On closer inspection

GARY KOORNNEEF - building inspection expert

In these times of anxiety about leaky buildings, most home buyers are savvy enough to commission a house inspection, figuring an expert will identify any problems.

But, until this year, not all building inspectors were created equal. Builders who set up as inspectors, while experienced, had no standard set of features they were inspecting, no benchmarks against which to measure. Some inspection companies filled this gap by following Australian or Canadian standards, but others simply created their own reports. And, as witnessed in several high profile court cases recently, some of these reports did not hold up well as they were not benchmarked against any formal standard. While inspectors understood they were checking houses against the NZ Building Code there was no consistency about how those checks were made.

So, as part of the Weathertight Homes programme, house inspectors now have a NZ Standard for Residential Property Inspections, snappily named NZS4306:2005.

The Weathertightness group is co-driven by BRANZ and the BIA, supported by major suppliers to the market such as wall board, roofing and window joinery manufacturers. Failures in design, material selection, construction and supervision are all addressed, along with maintenance on all buildings.

The new inspection standards, for the first time, quantify how aspects of materials and construction can be inspected, so buyers understand exactly what their inspection includes and how it is conducted.

For example, inspections under the house are carried out only if there is enough crawl space for an inspector to get into, and this is now made explicit to the buyer. While the inspection on building work will comment on plumbing and electricals, the standard does not include opening up meter boards or checking water pressure or temperatures, which would have to be inspected by a qualified electrician or plumber. A roof inspection doesn't merely say "looked at roof" but specifies a visual inspection of the roof and gutters, flashings and laps. Similarly, window inspections means inspectors have to check flashing, and window operations.

And in the tricky area of moisture in homes, the standard is for a non-invasive test (a meter which sends signals into the wall to read moisture content).

Trained inspectors recognise warning signs such as a crack on an outside wall and check on the inside for moisture seepage. Results from this test may alert buyers that they should ask for a full-scale moisture test, in addition to the basic inspection.

The standard will provide consistency and reliability for the inspections of residential homes.

As there is no industry body (currently anyone can call themselves a house inspector), the new standards give buyers the assurance they need. In addition, inspectors' professional indemnity insurance means that if a case does result in litigation, there is insurance-paid financial recourse for the complainant. Without it, small companies wind themselves up, leaving the buyer with no recourse.

Contact the NZ House Inspection Company; 0800 751 751 or www.nzhouseinspection.co.nz