Pre-purchase termite inspection across the Gold Coast.
Buying a home? Don’t settle without an AS 4349.3 inspection. We find active termite evidence or significant past damage in roughly 15–20% of Gold Coast pre-purchase inspections — almost always undisclosed by the seller. Written report for your conveyancer within 24 hours. ~$450–$650 for a standard residential. Best $500 you’ll ever spend on a property purchase.
What an AS 4349.3 pre-purchase inspection actually covers.
The 6-zone audit (60-90 minutes on site).
- Sub-floor crawl space. Where accessible. Every joist, bearer, sub-floor post, brick pier inspected. Mud-tunnel scan. Moisture-meter readings throughout.
- Roof void. Every accessible section. Truss, top plate, rafter, fascia, eave inspection. Sometimes-overlooked but commonly hit zone.
- Perimeter / external. Slab edge, weep holes, brick courses, weatherboard joints. Soil-to-timber contact zones. Garden bed edges.
- Garden + outbuildings. Sheds, fences, retaining walls, landscape timbers, mulched beds, tree stumps, woodpiles. Coptotermes nests within 100m of the house.
- Interior wet areas. Bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, ensuite. Around bath, around shower base, under sinks, around toilet base, washing machine recess. High-moisture timber is termite-friendly.
- Suspect timber probing. Where evidence is found, we probe suspect timbers with a moisture meter and (with owner consent) drill 2mm test holes into suspect framing.
Equipment we use on every inspection.
- Calibrated moisture meter — readings 0-100%. Anything above 15% in framing is termite-friendly; above 20% needs intervention.
- Thermal imaging camera — finds active colonies through stud walls and ceilings. Termites raise the local temperature 2-3°C from their metabolic heat.
- Borescope — for inspection of inaccessible cavities (wall voids, blocked sub-floors, cavities behind built-in cabinetry).
- Termite acoustic detector — picks up the head-banging signals Coptotermes uses to communicate (only present in active colonies).
- Foundation probe — tests suspect timber resistance without visible damage.
What the written report contains.
- Photos of every suspect area (typically 20-50 photos for a full report)
- Moisture-meter readings logged by location
- Active vs past evidence clearly identified
- Chemical-barrier status (current, expired, or none)
- Treatment recommendations with cost estimates
- Settlement / conveyancer-friendly summary on page 1
- Insurance-grade documentation for risk records
What we don’t find vs what we do find.
About 80% of Gold Coast pre-purchase inspections come back clean — no current activity, no significant past damage, chemical barrier status documented or not, recommendations for the new owner’s annual schedule.
The other 15–20% turn up something. Most common:
- Old (5-15 year) damage that’s been remediated or that the existing structure has absorbed safely
- Mud-tunnel evidence in sub-floor suggesting historic activity
- Active colony in landscape timber 5-20m from the house (treatable before it reaches the house)
- Active sub-floor or wall-cavity colony in the house itself (urgent — affects price negotiation)
- Expired or absent chemical barrier with high-risk site indicators
Settlement-deadline pricing.
We’ll fit a Gold Coast pre-purchase inspection in within 24–48h of booking for settlement deadlines — including same-day if booked before 11am. No surcharge for the speed; the inspection cost is fixed.
Where we work.
Book your pre-purchase inspection.
Same/next-day available. Written report within 24h. Settlement-grade documentation.