Residential
Building Reports
The buying or selling of a home is a very important financial decision. A pre-purchase inspection is an essential part of the process. We recommend you obtain an independent building condition and weathertightness risk assessment report by a properly qualified expert. These are often referred to as a ‘builders reports’ however your friendly builder does not have the experience and expertise, and is not insured, to provide such reports. Indeed many pre-purchase building inspection companies are not insured for weathertightness advice.
The Savanna Technical team is properly qualified and expert in the field of building condition and weathertightness risk assessment. Because our inspections and reports are completed by properly qualified building surveyors, our advice is fully insured, including for the most important risk of all – weathertightness.
Our reports are comprehensive and provide an expert assessment of the true condition and weathertightness risk features of the building. While our reports generally follow the provisions of New Zealand Standard 4306:2005, which is the New Zealand standard for residential property inspection, the emphasis in our reports is primarily focused on the weathertightness risk of the building envelope to enable you to avoid buying a ‘leaky building’. Our qualified weathertightness surveyor can deliver expert reliable reports on the weathertightness risk of the building envelope.
Because selling a home is a challenging and highly competitive situation; presentation of the house and supporting information about the condition of the house can be a valuable tool in both marketing the property and obtaining the best offer. Accordingly, Savanna Technical offers its building condition and weathertightness assessment service to both vendors and purchasers as pre-purchase and pre-sale tools. If a defect or issue exists it is preferable to deal with that issue before going to market.
Savanna Technical is the only Queenstown based company that can provide a Certified Weathertightness Surveyor to assess the weathertightness risk of a building.
BUILDING DISPUTES AND WEATHERTIGHTNESS
Savanna Technical manager Lindsay Williams MNZIBS CWS is a Registered Building Surveyor and Certified Weathertightness Surveyor. He is qualified, experienced and astute. His qualification is recognised by the courts and tribunals of New Zealand.
Lindsay has an extensive background and experience in the building and consulting industries and his expertise covers the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. An area of specialisation for Lindsay is investigating, reporting and advising on ‘leaky buildings’. He is qualified to assess the weathertightness performance of buildings and provide evidential reports and expert witness services.
He is an expert with respect to the Building Act, Building Regulations and Building Code. His analysis of building failures, and his analysis of other experts’ reports, is invaluable in assisting his client’s legal team to achieve the best possible outcome when involved in construction litigation.
Savanna Technical can assist with repairs and remediation of damaged buildings. Our consulting partners are experts at remediation design, contract supervision and administration. This is a particular area of specialisation for Savanna Technical with respect to remediation of buildings damaged resulting from weathertightness failure.
BODY CORPORATE
Long-Term Maintenance Plans
Savanna Technical provide long-term maintenance plans for Body Corporates in accordance with the Unit Titles Act 2010 and Unit Titles Regulations 2011. Our maintenance schedules project CPI adjusted annual costs over a 10 year period. We are partnered with fully qualified registered quantity surveyors and accordingly the rates we use are reliable and reflect actual costs.
Building Condition Surveys
The Savanna Technical team is properly qualified and expert in this field. Our advice and reports are fully insured including for the most important risk of all — weathertightness.
Our reports are comprehensive and provide an expert opinion about the true condition of the building and property. We inspect the council property file to check building consent records against what we see at the property.
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL
Building and Services Condition Surveys
We can inspect commercial and industrial buildings and report on their condition, the essential services connected to and contained within them. We coordinate other specialised consultants to provide reports on the building structure and specialised plant, equipment and infrastructure.
Health and Safety Audits
We can audit commercial and industrial buildings against the provisions of the NZ Building Act, including essential safety features of those buildings under the Act such as appropriateness of glazing, barriers, access stairs, and so on.
Development and Construction Services
We have extensive experience in development and construction management. A field of particular specialisation is coordinating and managing consultant teams to obtain resource consents.
Our technical staff are experts at auditing ‘as built’ works against contracted design and documentation. Our expertise enables us to act as ‘clerks of work’ on your construction project. The ‘clerk of works’ role has been superseded by project managers however we have identified that project management provides no assurance that the works have been carried out in accordance with the New Zealand Building Code, good trade practice, and the contract documentation. Departures from these often form the basis for post construction disputes. Employing the services of a properly qualified, experienced and vigilant Building Surveyor to monitor work on site will avoid costly litigation later on.
INSURANCE ASSESSMENT AND REINSTATEMENT
Savanna Technical produces Schedules of Condition and Schedules of Reinstatements for landlords, tenants and legal advisors. A Schedule of Condition records the condition of a premises, required for example, prior to entering into a lease. A Schedule of Reinstatement identifies alleged breaches of covenants either during the currency or at the termination of a lease. Repair costs are quantified to assist with damages recovery.
Our surveyors can assist loss adjusters and insurance companies to identify the actual cause of damage, and differentiate between gradual deterioration and sudden event circumstances. This is especially helpful in relation to water ingress claims and cracks allegedly resulting from seismic activity as opposed to settlement or workmanship quality of materials causes.
We provide repair and reinstatement contract design, tender, supervision and administration.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Concept to Completion
