Frequently Asked Questions

Standard assessments are typically booked within one to two weeks, with the report following a few business days after inspection. Urgent or make-safe situations are prioritised and attended as quickly as possible, often within a day or two. Exact timing is confirmed when you get in touch.

Our reports are prepared to the standard expected of independent expert evidence, by a NSW Registered Professional Engineer, following the conduct requirements that apply to expert witnesses. If your matter is headed to NCAT or another tribunal, let us know upfront so the report can be prepared with that specifically in mind.

Neither. Saymex is engaged directly by homeowners, insurers, builders, strata committees, and law firms, and gives the same independent, evidence-based opinion regardless of who's paying the fee. Our duty is to report what we actually find on site, not to support whichever side engaged us.

Saymex is based in Sydney and services NSW and the ACT. See our Areas We Service page for the full regional breakdown. If your suburb isn't listed, get in touch anyway, we're often able to travel further than the list suggests.

Cost depends on the scope, complexity, and location of the job, so we don't publish a flat number. Get in touch with the details of your situation and we'll provide a fixed-fee proposal before any work begins, so you know the cost upfront with no surprises.

Each answers a different question. A dilapidation report records a property's condition before and after nearby works to establish whether anything changed. A defect causation report investigates a specific piece of damage and determines what caused it. An insurance report assesses damage in the context of a claim, typically addressing whether it's consistent with the claimed event.

An Investigative Structural Assessment diagnoses a specific issue and its likely cause for the property owner's own understanding. An Independent Expert Assessment is prepared with the added conduct requirements of formal expert evidence, typically for a dispute, tribunal, or legal matter, where the report itself needs to meet expert witness standards.

No. A structural report records observations, opinions on likely cause, and recommendations, it is not a certificate of compliance with any Act, Regulation, or by-law, and doesn't guarantee the absence of defects in concealed or inaccessible areas.

Diagnosis and recommendations only. Regulated design does not form part of Saymex's services, a report identifies the condition and recommends a direction for remedial action, but remedial works cannot be undertaken on the basis of a report alone, a separate scope of works and, where required, a registered design practitioner would need to be engaged.

Copyright in the report remains with Saymex, but on full payment the client is granted a licence to use it for the purpose it was prepared for. If you need to share it with a third party, such as an insurer or another party to a dispute, that's generally fine, just let us know the context so the report is framed appropriately.

Severity depends on more than just width, growth over time, associated symptoms like doors and windows binding, and the underlying cause all matter. A hairline crack that hasn't moved in years is a very different situation to a narrower crack that's actively widening. If you're unsure, it's worth having it looked at rather than guessing from a photo.

If a building and pest inspection has flagged cracking, or you've spotted it yourself during an open home, a structural assessment gives you an independent read on whether it's cosmetic, historic, or something that needs addressing before you commit. It's cheaper to know before you buy than after.

A building and pest inspection is a broad visual check across the whole property, including pest activity, and will often flag a concern rather than diagnose it. A structural assessment goes deeper on a specific structural issue, identifying the likely cause and what, if anything, needs to happen next.

A visual, non-intrusive inspection of the relevant areas, recording observations and photographs, and where useful, a floor level survey. Nothing is opened up, dismantled, or removed as part of a standard inspection, that level of investigation is a separate, explicitly scoped step if it's ever needed.

Generally yes, or someone who can provide access to the relevant areas, including internally where applicable. If access to a specific area isn't available on the day, that area is simply excluded from the report rather than the whole inspection being delayed.

Clear access to the areas of concern, note roughly when you first noticed the issue, and if you have any earlier photos showing how it's changed over time, have them ready. That timeline is often more useful than people expect.

No comment is made on any area that's denied or obstructed at the time of inspection, and no charge applies to that area. If access becomes available later, a follow-up attendance can usually be arranged, charged at the standard hourly rate for the additional visit.

You'll be told on site, not left waiting for the written report. Where warranted, immediate make-safe recommendations are given verbally at the time, with the full written report following afterward.

A make-safe recommendation addresses an immediate safety risk, such as a collapsed structure or an area that's become unstable, before the full investigation and report are completed. If something has visibly failed or you're unsure whether an area is safe to use, that's the situation this is for.

A strata committee can engage Saymex directly. In practice, correspondence is often addressed to the Owners Corporation care of the managing agent, with a specific contact named for liaison, but the instructing decision sits with the committee either way.

Yes, this is a pre-demolition or pre-construction dilapidation report, establishing the baseline condition of a neighbouring property before works start, so any later change can be properly compared against it.

No, a structural assessment itself doesn't require council approval, it's a visual, non-intrusive inspection of an existing property. Council involvement only becomes relevant if the assessment's recommendations lead to actual remedial or building works.

Yes, an independent second opinion is a normal, legitimate reason to engage a separate structural engineer, particularly where a finding is being disputed or a large decision rests on it. Let us know upfront that another engineer is already involved, so that context is properly reflected in the report.