We always recommend that a pre-purchase Building and Timber pest inspection is carried out by an experienced builder AND Experienced Pest Management technician. The AEPMA Code of practice for prior to purchase timber pest inspection states “The assessment of a property for Timber Pests is a specialist process and requires an inspection dedicated to their detection.
It is best practice to carry out a Timber Pest Inspection on its own, as an inspector who also carries out another type of inspection (such as a concurrent building inspection) can not maintain the level of focus required to meet the benchmark set by this Code of Practice.”
It also states “In addition the Specialist Timber Pest Inspector must have had a minimum of two years’ experience in pest management that must have included active Timber Pest management.” There are alot of builders with a timber pest management licence that do not have the experience in timber pest control required.
If you book a pre-purchase timber pest inspection you will be dealing with a seperate Experienced timber pest expert and a Experienced building inspector.
What are we looking for during a timber pest inspection?
A timber pest inspection is extremely beneficial to the building owner. We do not just inspect for timber pests or evidence of timber pests we look for conditions that are conducive to timber pests. This means that you will be receiving a detailed report with photographs on the condition of the building.
The report will be filled with maintenance advice including things like drainage, the condition of the roof, structural posts, external walls, water tanks, overgrown garden beds, tree stumps externally. We check every wall inside the house for moisture. Bhind shower recesses, laundrys, around toilet areas, bathrooms and kitchens.
A slow leak could be causing significant wood decay inside the walls of the structure and attracting termites and other timber pests to the building. The photos below are an example of the extent of concealed damage termites can cause when undetected water leaks are present.