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| Moisture reading vs. timber condition |
Recently we have inspected a house which we already inspected back 3 months ago.
According to the first inspection, the house is a fibre-cement weatherboard clad house which suffering moisture ingress in a number of spots on wall and roof cladding with apparent signs of timber decay and structure damages.
According to the second inspection, the house is recently redecorated. Apart from poor re-decoration workmanship,there are no high moisture readings found.
If judgement is based on non-invasive moisture reading only, the house is well performing at current stage. But the reality is, by comparing two inspections, structure damages caused by past leaks have not been attended to during recent redecoration. The wall and roof cladding are heavily relying on sealant to be temporarily weatherproof.
What we have learnt from this case is:
There is no direct relationship between timber condition and moisture readings. House inspection is not just about moisture testing. In fact without further analysis, moisture reading itself can be extremely misleading.
