Moisture / Building Inspections for Inner City Highrise Apartments

Posted on April 6, 2008 by Find-a-leak Staff

The question is… do you rely on what the body corp AGM minutes say?

Do you get a moisture or leak inspection before buying a highrise apartment?

Today we performed an infrared moisture inspection on an inner city Auckland apartment. The lady who was purchasing the apartment was in two minds if she needed a moisture/building inspection at all, because the body corp minutes looked ‘clean’.

If you have lived in NZ for longer than one month and have been searching for property in the meantime, you should know that people have lost their life savings (and in some cases suicide attempts) from buying a home on emotion and not getting it appropriately tested first.

It has almost come to the point were ‘the logical process’ when buying a home in NZ these days is to get a moisture inspection and a building inspection. A highrise apartment is no different.

Body Corp Minutes

Body corp minutes are very helpful, especially if the AGM has past recently. But can you rely on them? No. Buying a home is a big commitment, and the last thing you want is to become one of ‘those people’ we read about in the paper wishing they did further due diligence before buying. Don’t rely on body corp minutes… do your own research.

Ok, the building may not have any leaks, but what about the apartment up above the one you’re looking to buy? How do you know they haven’t flooded their bathroom or kitchen recently? This type of ‘accident’ is unlikely to appear in the body corp minutes… because it’s unlikely to be reported in the first place, especially if it’s a renter living in there!

You can never be too cautious, and it’s not worth the risk. A peace of mind is much more comforting then not knowing at all.

Buying an apartment? Let us run over the apartment with our moisture testing equipment first!

Water Leak or Leaking Pipes Under Your Home?

Posted on March 7, 2008 by Find-a-leak Staff

Leaking water pipes and other factors can lead to water ‘ponding’ under your house. Please don’t ignore it!

It pays to do a regular ‘visual’ check of what’s hiding under your floors. Excess water under the house could quickly cause potential problems for you (and the value of your home) if not attended to asap. It could be due to a blocked pipe, home at the bottom of a hill or even bad soil composition. At the end of the day, leaks under your house could cause damp, mould, sinking and a very unhealthy home.

water leak under house

Has the water already caused problems?

Water, damp, leaks & moisture are all contributing factors which could cause stuctural integrity issues in the home. Water can soak into walls, insulation etc. in no time, so getting an infrared quick scan of your home could be the first option to detect any signs of water ingress that may have crept into your walls. Some people are sleeping next to wet walls, and breathing in mould spores all night long without knowing it!

If you are planning to purchase a home, under the house is one of the first places you should check. Home sellers may try to mask any obvious signs of moisture by doing nice renovations, landscaping and trimming the place up nicely to help divert your attention away from the hidden ‘issues’ under the house. Buying on emotion can potentially lead to financial disaster… especially in NZ where there is plenty of moist air.

Call now for a free moisture inspection quote!

Waiheke Island – Thermal Imaging Leaky Building Inspectors – Pre Purchase Inspections

Posted on February 28, 2008 by Find-a-leak Staff

Are you considering buying a home on Waiheke Island?

NZ Leak & Heat Loss Detection is now available to do thermal imaging leak detection & pre purchase inspections on Waiheke Island.

If you already live on Waiheke Island and require a simple home ‘check up’ for leaks, we are now offering our service to you also. Anybody buying a home on Waiheke Island should certainly get it checked for leaks, just like any other home in NZ.

Remember, it’s not just rain that can cause leaks behind the wall… it can be a leaking shower pipe, hot water cylinders etc. You will generally not see these leaks with the naked eye when doing a pre purchase inspection if the water hasn’t ‘visually’ penetrated the interior surface, therefore you risk buying a ‘lemon’.

Moisture Inspection Before Selling Your Home?

Posted on February 27, 2008 by Find-a-leak Staff

Here’s some food for thought when selling your home!

“Is there any point getting a moisture or building inspection prior to selling your home?”

We had a home owner call us with that exact question above, and there was a couple of ideas that we gave him that could be of interest to you also, especially if you’re selling your home.

It almost sounds pointless getting a moisture inspection prior to selling your home, but there is an upside… in fact, there’s a couple of upsides. Let’s take a look at how our thermal imaging moisture inspection could work in your favour when selling….

1) Marketing. Has your home been stuck on the market and you can’t sell it? The only real option is to change tact on your marketing, so how do you think “THIS IS A HEALTHY HOME” would look in your marketing? It would look great! If there is no moisture, it generally means no mould growth. This is a big selling point to a family with young kids. The main fear of Kiwi home buyers (and rightly so), is buying a leaky home… so why not eliminate that fear for them?

