Buying a house you cannot walk through.
A measured read on how a house is performing, recorded before you commit to it.
You have found a house. It looks right in the photos. A building and pest inspection covers what an inspector could see on the day. What none of that tells you is whether moisture is moving through the walls, whether the wet areas clear after a shower or hold onto it, or what the air in the place is doing across a whole day rather than the hour someone stood in it.
Led by a licensed builder with nearly 20 years in residential building. Licence 332487C. Based in Coffs Harbour, working Port Macquarie to Yamba.
Most buyers decide on photographs and a feeling.
That is not carelessness. It is what is available. An open home gives you an hour in a house that has been aired out and staged, and a report that covers what was visible on the day. Neither tells you how the place behaves across a whole day, or what is happening inside the walls and wet areas.
Buying from another state makes it harder again. You are relying on someone else's eyes and a set of photographs taken to sell the property.
What measuring changes
We measure it and we record it, so you are making the decision on numbers rather than an impression. Readings at set points right through the house, air conditions logged over time, and the conditions on the day recorded alongside them so every number can be read in context.
What we measure
Moisture readings at set, recorded points right through the house.
- Every external wall, in every accessible room, measured from the inside.
- The wet area walls: bathrooms, ensuites and laundry.
- Window and door openings.
- Ceiling edges and penetrations.
- Representative flooring.
That is the whole envelope of the house plus the wet areas. Moisture present at those points is recorded, and readings that sit high against the rest of the house stand out in the comparison.
Alongside that we leave sensors in the house logging temperature, humidity and air conditions, and they stay in for as long as access allows. Where a longer log is not possible we run a shower test instead, so the wet areas can be observed clearing after use rather than assuming the ventilation is doing its job.
Every reading is tied to the room and the wall it came from.
What you get, and you keep it
A plain-language report
The measured findings in order of what matters, what the readings indicate, the recommended next step, and any limitation on the day recorded plainly.
The climate log and photo record
Temperature, humidity and air conditions across the logging period, with a referenced photo record tied to the points measured.
A 3D model with every reading mapped
Your readings shown against their recorded locations in the house. Once the job is paid you get login details to your property and the record stays there.
A walkthrough video
Within a couple of days of the visit we send you a video taking you through the model and explaining what the readings show, so you are not left reading a report on your own.
Areas are recorded against these four statuses, the same way they are in every Joe Builds assessment.
Buying from another state
The walkthrough video is usually the most useful thing in the pack. It is the closest you will get to walking the house with someone who knows what they are looking at. The record is yours permanently, so you can hand it to a builder, a tradesperson, an insurer, or the next owner when you sell.
Older houses on this coast carry a specific combination.
High humidity, heavy seasonal rain, timber that has been through a century of it, and decades of work by different hands to different standards.
None of that is a reason not to buy one. Plenty of them are excellent houses. It is a reason to know what you are buying rather than guessing, and to have a starting record so that in three years the same points can be measured again and compared.
That second part is the one people do not think about until later. A reading on its own tells you today. A reading you can compare against tells you a direction.
The questions buyers ask
Do I need this if I am already getting a building and pest inspection?
They answer different questions. A building and pest inspection works to its own scope, set by that inspector. What we do is measurement: a recorded reading at set points right through the envelope, each one tied to the room and the wall it came from, air conditions logged over time, and the whole lot mapped into a 3D model you keep.
Joe is also a licensed builder, so you are getting a builder's read on the house alongside the numbers, not just the numbers. Experience is what tells you which readings matter and which are normal for a house of that age and construction.
The one thing worth arranging separately is a timber pest inspection. That is its own licensed specialty and it is not something we do.
Can you do it if I am interstate and cannot be there?
Yes. Most of our pre-purchase work is for buyers who are somewhere else. We need access arranged, usually through the agent or the vendor. Everything after that comes to you: the report, the model, the photo record and the walkthrough video.
How long does it take?
Two to three hours on site. The report and the walkthrough video follow within a couple of days. Sensors stay in the house as long as access allows.
Can you get there in time for my cooling off period?
Tell us the date and we will tell you straight away whether it is possible. Cooling off periods are short and we would rather say no than promise a date we cannot hold.
If the timing does not work, the baseline is still worth doing after settlement, because the record is the point and it starts whenever it starts.
Can you tell me whether I should buy the property?
No. We report the measured findings, explain what they indicate and set out a recommended next step. The decision stays yours, alongside your building and pest inspector, your solicitor or conveyancer, and anyone else advising you.
What does it cost?
Every house is different, so every job is scoped and quoted individually. Size, storeys, location, access, inclusions and turnaround all change the work. Book the 15 minute call, tell us about the property, and you get a written price with travel included. No payment is taken when you enquire.
Where do you travel?
Based in Coffs Harbour, working Port Macquarie to Yamba. Travel is included in the quote and there is no separate callout fee.
We measure and report.
This is an indoor measurement, not a full property inspection. We are not assessing the roof covering, the external cladding or the structure as part of it, and the report says plainly what was looked at and what was not.
It is not a building inspection, a pest inspection, a structural assessment, a compliance report or a waterproofing report, and it is not a guarantee that concealed issues are absent. We do not open walls or lift floors.
A reading shows where to look, not why. Where the measured evidence supports further investigation, the report explains why and names the appropriate professional pathway rather than guessing at a cause.
If you want the outside walked as well, the roof line, the cladding and the drainage, say so and we will scope it in.
Start with a 15 minute call.
No cost, no site visit, no obligation. Bring the address and whatever you know about the house, and Joe will tell you honestly whether a baseline is worth it for that property, and what it would cost.
Or call 0485 835 959. Buying as an agent or on behalf of a client? See how we work with real estate.