Building consultancy · Defect inspections · Expert evidence · NSW
Protos Building Consultants provides defect inspections, condition reports and expert witness reports for homeowners, strata, builders, manufacturers and their lawyers. Residential, strata and commercial buildings across NSW. Engineering-led, standards-literate and independent.
Independent inspection, reporting and advice on residential, strata and commercial buildings.
Inspections of new and existing buildings with a clear photographic record of each defect, its cause, the requirement it breaches and the scope of rectification. Includes defect schedules, incomplete-works records and strata building reports.
Independent expert reports for NCAT and NSW Supreme Court proceedings, including single joint expert engagements, reports in reply, joint conferences and joint reports.
Remedial waterproofing design for balconies, podiums, roofs and wet areas: terminations, falls, drainage and junction details, specified with the membrane manufacturer.
Steel roofing and cladding assessment: fixings, laps, flashings, penetrations, box gutters, drainage capacity and corrosion in coastal and industrial environments.
Flood and water testing, moisture mapping and targeted opening-up to trace a leak to its source before anyone spends money on repairs.
Product and system advice for manufacturers and suppliers: façade compliance, CodeMark, installation guidance, test programs and technical literature.
Selected findings from issued reports. The photographs are from the original photographic records; select one to enlarge it.
Instructed to give an opinion on whether the work required by a Building Commission NSW rectification order on a residential apartment building resulted from defective work, and what a reasonable builder should have done to avoid it.
A defect schedule for a new two-storey home, inspected room by room over three days. Among more than a hundred items, the most serious was structural: the first-floor west wall over the dining room, carried on a steel beam, was out of vertical alignment.
Recurring leaks over the trading floor had been blamed on the box gutter, which had already been sealed with bitumen. The inspection traced the water to services penetrating the upper-roof wall cladding directly above it.
A whole-of-roof condition report on an ageing steel roof with internal water ingress. Years of maintenance had relied on sealant and over-painting rather than correct flashing details.
Commissioned by the strata manager after recurring leaks into a tenancy below the roof. The inspection worked from the damaged ceilings up to the box gutters to identify each source.
A balcony above offices and a staff lunchroom had been letting water into the rooms below. Protos investigated the failure, wrote the remedial specification with the membrane manufacturer, then inspected the new sheet membrane before tiling.
Inspections for the owners corporation during balcony waterproofing remediation, checking the work against the approved plans and the membrane manufacturer's details while it was being installed.
Field inspections for the project manager across the build, covering façade weatherproofing, balcony hobs and flashings, and the podium membranes before the raised garden beds were filled.
Expert report in a dispute over roof restoration work. Rather than rely on opinion, targeted water testing was used to reproduce each leak and show the path the water takes into the building.
Commissioned for the owners corporation after long-running water damage to a unit below a terrace. Targeted hose testing on the terrace and windows above showed where the water enters the brick cavity and how it reaches the rooms below.
Inspection and flood testing of a bathroom with suspected leaks. Water appeared outside the shower soon after testing began, well away from the shower itself.
Project locations are given by area only. Client and property details are withheld to protect confidentiality.
For solicitors and parties to residential and commercial building disputes. Each engagement follows the same disciplined sequence.
We confirm scope, the questions to be answered, the documents provided and any conflicts before accepting.
Site inspection and testing, with every observation photographed, located and recorded.
Each defect is described, tied to the contract, NCC or Australian Standard it breaches, and given a rectification scope.
We confer with the other party's expert and prepare a joint report setting out agreement and disagreement.
Concurrent evidence or cross-examination at hearing, if the matter proceeds.
Our duty is to the Tribunal or Court, not to the party paying the fee. Reports are prepared in accordance with the Expert Witness Code of Conduct, and that is what makes them useful to you.
George Nikolas
Director · B.E. (Civil)
George is a civil engineer with more than twenty-five years in the building products industry and building consultancy. He began on site as a project engineer with John Holland, then spent sixteen years in technical services leadership at CSR Building Products and Stramit, including design engineering for CSR Hebel.
At CSR he led façade system design, testing and NCC compliance work, including CodeMark certification of façade systems used in Class 2 and 9c buildings. Before founding Protos he was a senior building consultant with The Construction Adviser.
That background means he reads a defect from both sides: how the system was designed and tested to perform, and how it was actually installed.
We help write the guidance we assess work against.
Supporting training, technical guidance and better practice across the waterproofing industry.
Contributing to the industry reference standard for steel roofing and wall cladding installation.
Sydney & regional NSW
Send a short outline of the property, the issue and any hearing dates. We will confirm availability and any conflict before you send documents.
Suite 4, 193–195 Rocky Point Road, Ramsgate NSW 2217
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