You've come to the right place to learn all about residential construction and quality management. Before we forget, if someone forward you this newsletter, don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss out!
Howdy readers
This week: the C19 Periodic Safety Inspection Checklist, the new Fixing Stage checklist, a privacy-friendly alternative to Google Docs, and the housing news that caught my eye. The short version of the news? Everyone agrees on the problem (not enough social and affordable housing, high prices, supply and productivity issues), but the solutions on offer mostly make it easier to spend your savings and super on inflated prices.
Post 1: Build smarter and safer with the C19 checklist
A building site without a clear safety plan gets messy fast. The C19 Periodic Safety Inspection Checklist helps you stay on top of site safety, compliance and quality control, with inspection points from electrical safety to environmental controls. Regular checks prevent delays, avoid fines and keep people safe.
One note: C19 is a tool for running a safety plan, not a replacement for one. The normal process is to develop the safety plan first, then use the periodic checklist to inspect against it.
Read the guide below, then grab the C19 Periodic Safety Inspection Checklist.
Anthony Painter
I think this was the weirdest image I could find to represent "safety"
Posts 2 and 3: ChatGPT builder analyses
Ever wondered what an AI thinks of your potential builder? We asked ChatGPT to assess two large builders using the same method each time: quality, language, what they say versus what they do, and a score out of 10.
Please treat these as an experiment, not a verdict. The output is AI-generated and unverified, and it can get facts wrong. Do your own research before choosing a builder.
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
A musical interlude
I couldn't use the cover image without providing the song, so here it is.
Chris De Burgh - Don't Pay the Ferryman - YouTube
Constructor updates
The Fixing Stage checklist is out
The fixing stage covers a lot: internal linings, fix-out, joinery, waterproofing and ceramic tiling. Put all of that in one checklist and you'd have a novel. So the C12 Fixing Stage checklist covers the stage in general, and ceramic tiling gets its own detailed "how and why" checklist aligned with Australian Standards.
Knowing what to check is half the job. Knowing how each part should go together is where the real understanding comes from.
Get the C12 Fixing Stage Checklist, or see all our checklists.
New feedback page
We've added a FEEDBACK item to the menu. You can send feedback, see our changelog and roadmap, and upvote what you want us to do next.
Software of the week: CryptPad
Not sponsored. Just software we use.
Tired of big tech rummaging through your documents? CryptPad is a free, open-source alternative to Google Docs and Microsoft Office for documents, spreadsheets, slides and Kanban boards.
- End-to-end encrypted. Only you and your collaborators can read your files. CryptPad's servers can't.
- No account needed. Create a document and share the link, or sign up for a free account to keep things organised.
- Real-time collaboration with others.
- Hosted in France under strong European privacy laws.
The trade-offs: it can be slower with large spreadsheets and a bit clunky on small screens. For the privacy you get, I think that's fair.
The week's news
Our favourites are marked with a 🌯 or five.
5 April
- Build baby, build! But it won't fix it all. Read it
- 🌯🌯 Housing affordability: the crisis the major parties are too scared to fix. Read it
- 🌯🌯🌯 Grim video exposes bleak Australian housing truth. Read it
My comment: When will politicians step up on social and affordable housing? Developers won't solve this. It needs top-down policy, and the government has the power but keeps waiting for private companies to act.
6 April
- 🌯🌯 Like IKEA but for houses: could Sweden's housing revolution come to Australia? Read it
My comment: Yes, this is what's needed. Government should help prefab and modular builders scale up through tax incentives, R&D grants and land allocation, cut red tape, and set up a housing corporation like our existing investment corporations. I've written about it here, here and here.
7 April
- Student cap plan will damage economy without fixing housing crisis. Read it
- Audio: Coalition's international student cuts won't address housing. Listen
My comment: International students are a big industry and add to housing demand. But capping them doesn't build a single home. The only lasting fix for affordability is more dwellings.
8 April
- 🌯🌯🌯 BGC churns out Perth "shell homes" amid class action over years-long builds. Read it
My comment: BGC is one of Australia's largest builders. You'd think that means the most organised and the best quality. Size doesn't guarantee standards. As concretors and bricklayers love to say, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
- 🌯🌯 Election 2025: Evaluating the housing policies. Read it
My comment: Take this with a grain of salt, but neither party offers real change. Cutting red tape is minor. Both seem focused on stimulating the current market and its existing players, with little long-term vision beyond a four-year term.
- "How dare they": Renter slams Liberal Party's plan for first-home buyers to access their superannuation. Read it
My comment: A policy that's managed to alienate a whole generation of renters.
9 April
- 🌯🌯🌯 "Not a lot of political will": The unpopular fix for our housing woes. Read it
- National housing values soar 39% over last half-decade. Read it
- Construction cost growth slows. Read it
- Queensland construction industry value to surge as workforce shrinks. Read it
10 April
- 🌯🌯 Tradies abandon building project for NDIS recipients as alleged debts pile up. Read it
My comment: The NDIS home modification process has too many layers and stakeholders, and that inflates costs. We looked at working in this sector last year and found it painfully inefficient. Companies expected detailed designs and estimates for free, then came back months later asking when we could start. Meanwhile participants wait for essential modifications, sometimes literally stuck in mud in a wheelchair. I think it would work far better managed locally by councils using their building inspectors.
- Australia's housing shortage continues: new housing supply falls short by 62,000 homes in 2024. Read it
- National home values climb over 39% in five years but still fall short of the early 2000s boom. Read it
11 April
- Shrinking household sizes driving the housing crisis: Grattan Institute. Read it
- Why housing needs to remain a four-year priority (HIA). Read it
My comment: HIA talks about investing in the workforce. So where did the bricklayer training levy go? The ACCC approved an industry levy on bricks in 2009 and reauthorised it in 2014, adding about $15 to the cost of a house to fix the bricklayer shortage. We're still short of bricklayers. Levies that collect millions without delivering the promised workforce are part of where affordability went.
- The vast majority of NSW builders are doing the right thing (HIA). Read it
My comment: There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the National Construction Code or Australian Standards. The problem is the lack of compliance oversight and quality management to make sure builders follow them consistently. HIA points to award-winning homes as proof of quality, but industry awards mostly judge appearance. I'd like to see awards for building science, durability and quality systems.
- Report reveals Hunter housing crisis figures. Read it
- 🌯🌯🌯🌯 (2018) Housing crisis, what crisis? Read it
My comment: If you only read one article, make it this one. Back in 2018 the authors called for a National Housing Strategy. There's been plenty of time to act, and here we are.
The last word
Another music video that sums up how industry groups and political parties are approaching housing affordability. Enjoy.
Shania Twain - YouTube
The Constructor Forum
Got a question, or want to share quality construction work, a great product or someone doing great work in residential construction? Head over to the forum. Let's make it a positive place to give credit to good people, products and methods.
That's all for today
The best way to support us is to share this with three friends who'd find it useful. You can reach me on X, Mastodon or Bluesky at @obiwonky.
Anthony
