A NSW Licensed Builder (497435C) inspects the home and writes it up plainly: every defect ranked P1 / P2 / P3, with the likely cause and what it costs to put right. Buying or already own, you get a builder who can price the repair, not a checklist that sends you elsewhere.
Piper Moss is a NSW Licensed Builder first. We read the property the way a builder does: what to fix now, what can wait, and what each fix will cost, so you can budget it or negotiate on it before you sign. Every finding gets a likely cause and a real recommendation, not "evidence of deterioration observed" boilerplate, and the report you get on day two is one a trade can quote from on day three.
Active builder's licence, public liability and workers compensation. Reporting work covered under professional indemnity.
Piper Moss has set the standard over 40+ years of award-winning Sydney residential and heritage work, and carries it into every report.
Every defect is graded P1 immediate, P2 urgent, or P3 routine, so you know what to fix this week, this quarter, and this year.
Not just "evidence of decay observed." Every finding includes a probable cause and a recommended remediation a competent trade can quote from.
The licence on the cover belongs to the person on the tools. Your inspection is carried out by a working NSW licensed builder who prices and builds remediations every week, which is why every finding in a Piper Moss report ends in a fix a trade can actually quote.
Sample
An actual report on a two-storey Sydney home: structural steel-beam corrosion, a failed balcony membrane, ceiling mould and wet insulation. Name, address and costings are redacted; every defect, photo and finding is exactly as delivered, and you do not need to hand over your email to read it.
The public sample has its costings section removed. Full client reports include two costed remediation options per major defect.
Prefer to talk it through first? Book a 48hr report →Most building inspections stop at "evidence of deterioration observed." A pre-purchase inspector documents the fault and refers you on. A licensed builder ranks it, costs it, and can carry out the repair: one accountable party, one licence number.
| What you get | Piper Moss, Lic. 497435C | A typical building inspection |
|---|---|---|
| Costs the repair | Full reports include two costed remediation options per major defect, so you can budget or negotiate | No, most state the report "does not provide a cost of repair" |
| Every defect ranked by urgency | Yes, P1 immediate / P2 urgent / P3 routine on every finding | Varies, usually a binary major / minor grid |
| Cause & fix on every finding | Yes, a probable cause and a recommended remediation written against each | Sometimes, often "evidence of deterioration observed" boilerplate |
| Written by | NSW Licensed Builder (497435C), 2nd-generation Sydney builder | A checklist inspector |
| Turnaround | Firm 48hr from the site visit | 24hr+, varies by franchise |
"A typical building inspection" refers to the standard checklist / building-and-pest model. Piper Moss gives you a licensed builder's inspection and report, before you buy or after. We do not issue AS 4349.1 certificates or timber-pest reports, so if you want timber pest as well, we will point you to a pest inspector to run alongside ours.
Our story starts with Stephen, 40+ years building Sydney's most demanding residential projects, with the awards and reputation to match.
Stephen founded Piper Moss more than 40 years ago. Across four decades he has delivered award-winning residential architecture across Sydney, the kind of work that demands precision, patience, and a builder willing to stake their name on every detail. Hubert grew up on those sites, learned the standard by doing, and now runs Piper Moss as owner-operator.
Two licences. One way of building. You get direct access to either Stephen or Hubert, the person who knows your project inside out, and answers for it personally.
Stephen has been building Sydney's homes for four decades. That experience is in every Piper Moss project.
MBA-recognised residential work. The standard set on Stephen's sites is the standard you get here.
You deal with the builder. Always.
Fixed-price PDF, no subscription, no upsell, and no obligation to use us for the fix. Reports from $350.
Buying or already own. A licensed builder walks every accessible part of the home and documents each defect, ranked P1 / P2 / P3 with a recommended fix. The report most people need.
About to renovate or get works quoted. A trade-by-trade scope any builder or tradesperson can quote from, with sequencing notes tied to the defect findings.
Multiple units or common property, in one document a strata committee can act on. Priority-ranked across the portfolio, with per-property detail.
Managing your own build and want a licensed builder to sanity-check it. On-site walk-through, verbal advice, and a short written summary.
Your roof from twenty metres up. High-resolution aerial imagery of the whole roof, ridge, flashings, valleys and chimneys, no scaffold or ladder risk. Pairs with a defect report or stands alone.
The unglamorous half of every roof, and the cheapest report that catches the most expensive damage. Gutters, downpipes, rust-through, fascia rot and eaves decay, checked from the ground and above.
