In the past, when you bought a house, you could not inspect the attic, the roof space, or inside the walls without having to open them first. Nowadays, with the advantages technology brings us, it is possible to see what was previously invisible to the naked eye.
This amazing technology is not provided through super powers, but through thermography. This does not mean that you can see through walls, but instead, you are able to see the heat that objects and living things generate in certain places. That is the same technology that is used in night goggles to detect body movement at night. Thermography is now also used in home inspections. This is an amazing advantage so make sure your strata report includes it for the place you intend to buy.
You are probably wondering what the advantages of having a thermography report are. After all, isn’t it just a gimmick to increase the cost of a house inspections? Well, no. Thermography lets the inspectors see how well the heat is distributed throughout your house. This helps identify problems that you could not otherwise identify, such as leaking roofs or insufficient wall insulation. What you will see in the report is how the heat is spread around the house, making it easier to find out what parts of the house needs your attention.
The way it works is that the heat emits infrared light that is picked up through the device and is represented in a picture of varying colours. The reds and dark oranges represent warmer spots than the green and the blue shades. The colours form a picture of the building where red spots mean that heat is present in that area.
When an inspector completes an interior scan, they see where the warm air is going and if there are leaks in walls or attic. With an exterior scan, the inspector can find out if there is extra moisture, which retains more heat than dry spaces, near the roof, for instance. Knowing that before you make an offer on a house allows you to negotiate the right price. In factories or other institutional buildings, thermography inspections are used to help identify electricity problems before they become health hazards or fire hazards.
Heat loss detected in one area of the outside wall might originate at some other location on the inside of the wall. By scanning from the inside, it is easier to see where the energy loss originates. Another advantage is that measurements can be taken from a distance, which is great in hard to reach spaces.
When an inspector uses a thermograph, and identifies areas of concern, it saves you money in the long run because you know what needs to be replaced or fixed before you buy the house. Another positive outcome is that it will be able to pinpoint heat clusters in walls, ceilings or floorings.
You may not automatically think about it, but an area where there is significantly more heat generally indicates the presence of pest. In some cases, it can be termites, in other, mice. Regardless of the pest, finding out where they are nesting is advantageous and helps you get rid of them before they cause anymore damage to your property. Ultimately, the extra cost of a thermography report is quite worth it.
