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If you’re in the market for a new home or thinking about moving from a rental to owner-occupied, you’re likely to be familiar with the Healthy Homes Standards. These were brought in to ensure a better standard of dwelling for tenants and focus on key areas like adequate insulation, heating, ventilation and draught proofing. 

But, healthy homes aren’t just for renters! Wouldn’t it be great if you applied the same requirements and principles across the property you’re looking at purchasing? Does your potential purchase come up to scratch? Is it warm, dry, and properly insulated? What, if any, is the heating source? Is there adequate ventilation and are the drains working?  

When you get a property report back from us, we’ll let you know if your dwelling is ‘compliant’ so there are no (expensive) surprises when you move in! 

Insulation – the money saver

Let’s start at the top with insulation. It’s such an important factor in any building that we wrote a whole blog about it. Good insulation acts like a blanket to keep your home warm in winter and cooler in summer. But if it’s not up to scratch, or non-existent, you’ll soon find out with chilly floors, cold rooms and often, condensation, mould, and damp issues. An uninsulated or barely insulated house will also suffer from poor thermal performance, with heating costs and power bills soaring as a result. So, it’s important for any property inspection to include this in the report.

The heat is on – or is it?

Next, what’s your source of heating going to be? When winter hits, you’ll wish you had planned ahead for this one. When you visited the open home, you might have been delighted to see a heat pump installed… but we’ll be checking to see if it’s heating the whole place or just a part of it. Is the heat (or cooling) going to the right places or simply blowing air into the corner of the lounge while leaving the bedrooms freezing? If not a heat pump, what other, if any sources of heating are there? After all, you’ll want to know how expensive it’ll be to keep your home warm.

Sealing the deal

Ventilation and draughts are another biggie that can make the difference between a cosy home and a cold home. Mechanical ventilation systems like DVS can help in this regard, but so can opening windows for fresh air flow. The issue is when windows and doors don’t close in the frames properly or have degraded seals which leach cold air into your indoor spaces – brrr. Another plus of well-sealed windows and doors is noise reduction from noisy neighbours, roads, etc. With a pre-purchase building inspection, you’ll know what you’re getting into.

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Book peace of mind 

With the variety and age of housing stock in New Zealand, unless you’re buying brand new, you’ll almost never meet all the ‘requirements’ set out in the Healthy Homes Standards. But a comprehensive pre-purchase inspection is a great place to flag any future areas to upgrade or prioritise. When it comes to opting for the best ‘healthy home’ you can, you’re worth it – and your family’s worth it. It just pays to do the leg work first! Give our friendly team a call on 027 2939 808 and book a report for real peace of mind.

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Prospective homeowners might have a new concern to factor into the search for their next purchase – the risk of flooding and whether a property has been flooded before. With that in mind, knowing where to find that information, along with a comprehensive property inspection, will equip you with the facts before you buy.

Read on to find out how to determine if a property has flooded or might be at risk of flooding in the next climate event.

Check the council files for property information

A property’s LIM report is a good place to start. In it, you can see if the house has been identified by council as being at risk to natural hazards, including flood.

A flood hazard means flood water will pool in low points, or water could be fast moving down a slope. If you are Auckland-based, the council has a Hazard Viewer – click on the ‘flooding’ tab to see if there is a flood hazard on, or near your property. Core Logic has an NZ floodmap for a full picture of the flood risks nationwide.

Things to look for at the property

1. The lay of the land

When you’re visiting the property take time to assess the lay of the land. Where is the house situated? Is it down in a valley or is it on a hill? Does it have a long driveway that runs down towards it? If yes, could this act as a path to funnel lots of water towards the property? 

2. What’s around the property?

If there are neighbours, where are their houses in proximity to yours? Are their houses sitting above you and does yours end in a natural valley or low-point? Remember their stormwater, services, and run-off have to go somewhere.

3. What kind of foundations does it have?

Different eras of homes bring a variety of foundation construction. Is it a concrete slab or is it sitting on piles? – because each will operate differently during a flood event. Houses on piles are generally preferable in flood-prone areas because you’re higher off the ground. Plus it’s usually easier for your property inspector to access the space to look for any pooling of water, damp or damage. Tip: We’ve got comprehensive information about types of foundations on our website.

