Pre Slab Pour Inspection
The pre-slab stage is the last time your home’s foundation is fully visible. This is your one chance to check the structure before it disappears under concrete.
A pre slab pour inspection is a foundation inspection carried out before the concrete is poured for your slab. It is a careful check of your home’s base, piers, steel reinforcement and formwork, making sure everything has been built correctly while it is all still visible. Because it happens before the concrete goes down, it is the one foundation inspection you cannot do later. With 25+ years of experience and thousands of new build inspections completed, Correct Inspections are the experts you want on site before the pour.
You may hear this stage called by different names. Your builder or your contract may refer to it as the base stage, and it is also known as a foundation inspection, or simply a pre-slab check. These all describe the same milestone.
This inspection stage is generally conducted the afternoon before the slab is scheduled for its concrete pour. Once concrete has been poured, there is no way to know what issues are hidden inside the slab structure, until it is too late.
Don’t leave your biggest investment to chance. Even experienced builders can make mistakes, and identifying defects before the slab is poured can help avoid costly repairs later. An independent inspection helps ensure your builder’s work is checked against relevant Australian Standards before the slab is poured.
The Correct Inspections Package
Here’s what you can expect from the diligent Correct Inspections team:
- Comprehensive site inspections: Thorough, independent checks of your base, piers, steel reinforcement, vapour barrier, and formwork before concrete is poured.
- Same-day digital reports: Detailed, easy-to-understand reports with photographs, emailed to you the same day as the inspection.
- Honest and upfront pricing: A transparent quote, tailored to your home, with no hidden fees.
Why choose Correct Inspections?
Registered and insured.
Registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly Victorian Building Authority), and fully insured.
Detailed reports.
We send our reports the same day, within just hours of the inspection.
Experienced.
25+ years of expertise, with thousands of new home construction phase inspections completed.
Fair pricing.
A sensible cost for the size of the decision, with fast, free quotes.
What We Check at Pre-Slab Stage
There are often defects present in the bored piers, steel, vapour barrier and formwork, and it is important to have them checked. While the building surveyor carries out required inspections, an independent pre-slab inspection provides an additional level of scrutiny before the concrete is poured.
Every concrete slab is individually designed for the specific ground conditions of your site. After a soil test confirms those conditions, the slab is engineered to suit. The design and its installation must comply with the National Construction Code’s Building Code of Australia, and the relevant Australian Standard, AS 2870 Residential Slabs and Footings.
The specific components we inspect at the pre slab pour stage include:
- vapour barrier
- stormwater and sewer drains
- steel reinforcement
- concrete cover
- pipe penetrations
- termite protection
- bored pier locations
- steel laps, location and installation
- adherence to Australian Standard AS 2870
- adherence to the Building Code of Australia
- adherence to your engineering documents
When is the Slab Ready to be Checked?
It can be a matter of only a week or so from when your builder starts on site to when the slab is ready to be checked, and you may not have spoken to your building supervisor yet. If the drainage plumbing pipes have been installed, the slab is likely only 1 or 2 days from ready.
The time between the slab being ready and the concrete being poured is only a matter of hours. Slab works can also be delayed a day or more by a small change in the weather, such as rain, wind, or excessive heat. We suggest you tell your builder early that Correct Inspections will be checking this stage, and ask for as much notice as possible.
Optional: Post Slab Pour Inspection
Some owners choose to add a Post Slab Pour Inspection, an optional check carried out after the concrete has been poured. It looks over the finished slab for any issues that only become visible once the concrete is down, allowing the finished slab to be checked before construction progresses to the next stage.
View a Sample Report
Once your inspection is complete, a detailed report is sent to you by email.
Click below to see an example from a recent project.
Our Inspection Process
Get in touch
Fill out the online form with some information about your new home so we can send you a quote.
Send the documents
Once you accept our quote, we will request the documents and information we need from you.
Confirm the booking
Our friendly team will contact you or your builder to confirm the inspection date and time.
Site inspection
One of our highly experienced inspectors will visit your home to carry out a thorough inspection.
Send the report
Your detailed, easy-to-understand report is sent by email within a few hours of the inspection.
Frequently Asked Questions
The pre-slab pour inspection takes place immediately before the concrete slab is poured, usually the afternoon before.
We check all the elements of your new home at the pre slab pour stage to make sure it has been properly constructed. There are literally hundreds of things we check, but the main ones are the base, pier locations, steel reinforcement, vapour barrier, waffle pod location, plumbing pipes and formwork, plus many more.
A pre slab pour inspection can sneak up on owners, as the builder may not provide updates until the last minute. We suggest you tell your builder as soon as possible that you are having this stage inspected, and try to give us 2 to 3 days’ notice.
Yes, we can help with that. Simply provide the contact details for your builder or site supervisor and we will arrange it, keeping you informed of any updates.
Pricing is transparent and tailored to your home’s size. View our pre-slab pour inspection pricing or request a free quote above.
Correct Inspections
Building Confidence… One inspection at a time. Contact Us.