In short: A new roof looks perfect from the street. On Clyde North handovers the drone and the manhole tell a different story, and the final payment is the last moment the builder has a reason to fix it quickly.
The roof is the blind spot
Owners walking a new Clyde North home at handover look at paint, tiles and joinery, because those are what they can reach. The roof of a double storey house is twenty metres of concrete tile and capping that nobody on the ground can judge. That is why so many of our handover findings sit there.
What turned up in 2025 and 2026
Cracked roof tiles in October 2025. A vent flashing damaged and needing resealing in December 2025. Hip end capping left unfinished in August 2026, open enough for rain to reach the roof space. Each one was photographed by drone and pinned to a location on the roof.
Inside the roof space
From the manhole the roof space shows a different set of items: heating ducts loose or never joined to their outlets, and in May 2026 a damaged truss repaired in a way that did not match any detail from the truss maker or an engineer. Neither shows from below except as a cold room or, years later, a sagging ceiling.
When to book
About two weeks before handover, once the builder has said the house is complete. The list goes to the site supervisor, the roofer comes back before settlement, and the reinspection confirms each item is closed before you sign off.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Clyde North. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
