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Thermal Imaging Inspection Cost

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How much does a thermal imaging inspection cost?

Infrared inspection costs can vary depending on what type of imaging you require. Here are the most common types of inspections we perform weekly:

  • Pre purchase building, moisture and leak detective inspections
  • Infrared electrical inspections of switchboards
  • Pre sale house moisture testing for clients preparing to sell their home
  • ‘Piece of mind’ check ups to catch any issues with a house or commercial building before any hidden problems create further extensive damage.

So what are the costs?

Prices vary based on the size of the house, or in the case of electrical thermographic surveys, how many switchboards need infrared testing.

General leak detections vary between $220 up to $300… depending on how long the job takes.

Full house inspection costs can range from $300 for a small house, right up the $600+ for a larger house, especially when there is reporting and extensive invasive testing required. Some diagnosed leaky home inspection costs can be up to $1500.

As you can see, the variation in costs is quite wide for thermography inspections depending on application, but on average you are looking at around $450+GST for an average size home.

Some companies may offer inspections cheaper, but they could have a hidden agenda, like upselling repair services etc.

How Much Does an Infrared Building Inspection Cost?

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Are you paying too much for your building inspection?

The reason I decided to write this article, is because a real estate agent who was present with me during a recent infrared building inspection made an interesting observation.

She said “How much do you charge for an infrared building inspection?”

I gave her the figure based on the size of the house we were inspecting at the time, and to my surprise, she said “That’s half the price of what some other companies are charging for a similar inspection!”. Now I can’t speak for other companies and how they operate, but she said my inspection is very similar to what most other companies do… and she has obviously seen plenty of pre purchase moisture tests over her 27yrs in the business.

There is no set inspection price to charge clients in our industry, and what you get for your money can vary… so make sure you do your homework.

How much does a building inspection cost?

Generally, it’s based on the size of the house and what you require. For example, if you don’t require a written report (verbal inspection), then our company charges less because time has been saved not having to put the report together.

Be sensible before making a decision on which home inspection company to use. Take a look at the company testimonials, check out their ‘about us’ page, make sure they specialise in what they do, and take a good look at example of their work. AND… make sure they don’t offer further services to fix the problems once they find them… because some companies may have a cheap building inspection fee up front, then sell you services to fix the leaks, or sell you whatever else they can to make more money out of the job.

An example of what I’m talking about here, is a home I inspected in Mt Roskill recently which had signs of two leaks under each end of a single window. Instead of doing an invasive test first (logical way to go), some local builder came around and told the home owner he will need to take out ALL the windows around the whole house and install sill flashings. Hmmmm.

Make sure you get multiple quotes for any type of remedial work that needs doing on your home… prices can vary wildly for the exact same job.

We quote you a fixed price over the phone… and it doesn’t change once we get there!

Building Inspection Company Misses Leaks!

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If you’ve ever doubted getting an infrared building inspection, then this should change your mind!

*Building inspection company misses obvious leaks*

(Above: The infrared photo in the centre shows a leak tracking the lighting wire. Only seen using our infrared equipment).

Out of all the thermal imaging inspections I’ve carried out, this one takes the cake. Recently I received a call from a first time home buyer. The call went something like this… “We settled on our home just 10 days ago, and there is already water coming through the ceiling in the ensuite bathroom?”. So around to the house I went with infrared camera in hand. (The dark spots in this photo are leaks as seen through our infrared camera… keep reading).

leak inspection in wellington home

When I arrived, they showed me a report from a ‘reputable’ franchised home inspection company. The home was given the all clear. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was cracks in the plaster cladding… but there was no mention of that in the building inspection report either. The interesting part was that he did a ‘moisture test’ during the inspection! (There was a photo in his report showing this).

To cut a long story short, there were leaks in the home everywhere, under windows, on the ceiling, around skirting boards and below flat roofs. This place was a home buyers nightmare come true. In this particular home, there were 7 leaks detected, and one of them was creating a bulb in the gib board ceiling which was also missed by the house inspection company.

So what’s the come back on the building inspector?

Probably nothing… half the report was disclaimers. Maybe he doesn’t include leak detection in his building report… not sure about that one. The bottom line is the home owner purchased the home based on the clean report from the home inspection company. Unfortunately they didn’t know about thermal imaging prior to signing the dotted line.

If you’re considering buying a home, atleast give us a call for a free quote, so you don’t end up suffering the same stress as the family above! Please remember that once you’ve paid over your money for the home, you can’t turn back… and quite often it’s the homes that look great that are the problem homes.

You should also read this thermal imaging article  before calling. Also, NZ buyers should consider a METH TEST when buying.