Every finding is graded on the same three tiers, so you know what to deal with first. The grade tells you when, the recommendation tells you what to do, and a photo shows you exactly which element we mean. See how P1 / P2 / P3 reads in the 9-page sample →
Active fall hazards, electrical risks, ceiling failures, sub-floor leaks affecting footings. Action without delay.
Live leaks, advancing timber decay, cladding failures, doors that won't close from swelling. Schedule into the current works program.
Function failures, finishing items, lapsed paint protection, ventilation upgrades. Schedule as resourcing allows.
Send the property details and the report you want. We confirm and lock in the site visit, usually same day.
Same DayHubert attends on-site, walks the property and photographs every defect, plus drone roof and gutter coverage if booked.
1.5-4 HoursFindings are sorted by priority and written up in the Piper Moss format, every one photo-referenced.
Same / Next DayYou get the PDF by email, plus a call to walk you through the priorities. The report is yours to use.
Within 48hrsEvery Sydney home has its predictable failure modes. These are the ones we catch most often, and what they really cost to put right.
Wet patches or bubbling paint on a ceiling below a balcony almost always mean a failed waterproof membrane above, not a roof leak. The durable fix is to lift, re-membrane to AS 4654.2 and re-tile, not seal over the top.
Musty smell, salt on lower walls, springy floors. Usually failed subfloor ventilation or a slow leak, and in pre-1940 homes, eroding sandstone footings that are structural and worth catching early.
Blocked gutters overflow into the eaves for years, the gutter rusts from the inside and the cladding behind follows. We see it on every second roof, cheap to catch, expensive to ignore.
In pre-1950 homes the keys holding a lath-and-plaster ceiling fatigue and let go. Almost always an immediate (P1) finding, because partial collapse is a falling-debris hazard.
Night noise, droppings, odd electrical faults. Wildlife in the cavity chews cables and displaces plumbing, so the faults are usually a consequence, not a coincidence.
Soft timber at the base of verandah posts, handrails that move, windows that stick. Failed paint lets moisture into the joints, worst at the post-to-slab junction where water sits.
Standard service across Greater Sydney, with recent reports in Paddington, Mosman, Bondi, Surry Hills and across the Inner West. Travel beyond on application.
Surry Hills, Paddington, Bondi, Randwick, Woollahra and across the Eastern Suburbs.
Newtown, Marrickville, Balmain, Glebe, Ashfield and the wider Inner West.
Mosman, Cremorne, Neutral Bay, North Sydney, Crows Nest and nearby.
Manly, Dee Why, Avalon, plus the Sutherland Shire. Travel beyond on application.
Yes. A NSW Licensed Builder (497435C) inspects the home before you buy and writes up every defect, ranked P1 / P2 / P3, with what it is likely to cost to fix, so you can budget it or negotiate. One note: this is a licensed builder's building inspection, not an AS 4349.1 certificate or a timber-pest report. If you want timber pest as well, we will point you to a pest inspector to run alongside ours.
The defect report on a standard freestanding home is from $350. Other reports: scope-of-works from $690, strata or multi-property from $1,950 (on application), owner-builder consultation from $300, drone roof from $290, and gutter & eaves from $250. Fixed price, confirmed before we book.
Yes, and it is the main reason to use a builder. Full reports include two costed remediation options against each major defect, so you know what it takes to put right, not just that something is wrong. Most inspections won't: many state outright that the report "does not provide a cost of repair." (The public sample on this page has its costings removed for privacy; your own report includes them.)
Defect, drone roof and gutter reports land within 48hrs of the site visit. Scope-of-works is 2 to 4 business days, strata and multi-property 5 to 10 by agreement. On a tight settlement? Ask, and we will do our best to fast-track.
Yes, with no email required. We publish a real 9-page Piper Moss report (client name, address and costings redacted) as a free download, so you can see exactly how the findings and P1 / P2 / P3 grading read before you book. Read the sample.
No. The report is yours to use however you like, and we write it so any competent licensed tradesperson can quote and carry out the works. Many clients do come back to us for the repairs, but there is no obligation.
Share the property and the report you want. We confirm the fixed fee, book the site visit, and have your report in your inbox within 48hrs.
Call: 0478 183 300
Email: stephen@pipermoss.com.au
Servicing: Greater Sydney & Northern Beaches
NSW Licensed Builder · Licence No. 497435C · Fully Insured
Piper Moss has set the standard over 40 years of award-winning Sydney building. One family, one way of building.
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