The best building and pest inspection
A building and pest inspection is an important step in the buying process. It ensures you know exactly what you’re buying and gives you the confidence to make an informed purchase decision. Obviously, you want to make sure you book the best building and pest inspection available in your area.
In this blog, we’ll take you through what the best building and pest inspection looks like, what the best inspectors look during inspections and how to book the best inspector in your area.
Building and pest inspection
A building and pest inspection is a visual inspection that assesses the true condition of a property. It primarily looks for building defects, safety hazards and any evidence of termite activity or damage. This is important information to know before you buy a property. As you obviously don’t want to get stuck with a home that’s full of defects and is a constant drain on your bank account.
The best building and pest inspection will include a thorough check of all accessible areas within 30 meters of the house. This includes checking the whole house internally and externally including the roof, roof void and subfloor (if applicable). Any garages, sheds, carports, yard, fences and retaining walls within 30 meters of the house will also be checked.
In addition, the best building and pest inspection will also include the use of a thermal imaging camera and moisture meter. As this equipment allows inspectors to identify abnormal moisture readings and other anomalies that may be unseen to the naked eye. Such as heat spots behind walls that indicate high termite activity.
The best building and pest inspection will look for the following:
As part of conducting a thorough building and pest inspection, the best building and pest inspector will look for:
- Major building defects
- Safety issues
- Raising damp and other moisture issues
- Evidence of live termites or termite damage
- Thermal imaging abnormalities
- Subfloor problems (if relevant)
- Conducive conditions to future termite invasions
These issues are often costly and complex to repair. Before buying the property, it is important to seek further advice and get quotes from the relevant tradesperson.
Depending on the issue, you may need to contact a licensed carpenter, plumber, underpinner or structural engineer. You can read more about what to look for in a building and pest report here.
How to book the best building and pest inspector in your local area
Buying a new home is a huge investment. You don’t want to go into the purchase blind. It’s important to book with someone who will complete a thorough inspection and will give you accurate information.
The best way of ensuring that you’re booking the best building and pest inspector in your area is to:
- Look for a building and pest inspector who has plenty of experience
- Ask smart questions to gauge whether the inspector is thorough
- Check online reviews
- Ask for recommendations from friends and family
- Make sure they are fully licensed and insured
Ideally, the best building and pest inspector will give you enough information about the property so that you feel confident that you’re making an informed purchase decision. You can read about how to book the best building and pest inspector in more detail here.
Limitations of a building and pest inspection
Even the best building and pest inspection will have limitations as it is only ever a visual inspection under Australian Standards. This means building and pest inspectors cannot break apart, dismantle, remove (or move) objects to see what’s happening behind concealed areas. Such as moving stored goods in a garage, removing wall coverings or lifting carpet. As this is simply not practical during a building and pest inspection.
There are also certain items within the property that the building and pest inspector won’t be able to inspect as it’s outside the scope of their qualifications. Under Australian Standards, these items include hot water tanks, home appliances, electricity, plumbing and gas, compliance to building codes, toxic or hazardous substances, swimming pools and the likelihood of nature disasters (eg. flooding).
Our building and pest inspectors
Our building and pest inspectors are highly experienced and fully licensed. Each inspector has over 30 years of experience in the building industry and has gone on to complete their timber pest (termite) qualifications.
They know what to look for during building and pest inspections and will give you the confidence to make an informed decision. Our inspectors are also available after the inspection to answer any of your follow-up questions.
Have peace of mind with a building and pest inspection from Local Inspections
At Local Inspections, we pride ourselves on delivering great service, fast reporting, competitive pricing and comprehensive inspections.
If you would like to know more or would like to book, contact us today!