Infrared Thermal Imaging House Inspections – Before You Buy!!!

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An infrared house inspection is a quick way to identify hidden issues that most home building inspectors won’t see.

Here’s what you don’t want to happen to you when buying a house in NZ…

This was a very ugly situation for a home buyer that I recently did a ‘post’ purchase moisture inspection for in St Heliers, Auckland. Here’s what happened:

The home was over 400sqm is a nice area, and was been sold at auction. The home buyers loved the place because it looked great, and better still only 2 people turned up to the auction. The buyers theory was that they didn’t need to get a building or moisture inspection prior to buying the house because if they got it cheap enough at auction, they would have spare cash leftover to fix any problems. Well…

leaky home

Firstly, some vendors will sell their home at auction because they know perfectly well it wouldn’t pass an infrared or building inspection. Secondly, no matter what, the deal in unconditional when the hammer goes down, so all it takes is one emotional bidder to rush in and buy without proper due diligence, and the ‘hassles & problems’ with the house are instantly transferred on to the buyer at auction… and that’s exactly what happened in this situation. Read on:

The buyer called to get the infrared inspection after they purchased the home to identify any issues, and to enable them to start remedial work asap. Interesting! Sure enough the home had several signs of moisture ingress, leaking deck, visual evidence of major leaks, untreated timber… and to top it off, the building inspector went onto the roof and found roof tiles that had slid down in the gutter leaving big open holes on the roof! Also, high moisture readings were detected in the timber framing by conducting an invasive test. The list of issues found with this place didn’t seem to end, but to the human eye the place looked just fine.

So now what for the buyer?

They only have two options. 1) Walk away and forfeit the deposit, or 2) Take the issues on and potentially uncover a huge can of worms. (Leaky homes aren’t cheap to fix!)

No matter how good a place looks, do not take the risk. There have been several occasions where the vendors have simply ‘bogged up’ and painted over problems… but the moisture in the timber still remains.

It’s the “It won’t happen to me” line of thinking that could catch you out when buying a home in NZ.

Thermal Imaging & Building Inspection Critical BEFORE Buying at Auction!!

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WARNING: There is a particular reason why some people choose to sell their home at auction!

Are you considering buying under the hammer in NZ? Consider this…

Most home buyers under normal buying conditions will get a building and moisture inspection prior to going unconditional on a property, so why is it that some people don’t follow the exact same process before buying at auction??

Look Out: Did you know the actual reason some vendors prefer to sell their home at auction is because they know perfectly well it will not pass a building and/or moisture test under a normal contract of sale agreement?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with buying at an auction, the basic rule of thumb is that when the hammer goes down, the deal goes unconditional on the day, no matter what potential issues haven’t been discovered within the home prior to the auction. (some auction conditions can vary).

So are you really picking up a good deal?

Recently we conducted a thermal imaging scan, moisture test & building inspection on a home for a client in Auckland prior to an auction. I personally asked the agent the day before the auction if the other interested buyers also had the property moisture tested before auction day, and he said “NO”. My question here is this…

What’s the difference between spending ‘hundreds of thousands’ on a property under normal sale conditions, and spending the same amount on an auctioned property? Answer – Nothing! So why not go through the same pre purchase inspection process prior to an auction as you would a normal house sale… the risk of burning your cash is exactly the same!

The interesting part was this home completely fell over on both inspections. It turned out there were three serious bidders haggling over this home on the auction day… were they actually fighting over a huge can of worms?? (Our client went along and watched… but didn’t bid). The message here is this: If you like the look of a home that’s going to auction, don’t relax your pre purchase due diligence process in the lead up to the auction… just like the people in the above auction did!

It’s not a real estate agents job to moisture test the property, it’s their job to sell it, so how are you ever going to know what you’re really buying … are you really prepared to take such a high risk on such a huge investment?

Don’t get caught out buying a ‘good looking’ lemon! 

Interesting read – ‘Safe guard yourself by getting building & thermal imaging inspection at the same time‘

Thermal Imaging Building Inspection Reports – NZ

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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.

Contact us for a quick quote now!

Certified Thermographers – Building Moisture Diagnostics with Thermal Imaging

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 Our certified thermographers specialise in the following building diagnostics:

Building / Roof Moisture Diagnostics – including….
• Insulation & material moisture characteristics
• Inspection techniques (interior, exterior)
• 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 the home, don’t leave it to chance… it will spread like cancer and the structural integrity of your home will be left sub-standard. Thermography is a fast moisture detection solution for all building envelopes.

Contact us for a free quote today!

Building Inspection Vs Thermal Imaging

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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.

Contact us today for a complete thermal imaging inspection of your next home!