For Homeowners

“Reclad”. That’s the word that most owners don’t want to hear. Huge costs that usually blow out, lots of disruption, and will you even get back the money that you spend?

Now we can’t work miracles and to be honest, there are some plaster homes that just have to be re-cladded (or even bowled over completely). There is so much timber damage, so many defects and so many design flaws that spending money on repairs is like pouring it down the drain.

We talk to a lot of owners however who were told they needed to re-clad only to find out (once the cladding was removed), that there was only minor damage.  If they had known this beforehand, they wouldn’t have re-clad and would have saved a fortune.  That’s why it’s so important to find out exactly what is wrong (and right) with your house before making major decisions.

For most houses, once we define exactly where the problems are, we can then maintain the house, even indefinitely, with ongoing monitoring, and maintenance.

Here is how we do that for you.

No-one should make significant decisions without evidence.  Your house is probably your biggest investment so it’s vital that you get proof of how your home is performing.

• where is the decay?
• where are the leaks?
• what caused this?
• can you repair this cost effectively?
• what can I afford to do?
• when do I have to do this?

Moisture Detection Company gather conclusive evidence on how your house is performing, using our patented Mdu Moisture Detection Probes:

• simple yet innovative probes inserted through your skirting boards and into the framing of the house
• all locations that may leak an be investigated
• minimal damage and barely visible when installed 
• permanent early leak detection system
• data is collected on the moisture levels and decay condition
• timber treatment type (if any) and strength determined
• all data available on-line, overlaid on your house plans
• comprehensive recommendations based on and justified by the evidence
• builds up a history of non-leaks to aid a future sale

In the real example above,we can see where the plaster cladding buried in the concrete around the garage is wetting the framing. Also a higher than expected moisture reading behind the shower showed that there was a leak that needed repair.

When houses with plaster cladding leak, the timber can become wet.  Then, depending on other factors such as how wet it stays and for how long, how well treated the timber is, what type of cladding was used, whether there is a cavity…. it may start to decay.  When we install your moisture probes, we will find out where it is decayed.

Decay is evidence that there is insufficient treatment to make the timber durable

Removing any timber with any signs of decay is excessive, expensive, and in most cases completely unnecessary.  

A sensible, mature approach to maintenance is:

• identify areas of decay and the level of decay
• identify timber that is vulnerable to future decay
• *replace badly decayed timber if it is structurally important
• treat the remaining decayed and vulnerable timber with **RotStop 
• repair the leaks that caused the moisture and decay
• monitor the area with the installed moisture probes
• get on with life and relax – your house is safe

* for over 90% of the houses we see, no timber replacement is justified – only low-cost treatment to kill the decay and prevent further deterioration.

** RotStop is our own proprietary blend of boron and other timber treatment products providing multi-spectrum fungicide control of existing and future decay. 

Your home was likely built in a time when building standards, material standards, inspection standards, historical wisdom…. everything was thrown out the window. Plaster cladding was put over everything with no serious consideration as to whether it would last or could be maintained. There are highly likely to be some defects that are either leaking or will leak, will be causing damage within your walls and will devalue your house.

Here are a few of the common defects – the scary thing is that just one of these is enough to cause a lot of expensive damage – if you don’t find and fix it in time.

This is a link to a website run by a well-regarded building inspector, William Hazelhurst.  This shows just how much damage one defective gutter connection can cause.

The most important benefit of the Mdu probe system is that the probes stay in the house, for the life of the house and are an ‘early warning system’ for any leaks.  This gives our customers;

• peace of mind knowing that their home is being monitored 
• early warning of any leaks 
• evidence to indicate how quickly they need to repair the problem – have time to plan
• options for repairs
• you have a record to show a buyer that your house is not a leaker
• house data available on your private webpage

We are getting some rave reviews because owners are happy to testify about the amazing benefits of having their houses inspected, monitored and repaired by us.