How Long Does a Building Inspection Take?
A standard Adelaide pre-purchase building inspection takes 2 to 3 hours on site for a 3-bedroom home. A combined building and pest inspection takes 3 to 4 hours. Heritage stone, two-storey, or larger homes take 4+ hours. The written report is delivered within 48 hours of the site visit.
Site visit duration by property type
1-2 bedroom unit or apartment: 1 to 2 hours.
3-bedroom single-storey standalone: 2 to 3 hours.
4-bedroom or two-storey: 3 to 4 hours.
Heritage stone or 5+ bedroom: 4 to 5 hours.
Acreage or rural-residential with ancillary buildings: 4 to 6 hours.
Combo inspection duration
Building plus timber pest is typically 1 to 1.5 hours longer than building alone. The pest portion includes moisture meter readings, sound-tap testing of accessible timber, and inspection of conducive conditions.
What takes the time on site
External walk-around with photography (30-45 min).
Roof inspection from ladder or roof access (30-60 min).
Internal room-by-room (60-90 min for a 3-bed home).
Wet areas - bathrooms, kitchen, laundry (20-30 min).
Sub-floor crawl-through where accessible (15-30 min).
Roof void inspection (15-30 min).
Drainage, site, ancillary buildings (15-30 min).
Report turnaround
Standard turnaround is 48 hours from the site visit. Same-day reports are available from most inspectors and usually carry a premium.
If you're in cooling-off period pressure (SA cooling-off is two clear business days from contract), brief us with the urgency and we route requests to inspectors who can deliver inside 24 hours.
Can I attend the inspection?
Yes, and we recommend it. Inspectors will walk you through major findings on site so you understand what's in the report before you read it. Plan for the full duration on site so you can ask questions.
If you can't attend in person (interstate or overseas buyer), most inspectors can do a phone or video call walkthrough as part of the service.