4. How’s the ground level around the house?

When a house is built low to the ground, e.g. on a concrete slab, or with little clearance from the earth, moisture ingress can cause havoc by wicking up into walls, causing damp, mouldy conditions. High moisture levels inside a home can be an indicator that the home is damp, even when water has drained away.

And don’t forget to check the exterior of the home for gardens, lawns or banks of dirt up around the exterior cladding  – basically, anything up against the house that could become more saturated in heavy rain and hold moisture.

5. Check the groundwater controls

While most homes will have drainage such as stormwater and strip drains, they only work when they are clean and clear. Check for silt, leaves and other debris which might block them and stop water getting away from the property. Also note where the drains are in relation to the house – are they at the low points of the section or driveway? Is the driveway shaped to funnel water away from the dwelling or is it a likely gathering point in heavy rain? Does the lowest part of your section bypass the drain so water may pool having nowhere to go (and cause issues) further down?

6. Are the gutters and downpipes up to scratch?

Old, leaky gutters and downpipes might cause rainwater to spill out onto the section, adding to issues with water pooling when it’s teeming down.

7. Suss out the garage and internal walls

Garage floors are often concrete which is a good place to see any staining around the walls where water might have come in. On internal walls, if there’s been flooding or high moisture, there could be signs of mould or damage to carpets and cladding. 

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It can be an expensive problem to fix

If a house has been in a flood, damage might have been repaired so it can be hard to work out if a property has suffered water issues and how serious it was. Remediation of issues in a flood- prone property can become very expensive. There are also things owners can do to mitigate future problems, such as changing the fall of a driveway, building retaining walls, adding more surface water controls and drainage – doable but costly! 

With lots at stake around the purchase of any property, it pays to do plenty of due diligence with checking council files, and making sure you get a qualified property inspector on the case! 

Get in touch to discuss a property inspection now – phone your friendly property professional Dane on +64 27 2939 808.

Across our Building Basics series, we’ve covered everything we look for in a pre-inspection, from the roof to the foundations. As with our blog on plumbing last time, your potential purchase’s electrics and wiring may be hidden in walls and ceilings. Unfortunately, out of sight does not mean peace of mind… It pays to have a thorough inspection of any possible hazards before you sign on the dotted line.

Age and stage

New Zealand has many homes which are old, with electrical wiring which is dated and might not be safe. Old wiring is unlikely to meet current NZ Electrical standards, so your property inspector will be on the lookout for a few tell-tale signs, including: 

• the era of the property (when it was built),
• the type of wiring in use, and
• what the switchboard looks like.

Old wiring

If your wiring is over 60 years old, there’s a good chance you might need to replace it. The first type of wiring used is called Vulcanized Indian Rubber or VIR. This is commonly run in a steel conduit or wooden casing. From around 1940 to the late 1960s, a rubber coated electrical wire was commonly used to insulate wiring. This is called Tough Rubber Sheath wiring or TRS for short. Both of these types of wiring have been found to deteriorate over a period of time which can lead to an increased fire risk. It’s important to point out that an insurance company might decline to insure your property if the wiring is old or not fit for purpose – a great reason to get it checked. Exposed or deteriorated wiring is also an electrocution hazard.

In an older property, it’s likely that over the years, some (if not all) of the wiring has been replaced. Your property inspector will be checking that it’s fixed off properly i.e., not loose, in the ceiling or sub-floor. They’ll also be checking that it’s free from water and pest damage, something that might be more common with older rubber-coated wires. Ideally when an electrician replaces the older wiring they remove it so there is no risk of anyone accidentally making them ‘live’ in the future.

Circuit board or switchboard

Every home runs dozens of appliances which suck up power, like big fridge freezers, dishwashers, dryers, heat pumps, induction cookers, and microwaves. The load we are putting on our wiring and switchboards today has increased dramatically, but it can be too much on a switchboard that is no longer fit for purpose. The circuit board is there to protect your appliances and ensure a smooth ‘delivery’ of electricity without cutting out or causing light to flicker.

