Inspector West carries out building and timber pest inspections in Byford for buyers, sellers and people taking a new house at handover. Brian Collins, a WA registered builder (BC13603) with more than 33 years of building experience, inspects the property and writes the report.
Byford is in the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. The Shire describes the Byford precinct as running from Thomas Road and the South Western Highway in the north to Cardup Siding Road in the south, and from Hopkinson Road in the west to the Darling Range Regional Park in the east. The town centre is the older part of the suburb. Most of the recent housing is in estates to the west of that centre and on land rising toward the range. Byford is part of the Perth metropolitan area for the purpose of this service.
On 3 October 2026, REIWA listed 87 houses for sale in Byford, with surrounding suburbs excluded.
What the inspection covers
A combined inspection is a building inspection with reference to AS 4349.1 and a timber pest inspection with reference to AS 4349.3, done in one visit. Both are visual and limited to safely accessible areas.
The inspection covers the site, exterior, roof exterior, roof space, subfloor where there is one, interior and outbuildings. The timber pest inspection looks for termites, borers of seasoned timber and wood decay fungi, and for conducive conditions, including moisture, poor drainage, timber in contact with the ground and bridged or missing barriers.
Photographs accompany the findings. Electrical, plumbing and gas compliance, swimming pools and asbestos identification are outside the scope. See pre-purchase inspections.
Who it is for
Buyers. There is no mandatory cooling-off period for residential contracts in Western Australia. Buyers usually rely on a building and timber pest condition, and the time allowed is often short. Book on the day the offer is accepted.
Sellers. A seller inspection before listing gives a written, photographic account of condition. That matters for both older houses near the town centre and estate houses that are only a few years old and already being resold.
Handover. Stage inspections and practical completion inspections are available for houses still being built in Byford. The report is a list the owner can give to the builder before settlement of the building contract.
Housing in Byford
Two kinds of house dominate inspections here. One is the older housing and infill around the original townsite along the South Western Highway. The other is the estate housing built as Byford has grown, including estates such as The Glades, on land between the highway and the range.
The eastern boundary is the Darling Range Regional Park, so many lots are not flat coastal-plain blocks. On sloping sites the inspection includes retaining walls, finished levels against the building, pavement, and where surface water is directed. Visible cracking is recorded. Where a likely cause is visible, such as a downpipe discharging against a footing or a garden bed above the slab edge, that is noted. The inspection does not replace a geotechnical report and does not state a site class. Developer material for individual estates sometimes quotes a site classification; that document belongs to the lot, and this inspection does not audit it.
Byford is inland, at the foot of the scarp, not on the coast. Salt-laden air is not the exposure that applies in Mandurah or along the northern beaches. Termites are a genuine risk across the Perth metropolitan area, including new estates, and a building inspection is not a substitute for the timber pest inspection.
Byford is sometimes grouped, loosely, with regional towns further south. For Inspector West it is metropolitan coverage. The combined inspection uses the metropolitan price basis below, not a regional rate.
Price
A combined building and timber pest inspection is priced from $550 including GST, depending on location. Building-only and timber pest-only inspections are quoted on request. Reports are digital, include photographs, are written by Brian Collins, and are usually delivered on the day of the inspection.
Suburbs nearby
Nearby localities include Cardup, Mundijong, Darling Downs, Oakford, Hilbert, Wungong and Armadale, with Karrakup and the range to the east.
Metropolitan coverage is described on building and timber pest inspections in Perth. The southern coastal corridor, which is a different setting, is on the Rockingham and Mandurah pages.
Book an inspection in Byford
Call 1300 080 554 or email brian@inspectorwest.com.au with the address. For a house not yet handed over, say that a practical completion inspection is required. Online booking is available where times are shown. Inspector West: inspectorwest.com.au.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What does a building and pest inspection cost in Byford?
A: A combined building and timber pest inspection is priced from $550 including GST, depending on location. Byford is within Perth metropolitan coverage. Building-only and timber pest-only inspections are quoted on request.
Q: Do you inspect new estate houses before handover?
A: Yes. Stage inspections and practical completion inspections are available in Byford estates. The report photographs and lists items so they can be raised with the builder. Resale houses in those estates are inspected as pre-purchase or pre-sale inspections.
Q: What is different about blocks near the Darling Range?
A: The eastern side of Byford rises toward the Darling Range Regional Park. On sloping lots, retaining walls, levels and surface drainage are part of the visual inspection, and visible cracking is recorded. The inspection does not classify the soil and does not replace the lot’s geotechnical report.
Q: When will I get the Byford report?
A: Reports are usually delivered on the day of the inspection. Brian Collins writes the report. It includes photographs of the findings.