Wood borer inspections and certificates in Gqeberha
When a property changes hands here, it gets inspected for wood borer and a certificate goes to the attorneys. That is what this is.
Borer can do tens of thousands of rands of damage to a house if it is left alone, which is the reason the inspection exists. It protects the buyer from inheriting something expensive and invisible, and it protects you from an argument after transfer.
What actually gets inspected
The inspector starts outside. Trees, wendy houses and any other wooden structure within about fifty metres of the house, looking for signs of activity. If something is found out there it needs treating before a certificate can be issued, which surprises people, so it is worth knowing up front.
Then indoors, usually beginning with the roof. They check for sagging and for problems with the tiles, and inside the roof they go over all the timbers carefully, including wooden ceilings where there are any. After that it is the rest of the wood in the house: door frames, doors, skirtings, floors, and the subfloor wherever it can be reached.
The whole job is telling live activity apart from old damage. Any house of a certain age has holes in the timber somewhere. The question is whether anything is still in there.
What you’re looking for yourself
If you want to know before we arrive, these are the three signs.
- Small round holes in the surface of the wood. Those are exit holes, where an adult beetle left.
- Fine powder, called frass. White powder generally means something is active. Yellowish powder in a ceiling usually means old activity that stopped years ago.
- Weakened timber. Wood that feels brittle or crumbles when you press it.
Borer beetles lay eggs inside the wood. The larvae tunnel through it for years before they emerge, and it is the tunnelling that costs you the beam, not the holes you can see.
How it runs
- You book it, with the deadline. That is the part we plan around.
- We inspect, room by room, inside and out.
- The certificate is issued from the office, and goes either to you or straight to the attorneys handling the transfer. Tell us which you want when you book.
- If we find something live, the report says what it is and where it is.
You get a written report either way, whether or not anything is found.
Who does it
Wood borer inspectors complete training beyond the standard pest control certification, because issuing the certificate is a registered thing rather than an opinion. That is part of what you are paying for, along with the inspection itself and the travel to get there.
There is more on that in what am I paying for, which sets out where the money actually goes.
What it costs
R978 for the inspection and the certificate, VAT included. Outside Gqeberha there’s a travel charge on top, and those are on the prices page.
One number, because it’s one job. The agent or the attorney who sent you here needs it before they can tell you what the transfer is going to cost.
Prices can change. We keep the site up to date as best we can, and the price we quote you before we start is the one you pay.
Phone with your address and your deadline
Phone 061 905 0514 with your address and your deadline.
Or WhatsApp us the address and we’ll come back with a time.