Best Pre Purchase Building Pest Inspections Melbourne

Buying a property can be very expensive. There are legal costs, the real estate costs and the time spent looking for a new property.

There are also pre purchase inspection costs. They may not be an expense you want to pay, however, it is cheaper in the long run to spend the money than risk buying a property that you haven’t inspected.

Pre Purchase Building Pest Inspections in Melbourne are essential for a number of reasons and can save you significant issues in the long run. When you’re spending hundreds of thousands on a property, conducting a pre purchase building inspection is very smart as you will discover exactly the condition of the building before purchase .

When you get a property pre purchase inspection, you will be able to identify structural or other issues that may either be costly to repair, or could pose a serious risk to you later on.

A pre purchase building pest inspection will give you the opportunity to make one of two decisions.

You can either decide to proceed with making an offer on the property ,cancel the offer or renegotiate a better contract price.

If you decide to proceed with the former, then you will have negotiating power if you find that there are defects that you were not aware off .

Let’s say repairs will cost $5,000, you could re negotiate the price or get the vendor to rectify all defects found within the building report saving you thousands

Getting repairs done will also allow you to negotiate the terms, such as when you settle or move into the property, and when you exit your existing property. This is essential if the repairs will take several months to complete.

The most common faults that are found tend to be structural or cracks to walls, the building inspection report will identify the existence of these defects where they are and how best to rectify.

WHAT DO OUR BUILDING REPORTS COVER

ROOF DEFECTS:

Victorian Building Authority Guidelines

• Rusted roof sheet and flashing.
• Roof sheet lift, roofing nails or screws lifted.
• Broken or cracked roof tiles.
• Moss buildup on roof cladding.
• Hip and ridge capping mortar cracks.
• Roof line unevenness – possible roof frame defects.
• Tree overhang.
• Chimney condition – mortar decay, no capping & cracked brick work.
• Box gutter condition – rust, ponding, debris.
• Valley gutter condition.
• Parapet wall condition.

GUTTERS & DOWN PIPES:

• Gutter rust and Debris.
• Inadequate gutter fall or poorly fixed & ponding.
• Down pipes not connected to storm water.
• Down pipe rust and blockage.
• Down pipe bases not aligned.
• Down pipe clips detached.

FASCIA & EAVES:

• Fascia timber fungal decay and paint deterioration.
• Fascia unevenness.
• Eave paint deterioration.
• Eave detachment.
• Eaves damaged by leaking gutters.
• Possible Asbestos.

WEATHER BOARDS:

• Unevenness – possible frame defects.
• Timber fungal decal and paint deterioration.
• Stop baton rot/detachment.
• Plinth board decay.
• Plinth boards in contact with soil (conducive to termite infestation)
• Inadequate subfloor ventilation or cross flow of air.
• Gapping around window frames and junctions (potential water ingress)

MASONRY CLADDING (BRICK):

• Differential Settlement cracks (major and minor)
• Rising Damp.
• Mortar decay.
• Re-pointed and patched cracks (evidence of past settlement/movement)
• Sill brick cracks and unevenness (common in 70-80’s)
• Inadequate subfloor ventilation.
• Weep holes blocked (if slab dwelling) – conducive to termite infestation.
• Control joints sufficiently sealed.
• Masonry cracking over windows – normally signs of lintel rust.

CEMENT SHEET OR POLYSTYRENE CLADDING:

• Render deterioration.
• Render bubble (damp)
• Render cracking – major and minor)
• Render rust spotting – (normally associated with contaminated sand during render process)

WINDOWS:

• Timber fungal decay – major anor.
• Cracked window panes.
• Patched window rot.
• Poor seals and putty.
• Sash cords damaged/broken.
• Binding windows.
• Damaged or non-operational window mechanisms.

DOORS:

• Binding or uneven doors – sign of differential settlement.
• Water damaged or deteriorated door timber.
• Non-operational handles and locks.
• Door seals.
• Lintel rust or deterioration – may cause cracks above doors.

SUB FLOOR (MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ANY INSPECTION):

• Dampness and water ponding.
• Leaking plumbing.
• Leaking bathrooms and laundry – commonly observed.
• Timber decay on flooring, joists and bearers.
• Stump footings rot or cracked concrete stumps.
• Poorly installed stumps – uneven plumb.
• Inadequate or insufficient footings.
• Type of floor coverings.
• Loose or hanging electrical wiring.
• Condition of engaged piers.
• Timber debris and rubbish (conducive to termites)
• Deteriorated or detached ductwork.

DECKS, BALCONIES, CARPORTS, GARAGES & PERGOLAS:

• Balustrade timber fungal decay.
• Balustrade and handrail safety – minimum of 125 mm gaps required to be deemed safe.
• Stairs for stability and timber decay.
• Decking or balcony frame condition – rot, unstable.
• Pergola roof frame rot.
• Post rot.
• Decking timber condition.
• Roof condition.
• Gutter and downpipe condition.

SHEDS AND GARAGES:

• Condition of roof, gutters, downpipes and cladding.
• Slab cracking – major and minor.
• Water ingress and drainage.
• Rising damp – common in garages.

SITE & LAND:

• Drainage – blocked drains.
• Drainage – land or paths should fall away from home.
• Fence palings/rails and post decay.
• Fence leaning – unsafe.
• Fence cracking.
• Pathway cracking and settlement.
• Driveway cracking and settlement.
• Trees – any path or wall cracking possible associated with tree roots.
• Cracking, rot or leaning in Retaining walls.
• Pool gates not self closing.

 ROOF FRAME:

• Condition of roof cladding – rust or tile fretting/cracks/gaps.
• Damaged or cracked framing members.
• Leaks.
• Insulation type and condition.
• Inadequate clearance between insulation and downlights – fire hazard.
• Condition of ductwork – deteriorated or detached.
• Unevenness in roof frame.

INTERNALS:

• Ceiling paint deterioration/mould/cracking/sagging.
• Wall cracking – major and minor.
• Rising damp – moisture readings.
• Chimney hearth condition.
• Window decay.
• Binding windows.
• Unevenness in windows – possible footings settlement.
• Cracked window panes.
• Door unevenness/binding/out of square – possible footings settlement.
• Floor unevenness – possible footings problems.
• Floor bounce and sponginess.
• Floor lining condition.

WET AREAS – KITCHEN, BATHROOMS AND LAUNDRY:

• Water Pressure.
• Water hammer/pipe knocking.
• Loose and leaking tap ware and pipes.
• Shower tile grout deterioration.
• Shower tile and screen cracking.
• Toilet operability and leaks.
• Vanity condition & fixing.
• Exhaust fan operability.
• Poor sealing of shower screens.
• Hot water unit type.
• Hot water overflow drained – conducive to termite infestation.
• Shower tap flanges adequately sealed – prevent leaks behind wall.

TERMITE INSPECTION

• A full Pest Inspection which is carried out as per Australian Standard 4349.3 – 2010 Inspection of buildings Part 3 – Timber Pest Inspections.
• Any live or past termite activity.
• Any excessive moisture readings is included in the Building and Pest Inspection Report.
• Any borer damage is assessed and included within the timber pest inspection report.
• Any timber fungal decay or rot.
• Conducive conditions that would attract termites.
• Any structural damage caused by Timber Pests.
• Trees, fences, retaining walls, outbuildings are