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Leak Detection

Leaking and Overflowing Gutters – Where’s the Leak Getting In the House?

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Water leaks caused by overflowing gutters around your home can cause water infiltration into your walls and ceiling.

How do you know where the leak in the gutter is?

There are numerous places in the gutters around your home that could be causing leaks… the most common being the joints between sections. Water pooling in areas will also eventually rust through galvanised steel, or potentially seep through seems of aluminum gutters. Blocked gutter being the other major contributor to overflowing gutters.

The main issue is catching the gutter leak problem before it’s too late… and in alot of cases it may be too late without you even knowing it. The two photos below are examples of what we mean… as seen with an infrared camera (water coming down from above).

interior wall leaksoffit gutter leak

The majority of homes do have eves/soffits that usually protect any such leaks from impacting the exterior building envelope walls… or do they? In some cases the soffits are horizontal, potentially allowing a gutter leak/overflow to find it’s way across and into your walls (righthand photo is of water pooling in soffit). Some homes in NZ have no guttering or eves at all.

With a thermal imaging camera and moisture meter, we can detect signs of moisture ingress where a failure in the roof or guttering could be the cause. Pinpointing areas of water ingress without pulling walls down or putting holes through the gib certainly helps to narrow down the leak source.

If you have overflowing gutters, not only do you need to clean them, but you should also consider getting an infrared quick scan on your home asap. We can scan your home and perform a non-invasive moisture meter test throughout. Having a peace of mind your asset isn’t rotting before your eyes could be well worth it!

Contact us here

Auckland Master Plumbers – Do You Need One?

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The automatic reaction most people have when they suspect a leak is “I should call a plumber to come and find it”. Depending on the nature of the leak, there could be a more logical way to approach this.

Plumbers V’s thermal imaging. This information below could help you determine which path to go down if you find yourself sensing a leak around your home.

Please read further information here about this topic.

Leaky School Buildings??

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Is your child attending a leaky school?

With some schools in the Auckland area facing a ‘leaky school’ reputation, the clean up bill will be just as damaging. Has the thought crossed your mind that the same could be happening behind the walls in your home?

The thought of your child going to a leaky school and breathing in mould spores all day is chilling enough, but there could be another scenario which may do further damage to your childs health, and that scenario is your child sleeping next to a bedroom wall half full of moisture!!

Too many people bury their head in the sand when the thought of getting a moisture scan on their home is mentioned to them (scared on negative results usually)… but it could actually save your family from sickness and allergies long-term.

Moisture damage behind walls usually occurs long before you will see it, just like it did in these leaking school buildings. Catch leaks early in your home for a peace of mind!

Why not call us for a free moisture scan quote today?

 

Hot Water Leak

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Hot water heater – Depending on quality, most water heaters only last 10 to 15 years.

A simple hot water leak in the home can lead to major damage (timber rot) in the surrounding area. If you can see any wet spots on the floor, or any signs of rust of your hot water cylinder, this could well be a ‘red flag’ that you need to investigate further.

hot water leak

Hot water heaters ideally should be located on the lowest floor in the home. If your hot water cylinder is located above or adjacent to other finished spaces, take the time to have a good look around the drain pan to check if it’s draining properly, and not overflowing.

Water leaks in ceilings are often caused by either the hot water cylinder itself leaking, or a leaking pipe feeding off the hot water tank. Some home owners will clearly notice they have a leak on their first floor ceiling, but can’t work out if it’s actually coming from a leak in the roof on the top story of the home, or if the leak starts within the ceiling between the two levels in question.

We can do a thermal imaging scan on your home to determine if the leak is coming from the roof, or somewhere inbetween. Give us a call before you start ripping any walls apart, as an infrared scan could save you time and money!

Contact us today for a free quote.

NZ Leaky Homes – Signs of a Leaky Home or Leaky Building

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If you suspect you have a leaky home, or signs of a leaky home(s), there are a few basics you can take to help prevent water infiltrating your asset.

First you need establish what area the leak could be entering. This is usually very hard to work out with the naked eye, as water can travel up, down, sideways and into the smallest of cracks and voids.

leaky home mould

DIY basics to help avoid water infiltrating your home:

1) Walk around your home and carefully look at the surface of every wall for cracks or pentrations. Something as simple as a nail poking out could let water in around it and cause moisture damage. Seal it fast!

2) Sill flashings under your windows. Check the joinery is sealed and no ‘obvious’ gaps are present for water to infiltrate. This is a common area for water leaks.

3) Meter boards need to be sealed properly.

4) Where your deck balustrades (hand railings) connect to the wall.

If you find penetrations on your exterior walls, the chances that water could have already entered your walls is high. Simply fixing the penetration isn’t enough… the area of concern should be checked with a thermal imaging camera and moisture meter to help determine the extent of the leak/damage. You may need to open up the area and let it dry out, which in turn will help prevent future structural integrity issues.

