrete stronger. They tell you when the concrete you have already placed is strong enough to strip, load or stress, so you can stop guessing with the programme and start deciding with evidence.
12 min read
Heat pump dryers and laundry ventilation in NSW homes
A heat pump dryer is not a vented dryer. It releases moisture into the laundry, and if the room is not designed to deal with it, the consequences show up in the building fabric. This article covers what to do on site.
14 min read
Security of payment adjudication in NSW: how the process and timeframes actually run
Adjudication under the Security of Payment Act is a fast statutory process, not a slow dispute resolution chat. The timeframes are short and unforgiving, and the side that misses one usually loses the argument before the merits are even considered.
13 min read
GST and BAS for building businesses: getting the mechanics right
GST on a building job is not one calculation at the end. It is a calculation attached to every progress claim, deposit, variation and retention release, and the BAS is where those calculations land. Get the timing wrong and you fund the ATO out of your own working capital.
10 min read
Wall cladding fixings, clearances and ground levels
Cladding rarely fails because the sheet was the wrong product. It fails because the fixing, the clearance or the ground level under it was set by habit rather than by the manufacturer’s instructions and the NCC.
12 min read
Site induction for subbies and visitors: what to record
An induction that is not recorded is an induction that did not happen. This covers what to put in front of subbies and visitors at a house site, and what to keep afterwards.
12 min read
From finance approval to construction start: scheduling the gap
Finance approval is not a start date. It is the point at which a client’s money becomes conditionally available, and the work of turning it into a site start falls largely on you.
11 min read
Client data, plans and privacy: what NSW builders should store, and when to delete it
Privacy risk sits in the data you keep, not just the data you lose. Here is how to separate records the law requires you to hold from client information you should have already deleted.
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.