One of the most difficult issues you face when moving into a resale or new apartment is leaks and waterproofing. Rainwater leaks, discovered especially in winter, often trace back to construction defects that stem from a wide range of causes, and it takes a waterproofing expert or a professional home inspection engineer, working with a thermal camera and professional know-how, to find them.
Leaks and waterproofing problems become a real nuisance and drag in a series of renovations and repairs: breaking tiles and even walls, fixing gutters, repainting walls that got wet and damaged. None of it is simple; it takes real renovation and repair work that weighs on your quality of life and disrupts the household.
Recurring leaks usually point to construction defects, so hiring a waterproofing contractor is not enough; you need a home inspection (bedek bayit) expert to locate the underlying defect.
Home inspection companies employ professionals from many fields in construction, whose job is to go over the apartment being inspected and locate defects.
At the same time, a home inspection engineer visits the site to uncover problems such as waterproofing issues and leaks caused by non-standard construction, for example a missing drip edge. One of the common defects home inspection engineer Ron Arad of Arad Bedek Bayit finds is dampness, leaks and waterproofing defects.
Why leak detection is difficult
Why hire a building inspection engineer to find leaks in an apartment at all? Aren't leaks visible to the naked eye? When we talk about leak detection, we do not mean leaks you can already see, since obviously no engineer is needed to spot those.
We mean leaks hidden from view, ones that only start seeping through the walls, the ceiling, or sometimes through the tiles into the neighbor's apartment, after heavy rain. These cannot be identified without a professional opinion, so you need a home inspection engineer to inspect the apartment and locate the defects that cause, or could eventually cause, leaks.
Leak detection is so difficult and complex during a building inspection because sometimes the leaks can only be identified with special equipment: a thermal camera. Only a thermal camera can reveal pockets of dampness under tiles or inside walls.
Leaks may show up with the first rain, only after a heavy downpour, or sometimes only during heavy rain with strong wind, wherever there are defects in the building's walls. A home inspection engineer arrives at the site with the right equipment and knowledge to identify existing leaks and to warn of leaks that could occur unless renovations and repairs, such as replacing rotten or rusted pipes, are carried out.
Since it is best to fix or prevent leaks before they become a problem, it is worth calling in a home inspection engineer before you move in. Detecting leaks before the move avoids unnecessary headaches and lets you make the needed repairs before you move in and start your life there on the right foot.
The engineers of Arad Bedek Bayit, led by building engineer Ron Arad, whom courts appoint as their own expert on construction defects. The company has been inspecting apartments and buildings since 2001. Engineer Ron Arad · More about the company