At the end of the day, the majority of NZ home buyers will now get a moisture inspection & building inspection before signing the dotted line. If you think you could have moisture behind your walls, you should call us asap… every day you leave it sit could mean a decrease in the equity of your home. Catch the moisture issues early before you suddenly become an owner of one of those NZ leaky homes!

Contact us today for a free thermal imaging quote.

Consumerbuild has detailed info regarding the above here

Detect Water Seepage Leak Through Bricks and Cement

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Do you suspect a water leak behind bricks or cement?

On a routine home moisture/leak inspection this morning in the Howick area, we came across a leaky brick garage wall that was adjoining the home next door. The clients garage was pooling with water in the corner a couple of days after the leak, but not on the actual day of the rain. After a thermal imaging scan of the brickwork, we applied a moisture meter to a pinpointed area of the wall… and the results are shown it the photos below.

The moisture meter reading in the lefthand photo is significantly higher then the righthand photo, yet it was the same wall, same style brick and same paintwork. Now the targetted area of potential moisture has been detected, an invasive inspection can now be carried out without knocking the whole wall out! brick wall moisture readingmoisture reading

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you suspect a leak behind any type of wall, give us a call. Leak inspections are what we do!

Leak & Heat Loss Through Soffits / Eves / Attic (see photo) – Thermal Imaging

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                                     Do you suspect a water leak or heat loss in your attic?

attic air leak

As this photo shows, thermal imaging can accurately pinpoint areas leaking air & water from the home, causing heat loss and increased energy bills. Eves, soffits and attics are all common places for leaks to accumulate and exfiltrate.

If you plan to fix a leak under the soffit, obtaining a thermal image of the area first could be a wise idea so you don’t end up ripping apart areas that are functioning fine.

If you think you could have a leak in the roof or attic, then there’s a good chance you do. A leak that starts at the top of your home is going to work it’s way down due to gravity… and it’ll find its way into every void along the way. Protect the structural integrity of your home today.

Contact your local certified thermographer in NZ today!

Flashing Failure – Most Common Cause of Roof Leaks & Water Infiltration (See photo)

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Roof flashings are common on insulated roofs, and are the most common cause of water leaks. Flashings are the pieces metal (or special material) that seal pentetration and termination points on various parts of homes and buildings.

roof leak water infiltration

The most common places to find flashing detail are: At the base of walls, around drains, at vents and chimney, around skylights and at expansion joints.

It’s not uncommon to find latent moisture at, or near flashing detail using a thermal imaging camera.

Water infiltration

In a nutshell, there is nothing good about having water inside your walls & roofing system. Water leaks inside your roof creates energy loss causing increased energy bills, adds weight to the roofing system, damages structural components through corrosion or rot, and wet insulation can also increase the chances of a complete roof failure. (Thanks to thermal imaging surveys (UK) for the pic)

Thermal imaging can be used to detect evidence of water entrapment within an insulated roofing system. Small subtle temperature difference are picked up by a highly sensitive infrared detector that’s mounted inside our thermal imaging camera.

Contact us today for a free quote on a thermal imaging insulation inspection today!

Suspect a Leak Behind Your Shower Wall & Tiles? See Photo

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What could cause a water leak behind the walls and tiles in your shower?

A typical leak issue that many home bathrooms experience is paint peeling off the walls in (and around) the shower… sometimes to the point where the actual drywall and tiles come off also. What can you do about it? The most likely cause of such a leak in the shower would be the plumbing behind the wall around the showerhead and faucets. All it takes is a small hole in the plumbing at the joint, and the water drips (or sprays) onto the rear side of the plasterboard/drywall. The result end result of water hitting these highly absorbant materials, is fast deterioration of the shower area, and potentially damaging the wood structure behind the wall.

result of shower leak Once water gets into the wood, you need to act fast because the water will track sideways and get in behind the tiles, around windows (see photo), into other walls behind your bathroom, and if the shower is on a 2nd story of your home, it could seriously damage the ceiling of the room underneath your bathroom. The other problem could be that there is simply to much moisture in your bathroom. You must have a vent fan in the ceiling of any interior shower to reduce the chances of moisture problems getting in behind your walls and shower tiles.

 

So should you open up the wall first, or get a thermal image of the source to assess the extent of the damage?

It only makes sense to use a thermal image to determine the extent of the damage first. All to often people just start ripping down walls all over the place to ‘find’ the source of the leak. Once they do find the source, they still don’t know how far the problem has progressed sideways into the walls of other rooms in your home. Note: By the time you actually see the problem, it’s most likely been leaking for quite a while.

NZ Leak & Heat Loss Detection Ltd uses a high tech thermal imaging camera that to help detect leaks behind bathroom walls. We can determine the exact area that should be investigated for moisture damage before any wall in ripped down. Our infrared camera can also detect temperature differences in the grout between tiles in wet area, to help determine which area is most likely to contain excess moisture.

If you suspect a leak behind any wall in your home, get it checked right away before the costs blow out to get it fixed down the track

Contact us today for a complete thermal imaging scan of the wet areas in your home!