What about, “THIS HOME HAS PASSED A METH (P) LAB DETECTION TEST”? Buyers want to here this!

Meth testing info

2) Here in NZ we have to face the fact that all wise home buyers are also getting a ‘leaky home inspection’ prior to purchasing… so the chances they are going to find out about any leak in your home are pretty good (especially if they use us). How about you find it first and get it fixed (or tell the buyer up front), so your sale goes through without a hitch?

3) Home buyers will generally try to bargain your price down in their original offer, then they make the offer subject to a moisture or building report (or both). If they do find signs of moisture, get ready to see a low ball offer flying your way… that’s if they don’t pull out altogether. Eliminate any chance of losing the sale as you can!

What if a problem is found in the moisture inspection prior to selling?

The advantage of telling the buyer about any issues up front is this…. you can say something like “these are the issues, and we’ve already factored them into the original price we listed the home for”… if that is the case. A potential home buyer will appreciate the fact you told them about it, and feel more ‘in the loop’. This can certainly work in your favour.

Treat the sale of your home like a business… marketing, marketing, marketing will get the customers!

Energy & Heat Loss Through Building Materials – Also known as ‘Thermal Bridging’ (see photo)

Posted on February 15, 2008 by Find-a-leak Staff

A Thermal Bridge is caused by a ‘thermally conductive’ building material which penetrates or bypasses an insulation system; such as a metal fastener, concrete beam, slab or column.

Thermal Bridging

Heat will flow the easiest path from the heated space to the outside – the path with the least resistance. And this will not necessarily be the path perpendicular to the surfaces.

Very often heat will “short circuit” through an element which has a much higher conductivity than surrounding material, which can be described as a thermal bridge.

Typical effects of thermal bridges are:
• Decreased interior surface temperatures; in the worst cases this can result condensation problems, particularly at corners.
• Significantly increased heat losses.
• Cold areas in buildings

This photo shows a thermal bridge caused by a construction beam below a window.

Are you experiencing cold areas in your home or building? Contact us for a free quote today.

Thermal Imaging Building Inspection Reports – NZ

Posted on February 2, 2008 by Find-a-leak Staff

Are you an NZ home owner looking for a thermal imaging inspection report on your home?

Our certified thermographers specialise in infrared building inspections, including:

Building / Roof Moisture Diagnostics –
• Insulation & material moisture characteristics
• Inspection techniques (interior, exterior)
• Moisture and Leak detection behind walls
• Pre purchase building envelope moisture reports
• Weather variables and models that effect thermal imaging inspections
• Required site conditions (Creating sufficient delta-T)
• Pre-inspection procedures
• Thermal signatures of latent moisture
• Mold detection
• Inspection, data recording, marking and mapping
• Destructive and non-destructive moisture verification
• Guidelines for inspection (Safety practices, data gathering and report preparation)

If you suspect moisture ingress or a leak in your home, don’t leave it to chance… it will spread like cancer and the structural integrity of your home will be left sub-standard. Thermal imaging (or ‘Thermography’) is a fast moisture & leak detection solution for all building envelopes.

Building Inspection Vs Thermal Imaging

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Find-a-leak Staff

Recently I was asked “What’s the difference between a building inspection and a thermal imaging inspection?”

Both a building inspector and a certified thermal imaging inspector play very important roles in the pre purchase process of buying a home. Wise home buyers these days are now getting both types of inspections to help reduce their chances of buying a lemon.

Thermal imaging can see what the human eye can not see.

How about this photo below… do you think a regular building inspector that doesn’t use thermal imaging will find this missing insulation and leak behind the wall? The really good inspectors will find it, but some won’t. With thermal imaging, we supply you with a photo exactly like the one below with a highly detailed image of where the problem is, allowing the building inspector to go directly to the area and check for potential issues and structural integrity of the area.

kitchen exhaust fall leak

(Image taken inside an NZ home)

The picture below is another example of what we mean: Thermal imaging cameras detect temperature differences on any given surface, and when we see an inconsistent pattern in the camera , we then know where the problem starts and where it finishes. Take the picture below of an air leak for example… do you really think a building inspector is going to be able to visually see areas of air infiltration into your home? This type of air leak can drive up your energy bills in winter due to heat loss.

underfloor Heat

You should really have a thermal imaging scan before a building inspection, for this reason… if you can supply the qualified building inspector with thermal imaging photos of the home, then he can look closer at the structural integrity of the building where the problem areas have been identified in addition to his usual inspection routine.

Over 2000 leaks detected!

Building Inspections