Concrete deterioration: warning signs and their diagnostic significance
How spalling, rust staining and cracking should be interpreted before they develop into a structural scope, and why the visible damage understates the extent of contamination.
Read article →Victorian apartment defects: what the published research shows
Published research and Victorian Government findings on where apartment buildings fail, with the figures, the sources and the qualifiers that determine what each figure means.
Read article →Security of Payment in Victoria: the 2026 amendments and their effect on remedial contracts
The Victorian Security of Payment Act was substantially rewritten in April 2026 — excluded amounts abolished, reference dates removed, and a statutory pathway introduced for the release of performance security. The implications for remedial contracting.
Read article →Funding pathways for remedial works in Victorian owners corporations
Special levies, maintenance plans and staged scopes — the funding mechanisms available for major remedial works under the Owners Corporations Act 2006, and the resolution thresholds that apply to each.
Read article →Access methodology for facade works: comparing rope access, scaffold and platforms
The cost structure of each access method, the conditions under which each is appropriate, and the questions that establish whether an access allowance has been properly derived.
Read article →The scope of a condition investigation, and what the report should contain
The investigation that should precede any remedial quotation — the desktop review, the survey, the test methods selected by mechanism, and the contents of a condition report that can be relied upon.
Read article →Comparing remedial quotations: a method for assessing non-comparable scopes
Three quotations for the same building commonly price three different scopes. A structured method for committees and building managers to establish comparability before selecting a contractor.
Read article →Balcony leaks: failure mechanisms and cost apportionment in Victorian strata
The five failure points behind most balcony leaks, why the point of entry rarely corresponds to the point of appearance, and how repair cost is apportioned in Victorian strata.
Read article →Waterproofing membrane systems: applications, limitations and selection
Liquid-applied, PMMA, sheet and cementitious membranes — the applications each system suits, the conditions under which each fails, and why substrate and detailing govern the outcome more than product selection.
Read article →New articles are published twice monthly.