One of the most common indicators of a leak is a swollen skirting board.

Commonly referred to as a ‘blowen skirting’.

The key is to find the leak source before it gets to the point of doing damage, but that’s not always possible. So where is it coming from in the first place?

The following thermal imaging photo shows you what I found during a house inspection in Sumner, Christchurch. In this case, the skirting was actually in tact and not showing any signs of swelling due to mositure , yet the thermo camera picked up the problem right away….

Wouldn’t you prefer to know this before buying the house!

This particular leak was actually coming from the roof, and running down the side of the window frame and showing itself at the bottom of the wall/skirting area. There was a cladding detail running around the perimeter of the house that was flat of top, so the water had no way of running off. The cause of the leak was a crack in the polystyrene cladding above this detail just below the roof line.

We find leaks and moisture… that’s all we do.