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moisture detection

Moisture Detection Companies and Services NZ

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With the leaky building crisis in full swing, and the building industry slowing down again, there is now a glut of new building inspection and moisture detection companies entering the market.

How do you know who the ‘newly registered’ home inspection companies are in the past year or so? Simple. Just go to the companies office website and do a search for their company name… that’s the fast and most accurate way to REALLY tell how long they’ve been in the business for!

We pride ourselves on being one of the longer standing moisture detection companies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (operating NZ Wide) with some of NZ’s most high profile companies on our books, including several councils and publically listed companies who use our services time and time again.

What’s happened recently in the NZ building inspection services industry, is builders started to run out of physical building work, and as a result they suddenly turned into inspectors.

What happens next? They start inspecting homes with a potential ‘hidden’ agender. We called up 1o companies who have started inspecting houses in the past 2 years and asked them if they fixed any problems they found. 8 out of the 10 house inspection companies surveyed said “YES”, or they could refer someone who could. 5 of them did not carry a thermal imaging camera.

So now… is it really an independant inspection if they also sell repair services also? Possibly not. This goes for pre sale, pre purchase moisture detection and building inspection services.

The way we’ve built our company over the years, is by sticking to a policy of non-biased inspections, which means it makes absolutely no difference to us if we find zero leaks, or 10 leaks using our leak detection equipment and techniques. In addition, we do these moisture inspections with reports at the best possible price possible, based on the area where you live.

Window Condensation Channel Leak – Mitre Joint Failure

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Home buyers beware…

Window condensation channel failure causes leak issues.

Have you ever noticed how leaks seem to appear under the corners of windows more often then any other place in the home? They appear all the time, and usually you can’t see 70% of them with the naked eye! Not only that, most of the time the window looks really well sealed where the aluminium window frame meets the cladding.

As you can see in the infrared thermal imaging photo below, there is a dark spot in the corner of the window. That dark spot is hidden moisture the home owner knew nothing about…

Leak Caused by Mitre Joint Failure
Leak Caused by Mitre Joint Failure

The mitre joints in most windows are vulnerable to losing their seal, and the slightest movement in the house can cause this. It’s rare to physically see the seal has failed because water only needs the slightest of gaps to escape… and it likes to escape right onto your timber frame behind your walls!

An infrared imaging camera in conjunction with quality moisture testing equipment on your home will detect these types of issues…  and to be fair, we would have missed 90% of the hidden leaks we’ve found in NZ houses without the support of the instruments we use.

If there are windows in the house, then there is potential for leaks… which could result in gradual leak damage and/or timber rot. Don’t risk buying a home without this type of testing… otherwise it could get very costly, especially if  the joinery throughout the house is low quality (plenty of that around NZ).

Early Moisture Detection in NZ Homes is Critical!

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After doing a pre purchase moisture detection test on a home in Auckland today, it really drove home the point that letting moisture go undetected behind your wall can cost you big $$$ long term!

In the case of this particular home, the cladding finish had perished around the windows, and water had been finding it’s way into the walls via the ‘gaps’ around the window… and slowly filling the below walls with moisture.

leak under window

And here’s the part that hurts most…

This was a pre purchase inspection… the home owners, home buyer and real estate agent were all present. As the inspection progressed, we hit a spot on the interior wall below the window that sent the moisture meter reading through the roof! To make matters worse, the issue extended the whole way along the bottom half of the north facing wall. The home owner wasn’t impressed, and the home buyer was impressed! The negotiation power suddenly feel right into the hands of the buyer is this situation.

Who’s to blame here?

The home owner is 100% to blame. If they had a moisture test done years ago, they may have caught the issue early and found the source of the leak. Instead they remained complacent and assumed everything was ok because they couldn’t see any signs of moisture or mould on the interior wall.

The vendor may now end up with a ‘low ball’ offer from the potential buyer, if they make an offer at all. A 1-2 hr moisture test on their home years earlier could have prevented this whole situation. Too many vendors get a rude shock when they find out a contract on their home falls over based on a moisture report… they were so busy counting the equity they ‘thought’ they had, and forgot the basic upkeep on their property in the meantime.

Please don’t let this scenario happen to you and your families future. Call us for a check up today!

How to Find Excess Moisture Around the Home, and the Immediate Effects Moisture Has On Your Health

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Moisture and leak detection in your home – Don’t let the early signs slide, otherwise your home equity can vanish real quick through ‘unforeseen’ structural problems behind your walls. Just like humans can get cancer, so can your home and it’s normally undetected moisture that’s the problem!

Moisture in your home can be good, and it can be bad. When you do achieve the correct balance you need within the home, your health and the health of your building is ensured. But when you have too much moisture, your building can fail in many ways that can not only damage the structure, but affect you and your family’s health and well-being. Are you or your child possibly sleeping next to a damp wall that could be full of mold spores? Are you breathing them in?

When moisture is at a balanced level in our home, we are not even aware of it, and certainly can’t ‘see’ that the level is correct. But when the moisture balance gets out of whack, it always marks its territory in not so obvious places… and we don’t usually see these places until it’s all to late: rotting wood, wet walls, rusting metal, moldy surfaces, condensation on windows, peeling paint etc. Depending on your sensitivities, you may experience dryness in your nose and respiratory system when moisture is insufficient, or experience allergic reactions.

One of the many things you will learn about your home from our moisture detection service is that it’s not always natural causes that contribute to filling your walls and ceiling with moisture. The majority of the time, the moisture leak issue in your home can be traced back to the mistakes that builders, plumbers, contractors, building materials, manufacturers and designers make when your building envelope is pieced together right from the very beginning. Did you know in NZ there’s been cases of new homes being built, and suffering from moisture ingress and leaks from day 1?

Do not risk buying a home in NZ before getting a thermal imaging scan… the numbers are stacked against you. Here’s another BIG benefit of using our service in the process of buying a home… this idea is very logical, but most home buyers haven’t even thought of it… details here.

We are a specialised moisture detection company in NZ using certified thermal imaging camera operators, and we can certainly fast track the process of moisture detection in your home.

Contact Us today for an obligation free quote!