Building & Pest Inspection found timber beams affected by termite damage. The timber beams crumbled in the hands of the inspector when touched.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au

Termite damage was found in roof at Woodford due to roof tile leaking.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au

Structural crack to brickwork caused from poor drainage at a Narangba Townhouse .

BPI Building and Pest Inspections Caboolture specialise in:

• Building Inspections
• Pest Inspections
• Builders Warranty Inspections
• Special Purpose Inspections
• Pool Safety Inspections
• Asbestos Inspections
• Mould Inspections

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au

The aged occupant of a house at Caboolture was not aware of the damage that was being inflicted onto her house over an extended period of time.

BPI Building and Pest Inspections found extensive damage to various walls, some of which would collapse if lent on too hard, and to a structural ceiling beam that was the consistency of weet-bix for its entire length. Annual pest inspections could have prevented this damage which is likely to result in the demolition of this house.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au

A recent BPI Building & Pest Inspection at Burpengary discovered this LP gas bottle installed to supply gas to the cook top. It was installed inside the kitchen cabinets!

It was obviously a do it yourself installation as gas bottles must not be installed inside the house due to the very real prospect of causing a serious fire or explosion.

All gas installations need to be done by a licensed gas fitter.

Always be sure to use a very experienced building inspector who will recognise the more unusual problems when they appear.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au

On inspection of this home at Ningi we found termite damage and mud tubes to hardwood trusses. The damage was extensive. Termites will attack hardwood.

BPI Building & Pest Inspections Caboolture specialise in Pre-Purchase and Pre-sale Building & Pest Inspections, Pre-Auctions, Building Structural Inspections, Pool Safety Inspections.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au.

I was asked by a client to conduct a Building and Pest Inspection in the Woodford area.

• 800 square meters of roofing is required to be replaced
• Asbestos removal and dumping
• All these factors had to be weighed in prior to purchasing providing the client with valuable information and more importantly saving $$$

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au.

The Inspector’s Perspective

The clay block construction method for houses, and in particular, units, has been very popular over the past couple of decades. It was promoted by masonry manufacturers as a strong, low cost, and low maintenance method of building. The product has proven to be all of these things as time goes by, however, be very cautious of the words “low maintenance”. This does not mean “no maintenance” as some people are very sadly finding out. There is one simple maintenance procedure required with this product, that if ignored, could lead to the silent explosion of your house’s structure.

Clay block construction is a very strong method of building houses. In this construction method the block wall is hollow initially, with steel reinforcing bars running through it at regular spacing. The hollow cores of the blocks that contain the steel reinforcement are then filled with concrete. This creates a structural wall that does not require a timber frame. This is very different to the more familiar brick veneer construction, as bricks do not contain the heavy steel reinforcement, but rely on a timber frame for the wall’s structural integrity. Brick veneer walls are not subject to the problem discussed here.

The big issue that many owners of these buildings do not know about, is the need to keep the block walls well sealed from moisture penetration, by either painting or regular application of a clear masonry sealer. This was specified by the block manufacturer, but many owners are not aware of the requirement, or the serious repercussions of not adhering to it.

With the absence of a suitable sealant, moisture from rain is absorbed through the blocks, mortar and core fill concrete and eventually reaches the steel reinforcement within the wall. As you would expect, this causes the steel to rust, and when steel rusts, the rust material grows to many times the size of the original steel. This growth is powerful enough to crack the concrete core and the clay block wall, which can accelerate the process even further by allowing the steel even more exposure to the elements. If left unchecked, this process can lead to severe structural loss to the building requiring extensive repairs or reconstruction of whole walls.

Exploding clay block wall caused by rust to internal reinforcement.

You can test the porosity of your clay block wall yourself by splashing a glass of water onto the wall.

If the water does not run off in little beads like on a polished car but sucks in to the wall, then it needs treating with a masonry sealer. This product is available from hardware suppliers – follow the directions on the label and retreat at the recommended intervals.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au

Detected early this could have been avoided, costly repairs to ceiling damage can be avoided with regular Building Inspections.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au.

BPI Caboolture Building and Pest Inspections finds signs of past and current water penetration to ceilings to a local property within the Burpengary area.

If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other building matter, you can call Brian at BPI Building and Pest Inspections on 07 5499 2477 visit https://bpicaboolture.com or email us on caboolture@bpic.com.au.