Australian property inspector reveals shoddy workmanship by Australian craftsmen

An Australian property inspector has revealed he has received death threats for exposing the “horror” work at seedy, off-plan homes in viral videos.

Site inspections found defects in a new Melbourne home bought by an off-plan young woman that he estimated would cost $100,000 to repair.

A video uploaded to TikTok showing close-ups of the flawed finish and a slick comment where builders failed to meet minimum standards has been viewed more than 541,000 times.

“Buy the plan, buy horror,” he said.

Site Inspections’ Zeher found defects in a new Melbourne home bought by a young woman outside of plan, which he estimated would cost $100,000 to repair (pictured, he claimed the facade was not to plan).

A velvet-voiced Australian property inspector has revealed he has received death threats for exposing the “horror” work at seedy homes that go off plan in viral videos

Although the woman settled on the Tullamarine home featured in the video, she booked a property viewing after her father-in-law’s insistence.

“She didn’t want to be examined, but her father-in-law told her that she had to have an examination as soon as possible,” said Inspector Zeher.

“Let’s just say she’s very lucky to have taken his advice.

“It looks like the poor homeowner has a lot to do before she can move in.”

A viewer on TikTok described Inspector Zeher’s comment accompanying the close-ups of poor workmanship as “like David Attenborough, but for houses.”

At one point, Zeher uses a torch to shine a light into a cavity left open by missing bricks. Inside are twigs and feathers that indicate a bird is already building a nest.

“The lack of masonry allows water to seep into the property and creates a habitat for birds and other creatures,” he said.

But not everyone was so reassured by the videos. Another commenter asked what the builders thought of his brutal criticism.

“They hate my guts,” I received offensive messages all the time! The youngest builder has given me death threats if I inspect one of his houses!’

A viewer on TikTok described Inspector Zeher’s comment accompanying the closeups of the poor workmanship as “like David Attenborough, but for houses” (Pictured shows the man where missing brickwork has apparently allowed birds to make a nest in a build open cavity)

The canopy was unattached in places and didn’t meet building standards, he claimed, while the plaster on the front step was “horrible.”

The inspector showed a catalog of defects and poor and non-conforming workmanship in the roofing, plumbing, concrete work, painting, plastering and facade of the woman’s new Tullamarine home.

Some of the reviews seemed harsh – but he explained why things like the paintwork were sub-standard.

“The paintwork is defective if the application shows defects such as color runs, paint sagging, wrinkles, bare or starved paint areas, color deviations, surface cracks, irregular and coarse brush marks and sanding marks.

The paintwork appeared spotted and unfinished in places. A makeshift-looking set of power cords sat behind a switched-off stove

“To me it looks like the paintwork is incomplete or just extremely bad.”

The canopy was a big problem – confirmed by commentators: “I think it’s more work than the paint job,” said one man.

“The entire roof has to be dismantled, the masonry finished, plastered and concreted again.”

Another commenter asked, “What happens now that she’s settled?”

“Judicial proceedings,” Site Inspections replied. ‘Unless [the] Baumeister is coming back, which I suspect he won’t be. There are over $100,000 worth of defects here.’

It appeared the woman would have to re-hire plasterers, roofers, painters, concrete workers and builders to bring the house up to minimum Australian standards.

The company said that someone unhappy with the results of a building inspection could take legal action against a builder to recover the cost of any work needed to bring a home up to minimum standards.

At the beginning of the clip, Zeher shows a comparison between contract plans on an iPad and the finished facade and calls it “incredible”.

“After reviewing the contract plans, it seems to me that the front view doesn’t look like the plan documents at all,” he said.

At point point, Zeher showed a stormwater pit that appeared to have been started but not completed

Some of the paintwork and plasterwork looked shabby and the water resistance was substandard

“The contractor got confused and put the wrong siding on the wrong side of the house, so the front end didn’t look like the contract papers at all.

“The work in this house did not meet the minimum standards.”

He showed “deteriorated” exterior paint and “terrible and incomplete” plastering on the step leading to the front door.

He said the installation of outdoor air conditioning, roofing, caulking and painting was “non-compliant” and revealed a “rainwater pit” in the garden that appeared to have begun but not been completed.

He also showed an oven that wasn’t firmly in place with loose wires behind it.

“The devices were also neither repaired nor connected,” he said.

Site Inspections is based in Victoria but has inspectors based in other Australian cities including Sydney.