In short: Not every defect is urgent, and confusing the two wastes everyone's attention. These two Leppington findings sit at opposite ends of that scale.
The weep hole
Weep holes let moisture out of a brick cavity and let it breathe. With none, water that gets into the cavity - and it always does - stays there. The damage is slow, cumulative and mostly invisible until it reaches something it can rot or stain. We record missing weep holes here regularly.
The steel post
Bolts missing at a steel post is a different category. Steel posts and their beam connections carry concentrated load, and the bolts are what transfer it. That is a today problem, not a decade problem, and it is a factual finding against the engineering rather than a judgement.
Reporting both honestly
A report that treats every item as equally urgent gets skimmed. Ours separates what needs action now from what needs action eventually, because a builder who trusts the report acts on it faster.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Leppington. Licensed building practitioners.
