A pest inspection reads the surface of a house, and the ground around it
Queensland’s building regulator (the QBCC) describes the standard’s pre-purchase timber pest inspection as visual and non-invasive: the inspector looks, taps without marking and checks moisture, inside the house and out to 30 metres from it.
The same account says an inspection is limited by anything that cannot be inspected for any reason, by the weather, and by what the owner can tell the inspector.
General information: this page is not a report on any home, and it does not say whether to buy one.
LOOK visual. TAP non-marking sounding. MOISTURE content of materials. QBCC’s words for the standard.
The house, enlarged
Roof space roof timbers inside the timber: not inspected Rooms skirting boards, architraves, cornices, the wet rooms inside the walls: not inspected Subfloor piers or stumps and ant caps, the slab edge on a slab floor, termites are more likely to go undetectedThe band, 0 to 30 m
0 m, against the wall Garden beds and mulch built up against the wall. Materials stacked against the wall. 30 m, the band’s edge (QBCC) The surrounding property within 30 metres of the building, in QBCC’s account of the standard. Near the building, no stated distance Paving that sends water towards the house. Trees or bush near the building.Three ways it reads, one thing it cannot
LOOK a visual inspection
The standard’s pre-purchase timber pest inspection is visual, as Queensland’s building regulator describes it.
Queensland’s guide names where to look: foundations, piers or stumps and the sub-floor; inside, skirting boards, architraves, cornices and mouldings; and roof timbers, softwood ones especially.
TAP non-marking sounding
The same account includes non-marking sounding of elements, so the surface is tapped, not opened.
Queensland’s guidance says galleries are a common sign of an infestation, and that damage in timber may show as mud plastering along joints and cracks.
MOISTURE content of materials
Assessment of the moisture content of materials is the third of the inspection’s own methods.
The CSIRO’s guide to managing termites names dampness that looks discoloured or stained, and singles out bathrooms, laundries and poor drainage such as paving that sends water towards the house.
Queensland’s home maintenance guide adds the plumbing side: a leaky hot water or air conditioning system should not discharge near the building’s footings, because that may change the soil moisture conditions.
PAPER what it cannot reach
Any such inspection is limited by anything that cannot be inspected for any reason, by the weather, and by the information the owner provides.
Victoria’s building regulator describes termites destroying timber from the inside and leaving only a thin outer layer in place.
The five guides
What the inspection checks
The report is meant to comment on activity, damage, past treatments, the building’s susceptibility to attack, the conditions that raise the risk, and any further investigation needed.
What it cannot see
A visual, non-invasive inspection cannot read inside the walls or inside the timber, or areas that cannot be inspected for any reason.
How far it reaches
The band runs 30 metres out from every wall in the description of the standard from Queensland’s building regulator (the QBCC), and Victoria’s building regulator describes termites re-infesting over a radius of more than 50 metres.
Who may inspect, by state
Queensland licenses the work, New South Wales needs no EPA licence for inspection on its own, the ACT writes the standard into its sale rules, and Victoria points to insurance.
Drywood termites and the roof space
The standard’s definition of a timber pest leaves drywood termites out, and Queensland’s own advice for West Indian drywood termite is that inspections should always include the roof and the void space.