Without steady conduction, there’s a chance using too much electricity can cause fuses to blow, or circuit boards to ‘trip’. In some cases, there’s a risk of fire. Imagine you’re in the middle of a dinner party, entertaining friends, and the lights go or the hot water cylinder fails. Changing the fuse in an old switchboard (involving ceramic plugs and wire) is time consuming, fiddly, and dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Your property inspection report will include the age and condition of your switchboard and whether it is the old ‘fuse’ type of board, or a newer circuit breaker one. Many switchboards will be original to the property. Some aren’t easily accessible. Renovations or alterations over many years can mean past owners haven’t bothered to move the switchboard – we’ve even seen kitchen cabinets built around one!

Note: some older switchboards might contain asbestos, which is handy to know. This can add to the cost of replacement. While they might not need replacing right away, they make ‘modern living’ with our dedication to technology and gadgets a bit more difficult!

Switches and fittings

Other warning signs that your home requires rewiring can be the state of the switches and fittings. We’ll test the power sockets and be on the lookout for brown scorch marks, broken fittings, or loose wires.

If you’re in the market for a new home, make sure you read back over our Building Basics series.  When purchasing a property, there’s a large list of things that need to be checked over. If your property report highlights any electrical red flags, we recommend getting an electrician to check off if you need any imminent or future repairs. Go into your next purchase with your eyes wide open. For true peace of mind, book your comprehensive pre-purchase inspection with us today on 027 2939 808.

One of the first things buyers notice when they pull up outside their potential new home is the cladding – the building material that is used to cover a structure’s exterior. When it comes to residential cladding, there are plenty of types used. All come with different pros and cons and things to be aware of – so here’s how you learn what to look for and figure out what’s going to be right for you. 

What are the different types of cladding?

When it comes to cladding, there are a multitude of options. In New Zealand, we are probably most familiar with timber weatherboard bungalows and villas, and solid brick homes. However, over the decades, plenty of other materials have entered the market for use on our homes’ exteriors. Newer products include composite weatherboards designed to replicate the look of real timber. Add schist, stone, plywood, aluminium and steel, fibre cement panels, brick veneer, plaster, stucco and vinyl siding into the mix and you’ve got plenty of options to suit all kinds of looks and feels.

What you see might not be what you get!

While you might like the ‘look’ of the cladding and be drawn by its street appeal, you really can’t judge a book by its cover. The solid brick you’re admiring might be brick veneer. That historic timber weatherboard cottage might be clad with an engineered product that may not be authentic to your vision – or stand the test of time. That’s why it’s important for your peace of mind and your bank balance to get a full property inspection before you sign on the dotted line.

Is there ‘good’ or ‘bad’ cladding?

Cladding is expected to perform as a weathertight material to keep structures insulated and dry. But nearly every type of cladding is likely to degrade someday, especially if it hasn’t been maintained well. This might be down to age, the way it’s been installed, environment or design (think leaky homes). Rotting timber, loose stonework, flaked-off paint and rusted-out joins can all be put down to poor maintenance. So, it’s important to establish whether or not a home’s cladding has been looked after, as this will give you a good idea of any immediate or future maintenance you should expect.

What does well-maintained cladding look like?

Some cladding is lower maintenance, some is higher. For example, cedar weatherboards need staining much more often than painted weatherboards. But a regularly-painted 120-year-old villa can still be perfectly sound. Your property report will detail the condition of the cladding, also noting if there have been penetrations (holes) made which could lead to water getting in. Badly applied sealant, Blu Tack poked in gaps – we’ve seen plenty of bodge-jobs over the years!

But there are some specific things we’re looking for:

Is there a drainage cavity?

Cladding’s ‘job’ is like that of an envelope – it’s there to protect what’s inside – and provide weather resistance, thermal insulation and hopefully, look good. But looks are definitely secondary in this equation. When inspecting the cladding, one of the big things we’ll be looking to see is whether there’s a drained cavity as part of the structure, as that will play a big part in how the cladding performs. Drained cavities allow drainage paths to take any water that penetrates the building envelope (exterior cladding) back to the outside face.

How is the ground clearance?

We also pay close attention to ground clearances – that is, where the wall cladding is in relation to the outside ground level, paving, garden, or deck. Ideally, cladding should be installed so it’s well clear of surrounding surfaces. This is to ensure the cladding stays dry, doesn’t rot and minimises the risk of moist air or water getting into the interior cavity of the building.

Any other red flags?

We’ll be on the lookout for cracks running up from the corners and along the mortar joints, that can be a sign of ground movement. In plaster homes without a cavity specifically, cracks in the monolithic cladding can be a real issue. That’s an open door for moisture to creep in – and stay in!

