Our Services

Pre-Purchase & Pre-Sale Inspections

A Pre-Purchase/Pre-Sale inspection comments on the current overall visual condition of the dwelling on the day of the inspection and indicate items requiring immediate attention/repair, further investigation, or any maintenance required. While it is not an insurance or warranty against future issues, any potential risks will be noted within the report for your awareness. A Pre-Purchase/Pre-Sale Report from Building Surveying Services Limited is a detailed report that includes a Council file search or LIM comparison as well as covering all aspects of the structural integrity of the building.

Not all problems are apparent to the untrained or inexperienced eye. Our inspection is a comprehensive on-site inspection followed by a detailed written report. This assesses a building’s health, safety, and overall condition and identifies both urgent concerns and medium-term maintenance needs. The report also takes in to account the entire property, including fences, retaining walls, driveways, paths, and surface site conditions such as drainage.

Commercial Building Inspections

We deliver a detailed assessment of the overall condition of a commercial property, providing a clear understanding before purchasing, leasing, or investing. Our reports help owners, investors, and tenants identify potential risks, maintenance requirements, and areas that may need further investigation.

Non-Invasive and Invasive Moisture Testing Reports

A non-invasive testing investigation can also be conducted on its own with a detailed report stating that the dwelling currently has ‘normal’ moisture meter readings or requires further investigation. Further investigation will always be recommended if higher than ‘normal’ non-invasive moisture meter readings are recorded. Further investigation involves the use of a resistance meter.

A resistance meter involves drilling small holes through the cladding from the exterior (as that is where the moisture generally enters) and inserting insulated probes into the timber framing to give a very accurate moisture reading of the timber. Invasive testing is the only way to confirm if moisture has penetrated through the cladding and into the framing timber behind. Removing linings or cladding is the next step and can be an expensive repair if there is actually no moisture within the timber framing. Invasive moisture meter testing determines if moisture is actually present within the timber framed cavity and then linings can be removed to ascertain the cause and extent of any damage.

Invasive moisture testing can only occur once the current owner of the property has given written permission to allow for the holes to be drilled. Building Surveying Services Limited has a two-page document that is sent to the owner of the property and we will not start the investigation until this document is read, signed and returned to Building Surveying Services Limited. This way we know that the owner of the property understands what is involved in invasive testing. All test holes are later filled with an exterior flexible and paintable silicone flush with the surface of the cladding. Painting of the repairs is not completed by Building Surveying Services Limited. This is all explained in our terms of engagement for invasive testing that has been signed by the current owner of the property.

Invasive testing is much more accurate than thermal imaging cameras. Thermal imaging cameras are regarded as a non-invasive tool and detect temperature difference only. Depending on the skill of the operator and quality of the camera dampness can be easily missed or worse the operator thinks that dampness is present when it could be an electrical cable or missing/folded insulation. Either way invasive testing will still be required to determine if moisture has penetrated through the cladding and gained access into the timber framing. All skilled thermal imaging operators double check the anomalies with the thermal imaging camera with a non-invasive moisture meter anyway.

Building Surveying Services Limited have been conducting both non-invasive and invasive moisture meter testing for 25 years, are trained to do so and have weathertightness insurance to back us.

Methamphetamine Testing

Since December 2018 all Methamphetamine screening testers must be NZQA Qualified otherwise the test can be challenged. If a sampler is not qualified, they can still complete the test, however they must inform their client they are not qualified and if challenged their test will not hold legal weight.

Building Surveying Services Limited conduct field composite tests and send the samples to Hills Laboratory in Hamilton. General turn around is 2-3 working days, however for a small extra charge (direct laboratory charge) they can do an overnight test. Building Surveying Services Limited have been expert witnesses on several occasions in court and know the importance of conducting these tests in the correct location and writing a thorough report.

Appearances can be deceiving. A property’s presentation is not a reliable indicator of methamphetamine contamination. Homes that appear well-maintained, are in desirable areas, and are occupied by professional owners or tenants may still be affected. Studies show that these houses can also contain methamphetamine.

All Building Surveying Services pre-purchase inspectors are fully NZQA Qualified and complete all inspections to the NZS 8510:2017 Standard for Methamphetamine testing and are suitably insured for peace of mind.

Asbestos Testing

There are generally two types of asbestos reports:

Refurbishment and Demolition Survey is an all and encompassing survey of the building. The report involves the destructive removal of materials to make sure that there are no hidden areas of asbestos behind what is visually obvious. This type of survey must detect all materials within the building being surveyed that contain asbestos due to the building undergoing major refurbishment or demolition.

Non-Friable: Non-friable asbestos materials are less likely to be damaged and to release harmful fibres into the air. They cannot be damaged by the human hand and so pose less risks to health, eg: sheet cladding, vinyl, roofing, bitumen, etc.

Graeme Blissett and Darren Carter are IP402 qualified and have gained an international proficiency certificate for surveying and sampling of asbestos in buildings.

Many are unaware that even though asbestos manufacturing was banned in New Zealand in the mid 80’s, asbestos may still be in materials up to January 2000. Therefore, any property that was constructed prior to this date may contain asbestos.

Most pre-purchase testing inspectors say they ‘test for asbestos’. However, there is a big difference between carrying out a basic asbestos test and having the knowledge to locate potential sources, collect samples, and submit them to an accredited laboratory for analysis. Our Inspectors are trained to identify where asbestos may be present and materials that are likely to contain asbestos. This testing does not normally form part of a pre-purchase inspection since written consent from the owner of the property is required to allow for small samples to be taken from the materials that may contain asbestos.

