Brick veneer is the most common form of house construction in Australia, which means if you're house hunting you'll likely inspect plenty of them. The name causes confusion, so it's worth understanding first: a brick veneer home has a single outer layer of brick wrapped around a timber or steel frame. The brick is the skin, not the structure. Inside those external walls is a timber frame with plasterboard lining. This matters because the things that go wrong with brick veneer are different to a solid double brick home.
Here's how to work through one properly.
Start outside, from the street
Before you go in, stand back and look at the roofline. It should be straight and even. Sagging, dipping, or a wavy ridge line can point to structural movement or a tired roof frame, and that's an expensive thing to put right. Note the roof material while you're there: tiles, Colorbond, and older tin all age differently.
Then look at the brickwork itself. You're checking three things. First, cracks. Fine hairline cracks are common and usually harmless, but cracks wider than about 5mm, cracks that step diagonally through the mortar, or horizontal cracks are worth flagging for a building inspector. Second, look for white powdery deposits on the brick surface. This is efflorescence: salt left behind as moisture moves through the brick, and it tells you water is getting in somewhere. Third, look at the mortar between the bricks. It should be solid. Crumbling or missing mortar lets water into the wall.
While you're walking the perimeter, find the 'weep holes' (small gaps left in the mortar along the bottom row of bricks). They let the cavity between the brick skin and the frame drain and breathe. They should be clear, not blocked by soil, garden beds, or paint.
Water is the enemy
Most expensive problems in a brick veneer home trace back to water. Check that the ground slopes away from the house, not toward it. Water pooling against the base of the walls finds its way in. Look at the gutters and downpipes: sagging gutters, rust, and downpipes that dump water against the wall instead of carrying it away are all worth noting and are all very common.
Inside, check the lowest 30cm of the walls in each room. Bubbling paint, staining, a musty smell, or skirting boards lifting away from the wall can all signal moisture moving up through the wall. In bathrooms and the laundry, tap the tiles gently. A hollow sound can mean the waterproofing membrane behind has failed, or that the tiles were spot-fixed rather than fully bedded. Both lead to leaks over time.
Look up, then look level
In every room, look up at the ceiling for cracks, sagging, or water staining, and check the cornice where the wall meets the ceiling for separation. Then check the floors: walk across them and feel for bounce, softness, or unevenness, which can indicate problems with the floor structure beneath.
Open and close a few internal doors. Doors that stick or won't latch cleanly can be a sign the frame has moved, which ties back to foundation or moisture issues elsewhere.
The things people forget
Orientation is free to assess and matters enormously in the Australian climate. Which way does the main living area face? North-facing living spaces get warm winter sun and are genuinely more comfortable and cheaper to run. If you're not sure which way is north, your phone's compass will tell you in seconds.
Check the age of the hot water system if you can find it. A unit over ten years old is nearing the end of its life and replacement isn't cheap. On older properties, look for a private power pole on the land rather than the street verge; if it belongs to the property, replacing it is the owner's cost and runs into thousands.
And finally, trust your instinct on the layout. You'll stop noticing the paint colour within a week of moving in, but a cramped, awkward, or noisy layout is something you live with every day.
What this doesn't replace
Everything above helps you inspect smarter and decide which properties are worth pursuing. It does not replace a professional building and pest inspection, which you should always commission before making an offer. A licensed inspector accesses areas you can't, uses equipment you don't have, and provides a formal report. Think of your own inspection as the filter that tells you which properties are worth paying for that report on.