Inspection
Warning signs owners should not ignore, system by system
Buildings rarely fail without warning. The warnings are just easy to explain away.
Key points
- Treat any electrical warmth, burning smell or repeated tripping as urgent and stop using the circuit.
- If you smell gas, do not use switches, appliances or flames. Open the windows, leave the property and call your gas supplier or emergency services on 999 from outside the property.
- With water, find the source before repairing the stain.
- Most cracks and sticking doors are slow-moving; the point of an inspection is to tell which ones are not.
- If in doubt, describe what you see to Revive and ask for the right visit.
How to use this list
These are symptoms an owner or tenant can notice without tools. They follow the same eight systems Revive uses on every inspection. None of them is a diagnosis: each one is a reason to have the item looked at by someone who can tell a cosmetic issue from the start of a failure.
A. Electrical
A breaker that trips more than once, a socket or switch plate that feels warm or looks discoloured, a burning smell near the distribution board, lights that dim when a large appliance starts, corroded external or pool fittings. Electrical warning signs are a safety matter first. Stop using the circuit and have it checked.
B. HVAC
Water marks below an indoor unit, a unit that runs constantly without reaching temperature, ice on pipework, a musty smell from vents, a sudden rise in the electricity bill. Clogged condensate drains and blocked filters are simple to fix and costly to leave.
C. Plumbing
A stain that returns after painting, a musty cupboard under a basin, a tap that has lost pressure, a water heater that takes longer than it used to, a slow drain. Water damages whatever it reaches, so find the source first and repair the symptom second. A weeping angle valve is a small finding; the damp cabinet and ceiling it leads to are not.
D. Civil & Architectural
A crack that grows or reappears, tiles that sound hollow, damp patches near wet areas, paint that blisters. Hairline cracking is often cosmetic. Damp behind tiles and failed bathroom waterproofing are not, and they are hidden until they are looked for.
E. Carpentry & Joinery
Doors that start to stick or will not latch, wardrobe doors that sag on their carriages, kitchen carcasses that swell or delaminate near the sink. Joinery usually reports a moisture problem elsewhere, so the cause is worth finding before the doors are replaced.
F. External Areas
Cracked or open sealant at roof upstands and parapets, rainwater outlets blocked with dust, gate motors that hesitate, boundary walls with new cracks, external lights that fail. These are best dealt with before the rain season.
G. Safety & Compliance
Extinguishers past their service date, emergency lights that do not come on when tested, exposed conductors, trip and fall hazards on stairs and terraces, any smell of gas. If you smell gas, do not use switches, appliances or flames: open the windows, leave the property and call your gas supplier or emergency services on 999 from outside the property. On a Revive inspection, a safety hazard is made safe on the day, before anything is priced.
H. Soft & Hard Landscaping
Dry patches along a planted bed, shrubs that yellow or brown at the edges, water pooling after irrigation, unpruned trees touching walls or roofs. Failed dripper lines, salinity stress and waterlogged beds are the usual causes, and the inspection assesses them on the same visit. On the hard side, look for garden paving that has sunk or lifted and edging that has come loose.
What to do next
If you recognise one sign, a maintenance visit for that item is usually enough. If you recognise several, or you do not know the property's history, an inspection across all eight systems gives you the full picture, each finding photographed, located and prioritised from Immediate to Routine.
Property inspection (ReviveCheck)