Building Surveying Services Limited will send a document to the owner of the property that must be read, understood, signed and returned to Building Surveying Services Limited before any sample testing begins. A standard pre-purchase building inspection should clarify if the property may or may not potentially contain asbestos, however it does not have to specifically itemise all materials within the property that may contain asbestos. This is because most pre-purchase building inspectors will not necessarily know themselves where the potential asbestos is located.

All commercial and industrial buildings must have on site an Asbestos Management report since the Health and Safety Act 2015 was implemented in April 2016. Like a tenanted dwelling, the owner of a commercial and industrial building must provide an asbestos management report so that tenants and any tradespeople are aware of the materials that contain or may contain asbestos.

Building Surveying Services Limited have suitable qualified surveyors that can conduct either a Management Survey or Demolition Survey for your building and are suitably insured to give peace of mind.

Cladding Assessment

A general cladding assessment will comment on the type, condition and risk areas including the use of a non-invasive moisture meter and provide a comprehensive report on the condition and functionality of the cladding. The report will comment on the overall condition of the cladding and any maintenance required as per the cladding manufacturer’s installation requirements. The above is also included within a standard pre-purchase building inspection, however when completing a cladding assessment inspection and report more detail will be included within the report.

Weathertightness Survey

Building Surveying Services Limited have been conducting comprehensive weathertightness inspections for 25 years including inspections and reports for the MBIE and Ministry of Education.

A full and comprehensive weathertightness survey is generally the ‘third step’. The weathertightness survey is often performed after a pre-purchase/pre-sale inspection shows the possibility of moisture ingress. This has then been confirmed by the use of Invasive moisture testing will be used to show if moisture has most definitely penetrated through the cladding and into the framing timber.

A comprehensive weathertightness inspection can involve the use of invasive moisture testing, dye testing, water testing and the removal of sections of the cladding so that a complete understanding of the issues can be documented. Samples of framing timbers taken are sent to a qualified independent laboratory in Wellington so that the overall condition of the timber can be determined under a microscope. The report from the scientist is also included within the comprehensive weathertightness report.

A full and comprehensive weathertightness survey will confirm the following;

• The cause of the moisture ingress
• The extent of the moisture ingress
• The damage caused by the moisture ingress, and
• Weathertightness Surveys can also provide a cost estimate on what repairs are required.

Unauthorised Works/Certificate Of Acceptance/Third Party Reports

Certificate of Acceptance reports are for work that was not consented through Council and was started after July 1992. Building Surveying Services Limited can conduct an inspection of the works and provide a detailed report stating what has been completed. If it is structurally sound and not suffering from any weathertightness concerns and if all is compliant lodge the report with Council. Council then have up to 20 working days to consider the application and issue a Certificate Of Acceptance for the works.

They are under no obligation to issue this Certificate if they have any doubts on the compliance of the works and they can remove certain Clauses from the Building Code within the Certificate.

Third Party reports are for work completed prior to July 1992. This type of report can ‘sign off’ work that received a permit but it cannot be used to show Council that work was completed unless it has a ‘safe and sanitary’ report. This type of report is lodged at Council and kept on the property file. A cost for lodging the report is often charged. Please note that Councils are under no obligation to accept these reports and some may not recognise them.

Supervision of Re-Clads

Often during the re-cladding process, especially if a building has been subjected to weathertightness failure, Council requires a ‘second set of eyes’ to inspect the timber framing. Building Surveying Services Limited have over the last 25 years performed numerous. re-cladding inspections.

This involves us going to the site and determining what timber framing requires being removed due to un-planned water ingress into the buildings structure. The affected framing timber is then sprayed with a bright paint colour so it is clear to the builders. Once the timber has been replaced and any timber that is deemed safe to stay in its original position is painted with up to two coats of a wood preservative, the builders can then continue the re-clad of the building.

When the re-cladding job is completed Building Surveying Services Limited will provide to the builder a statement that all affected framing timber has been inspected and replaced as required. This statement is used by the Council to assist in the issuing of the Code of Compliance Certificate for the consent.

Dilapidation Reports

A dilapidation report is a detailed inspection of a property carried out before and after construction work takes place on neighbouring land. The report documents and records any existing damage, cracking, or deterioration so that the property’s condition is clearly established at the outset.

The report includes a comprehensive record of defects, supported by written descriptions and photographic evidence. If changes or damage is noticed when nearby works are being undertaken, it provides the necessary evidence to distinguish between pre-existing issues and new damage.

For property owners, contractors, and developers, a dilapidation report offers valuable protection and peace of mind by providing an independent record of condition.

Healthy Homes Assessments

Building Surveying Services Limited fully understand the Healthy Homes requirements and have already conducted numerous reports for landlords to confirm if their property complies to the current standards. The heating tool requires a series of measurements to be taken within the main living room including floors, walls and ceiling heights. All exterior doors and windows must also be measured and noted if they are single or double-glazed.

This information is then included within a reasonably complicated on line tool that then determines the size of the fixed heating appliance that is required for that particular building. The following information outlines what is inspected and the date that these requirements have to be met.

What do I need to know?

What do I need to do first?

For more information

• • Healthy Homes Standards common Questions and answers
  • The Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019.