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Truss plants form part of the roof inspection process.
are in ensuring industry standards
are upheld.
A balanced practical aspect is offered, as
students visit two different construction
sites – one with a timber roof built to
standard and another with a timber roof in
distress due to ineffective bracing. The site
visits make for lively discussions around
site observations, ethics in the line of roof
inspections and the potential
entrepreneurial opportunities available to
roof inspectors.
The Roof Inspector Training courses
conclude with a slide show and discussion
of non-compliant roofs and their
consequences as well as a non-compulsory
written evaluation.
Although each course runs over three
days, Bailey stresses that it takes longer to
become a qualified inspector.
“The world of timber trusses is so
specialised, it takes a number of years to
really get into it. Don’t look at three-day
course and think you can go from zero to
qualified. There’s a lot of background and
learning required,” he says.
Additionally, being a designer doesn’t
mean that you can inspect or erect a roof.
“Each field is specialised,” says Obbes.
Getting certified
Certifying a roof is a lengthy process; from
the building design being approved, trusses
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FEBRUARY 2018
RESIDENTIAL // COMMERCIAL // INDUSTRIAL
“
There is a checklist
that inspectors
go through.”
are manufactured and delivered to site and
erected, municipality checks, inspectorate
checks and so on. “The municipality gets
involved in new projects as various
certificates are required prior to occupation
such as glazing, plumbing, electrical and
roofing,” Bailey says. However, if the
structure is fully designed and correctly
finished, certification can be received
within a matter of days.
“The certificate is called a loading
certificate, which includes ceilings and tiles.
Once this is handed over to builder, he is
permitted to install the ceiling and lay the
roof tiles,” he says. The certification only
applies from the wall plate upwards. If it
happens that there is a fault in the
structure, whoever is responsible is liable to
fix it. However, if the roof was never signed
off and occupation was granted without
this, responsibility of failure falls on the
owner,” says Stian de Jager.
A unique situation with any commercial,
retail or public building roofs is where you
have a separate act covering it such as the
Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) Act.
“Under this act there are construction
regulations that state that the owner is
liable. The owner then needs to seek
recourse from the respective parties at
fault, if it can be traced,” he says.
There is a checklist that inspectors work
through, but inspection really starts at the
manufacturing plant.
“We start by going to the roof
manufacturer and sourcing official
drawings. These include layout and details
of trusses as well as the bracing. The
paperwork is then taken on site to check
that what is on paper matches what is on
site,” says Bailey. Should he see errors
between the design and structure, he will
compile a list of items to fix which is given
to the owner, who will pass it on to the