What to check before anyone cuts into cracked concrete in Newcastle

What the cause tells you

UNSW's School of Materials Science and Engineering explains concrete cancer from the steel outwards: if there are cracks or pores in the concrete then water may seep in and react with the steel reinforcing to form rust. Concrete cancer is therefore a problem because the corrosion product is bigger than the metal from which it formed and also because the portion of the material that provides the strength is corroding.

That order matters for the checks below. The visible damage is the late stage, so the questions to ask a provider are about how far the steel has gone and who is allowed to deal with it.

Four checks, in the order an owner meets them

Each check below rests on one government or council statement, named, with the read date on the page it came from.

• The licence: NSW says a contractor licence is needed for building or trade work valued at more than A$5,000 in labour and materials, including GST. NSW lists no licence class of its own for concrete cancer repair, so ask which licence the quote is under.
• Who is responsible: The NSW Government says the owners corporation is responsible for maintenance and repair of common property, and owners repair anything in their own property. Check the strata plan and by-laws if it is not clear.
• The design: For apartment buildings, the NSW Government says remedial building work for class 2 buildings is regulated under the Design and Building Practitioners legislation, and a registered design practitioner must create the design.
• The heritage question: City of Newcastle says that where a property is a heritage item or in a heritage conservation area, most building works require development consent, and the City lists nine heritage conservation areas.

What none of this tells you

It says nothing about whether any particular building has concrete cancer, how much repair it needs or what it would cost; no government source sets a price and this site sets none. It also does not say that any property is a heritage item or in a conservation area: only the City can say that.

The checks are the questions that come before a quote, so a provider's answer to each is worth having in writing.