Catherine Field Building
Inspections

A cladding gap, examined on its own

One question, answered against the requirement.

Catherine Field 2557 · 1 December 2025

Fully licensed & accredited

  • NSW Fair Trading NSW Fair Trading
  • Australian Society of Building Consultants Australian Society of Building Consultants
  • Strata Community Association Strata Community Association
  • Building Dispute Practitioners Society Building Dispute Practitioners Society

In short: A cladding gap assessed for compliance in an Austral defect investigation.

What an investigation looks like

One element, examined in whatever depth the question needs, and written for people who currently disagree. This one was a cladding gap, recorded under a compliance heading.

Why gaps in cladding matter

The junctions in a cladding system are part of how it sheds water. A gap outside what the system permits is a route behind the cladding, into a space nothing is designed to drain.

What we do not do

No opening up, no sampling, no certification. The report establishes the condition and the requirement, and names who has to resolve it.

What makes it usable

A located photograph, the measured condition, and the clause or manufacturer requirement it falls short of. Those three things together are what a builder, an insurer or a tribunal can act on.

Where it goes

Straight to the builder, in writing, first. Then NSW Fair Trading's dispute resolution service, and then NCAT if it has to.

Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Catherine Field. Licensed building practitioners.

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FAQ

Questions Catherine Field owners ask about this

Will a tribunal accept the report?

It is usually the first document in the file. NCAT generally wants an expert witness report drawn to its practice note, and we prepare those as separate work.

Can you tell how long water has been getting in?

No, and we say so. Dating water ingress from a visual inspection is beyond what the method supports.

How much does an investigation cost?

It depends on the question and the access. Describe the dispute in the form and a fixed price comes back.

Do I need an engineer as well?

Sometimes, and the report says when. Structural opinions and remedial design belong to an engineer, not to an inspector.

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