What about re-cladding?

A note about re-cladding. Cladding doesn’t last forever. Re-cladding, or putting a new cladding over an old, or existing, is common – especially when it comes to older builds. You might like the look of a current cladding, but it could also be disguising leaking or low-quality cladding. We reckon it’s best to bring in a professional who can help you understand what you’re really looking at – and help you feel confident in your decision.

Bottom line: a pre-purchase building inspection helps you understand every commitment that’s involved before you buy, and ultimately, so you can sleep easy in your new home.

When we conduct a thorough property inspection, one of the building basics we are looking for is insulation. We’re looking for whether your potential new home has it, and if so, what type it is – and how it’s likely to be performing.

Good insulation acts like a blanket to keep your home warm in winter and cooler in summer. But if it’s not up to scratch, or non-existent, you’ll soon find out with chilly floors, cold rooms and often, condensation, mould, and damp issues. An uninsulated or barely insulated house will also suffer from poor thermal performance, with heating costs and power bills soaring as a result. So, it’s important for any property inspection to include this in the report.

Age of the home and types of insulation

The main types of insulation on the market today are polystyrene, glass wool and polyester. Each has a different R value, which is a measure of the insulation’s effectiveness. The higher the R value, the better the insulation will perform.

The age of the property will often determine what sort of insulation – if any – we find. Houses built before 1978 are unlikely to have any insulation, unless it has been added later, and houses built before 2007 have lower than the currently-required levels of insulation, and often only single glazing as well. The upshot is that, unfortunately, many Kiwis are occupying homes that don’t meet current insulation standards.

Where do we look and what are we looking for?

Where there is access, we will be looking in the roof cavity and subfloor.

Roof cavity

In the ceiling, or roof cavity, we’ll be checking out what’s up there and if it’s in good condition. Ceiling insulation can be in blankets that cover joists, in segments (like Pink Batts) fitted between them, or it can be blown in as loose fill. The type of insulation used will give us an indicator of when it’s been installed: newer fibreglass or earth wools are thicker and have higher R values. Sometimes we come across older type blown type insulation, this type can contain asbestos, so that’s certainly something to flag in the report.

We’ll be looking at how well the insulation is laid, and if there are any gaps. For example, insulation can drift over time, particularly if you’ve had workers or tradies up there moving it aside to access wires or joists.

Another thing to check is whether any downlights in the ceiling are rated for insulation, as safety requirements call for a gap between older-style downlights and insulation. Loose fill insulation, i.e., not in ‘sheets’, can spill onto the top of the downlight and cause a serious fire hazard that we reckon you’d also want to avoid.

Property built approx. early 1970s, no ceiling insulation

Older type blown insulation – may contain asbestos

Insulation on a new build property moved by trades and not correctly reinstated

Subfloor

In the sub floor, we’ll be looking to see that any insulation has been installed correctly. It’s usually in the form of polyester, polystyrene blocks, or glass wool, which is fitted between the joists, stapled, or strapped in place. We might occasionally come across foil underfloor insulation, which was banned in 2016 after workers were electrocuted while installing it. A recent house we inspected had sarking type insulation which was foil that went over the bottom of the joists. When it was pushed up from underneath, you could feel the water (from an internal wet area leak) sitting in the insulation like a hammock. This is worse for any surrounding timber as the water will soak in and cause more damage in a shorter period of time.

Leaking water

Uninsulated subfloor – underside of flooring visible

Walls

It’s harder to work out what kind of insulation is in the walls, but it all comes back to the age of the house and the Building Code. Existing walls can be retrofitted with a type of foam or polystyrene bead insulation that’s blown into the top of the wall cavity, or through an external wall. A tell-tale sign is the holes made in the external cladding.

It’s important to note that retrofitting wall insulation to external walls may require a building consent. Your property inspector will not be able to check if a building consent has been granted, but we can advise you if this insulation appears to have been done.

When it comes to insulation, it’s important to know what you do or don’t have. With the diversity of NZ’s housing stock, it can be a real lottery. High quality insulation that’s installed well makes a huge difference to the wellbeing of any home’s occupants. And in the long run it saves money on heating and cooling bills.

Make sure you get expert information and advice right from the start with a comprehensive report from your friendly Property Inspector.