Buying a home

Know the home before you commit

A viewing tells you what a home looks like. It can't reliably tell you how it performs when people live in it. Poor bedroom ventilation, night-time noise, persistent humidity, dust and particles coming in from outside, or a hidden moisture problem may not be obvious in that snapshot.

I offer an independent, measured assessment of how a home behaves over day and night: damp, condensation, ventilation, temperature, particles and disturbance. I have a background in building surveying and construction, a PhD in building performance and published research on indoor environments.

I don't sell or quote for any repair work, so my only interest is giving you clear evidence. This isn't a sensor test. It's a service to help you make a property decision, built on measured evidence.

Who it's for

• Buyers before transfer, ideally before the offer becomes unconditional, where the seller's agent and the occupants agree to give access.

• New owners already living with damp, condensation, mould or a stuffy home who want to know why.

• Landlords before re-letting a property, or when there is a dispute with a tenant.

• Tenants, with the owner's permission.

When to book

• You've had an offer accepted with an inspection clause. These often give you only 7 to 14 days, so book straight away.

• You've noticed visible mould or a musty smell after winter.

• The windows stream with condensation.

• A tenant has complained, or there's a dispute over a deposit.

I aim to book a visit within 2 working days of your enquiry, depending on access to the property.

How it works

1. Inspect: a non-invasive visual inspection of moisture sources, ventilation, the building's outer shell (roof, walls, windows and floors) and services.

2. Measure: Atmocube monitors log conditions in key rooms overnight, or for up to 48 hours.

3. Interpret: I read the measured trends alongside how each room is used, how many people are in it, the weather, the season and what I saw on site.

4. Advise: I set out the risks in order of priority, practical actions, indicative cost ranges and clear next steps.

The standard format is simple. I inspect and set up the monitors one afternoon and collect them the next morning, which gives about 20 hours of data over one night. Where access allows, I extend this to 48 hours.

Your report follows within 3 working days of collection. If you're working to a deadline, I'll give you a same-day verbal headline of the main findings.

Before every job, I check all the monitors side by side against the outdoor air, so I know they agree with each other before they go into your home.

What I check and measure

The inspection covers:

• A non-invasive visual inspection of the whole home, or of the affected rooms for the focused option.

• Moisture-meter and surface-temperature readings at suspect areas, to see whether surfaces are cold enough for condensation to form, with thermal imaging where available.

• The roof space and sub-floor vents where they can be reached safely.

• Gutters, downpipes, ground levels against the walls and the damp-proof course line (the barrier near the base of the walls that stops damp rising from the ground).

• Extractor fans, trickle vents (small vents built into window frames) and how much of each window can open, checked against SANS 10400-O, the national building regulations for ventilation.

For the full assessment, I place up to 5 Atmocube monitors: typically in the main bedroom, a second bedroom, the living area, near the kitchen and in any room where damp is suspected. The focused option uses 2 monitors.

The monitors record:

• Fine and coarse particles (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10).

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂).

• TVOC (volatile organic compounds, released by things like paints, cleaning products and furnishings).

• Formaldehyde.

• Temperature and humidity.

• Air pressure.

• Light.

• Noise.

The monitors are RESET Grade B devices. Here's what the main measurements tell you:

• CO₂ and ventilation: CO₂ that rises while a bedroom or living space is in use shows whether enough fresh outdoor air is getting in for the number of people using it. It can reveal ventilation problems you'd never notice on a viewing.

• Humidity and moisture: humidity that stays high, especially alongside condensation, cold surfaces or signs of water getting in, can create conditions in which mould grows. I always read humidity with the building in mind. It is not a mould test on its own.

• Particles: peaks in particles can point to cooking, burning, dust or outdoor pollution getting into the home. When and where they happen helps show whether it's a one-off or a repeated problem in a particular room.

• Bedroom noise: a room that seems peaceful at 2pm may have traffic, neighbours or equipment later on. Noise trends help screen whether the bedroom is consistently quiet at night. This is a screening check only, not a formal acoustic test.

I also run a CO₂ decay test in the main bedroom (or in the affected room for the focused option). In simple terms, I watch how quickly CO₂ levels fall once a room is empty. That turns a CO₂ reading into an estimate of how often the air in the room is replaced with fresh air.

What you receive

• An environment profile: a room-by-room traffic-light summary against named benchmarks, such as the World Health Organization's guideline for PM2.5, CO₂ as a sign of how well a room is ventilated, and humidity bands. These describe how the home performs, not whether it is good or bad for your health.

• Risk priorities: each finding is marked as minor, material, or needing a specialist investigation.

• Actions and indicative cost ranges, where these can be responsibly estimated. I always give a range, never a single figure.

• A next-step summary: your options and what would point to each one, whether that's to proceed, negotiate, ask for repairs, set aside a budget for improvements, or investigate further.

The decision stays with you. My job is to give you clear evidence so a problem is found before you own it, not after.

Options and prices

• Full diagnostic: R5,500. The complete inspection with up to 5 monitors.

• Add-on to a home inspector's visual inspection: R2,800. My measured assessment alongside a visual inspection you've already arranged.

• Focused damp diagnostic (1 to 2 rooms, 2 monitors): R3,200. For a specific damp, condensation or mould concern.

Optional extras

• Re-test after remediation: R2,200. Overnight monitoring of the same rooms after repairs, with a letter comparing before and after.

• Extended monitoring to 48 hours: R750, where not already included.

• Retrofit and energy consultation (90 minutes): R1,800. A session turning the findings into a prioritised plan for ventilation, insulation and energy upgrades.

Prices are for addresses in Port Elizabeth and surrounds. Travel further afield is charged extra. Payment is upfront.

What this is not

• It isn't a structural survey or an engineer's report.

• It isn't a mould laboratory test. Humidity readings can't confirm mould, so if I suspect mould, I'll recommend laboratory sampling.

• It isn't an acoustic certification. The monitors can't measure sounds quieter than about 37 dB, which is louder than the 35 dBA night-time bedroom level in SANS 10103, the national standard for noise. So noise readings only flag disturbances.

• It isn't a medical or health opinion. I don't label homes "healthy" or "unhealthy", and health questions are best taken to a medical professional.

• It isn't a compliance certificate for electrical, gas, plumbing, beetle or building regulations.

• There is no invasive or destructive testing, and I don't sell or quote for any repair work.

Related assessments

The monitoring in this assessment uses the same equipment and approach as my indoor air quality assessment. If you’d also like to understand the home’s electricity use, my energy performance assessment looks at that in more depth. Selling your current home at the same time? See selling a home.

If you're buying a home and want to know the environment you're buying, get in touch and tell me about the property and your timeline.