total building assessment
health. comfort. peace of mind
you spend more than half your life inside your home. it shouldn't be cold, damp, or making you sick.
Blower door testing, thermal imaging and moisture investigations help identify where heat, air and water are getting in so the cause can be measured, not guessed.
We're Tasmanian registered architects and certified Passive House designers, and early adopters of high-performance, healthy home design in the state.
people buy, renovate and build without ever asking the most important question
Will this home keep my family healthy? We ask about price, bedrooms and finishes, we inspect for defects, and we budget to the dollar. But almost nobody measures what a home does to the people inside it: whether it stays warm without a fortune in heating, whether cold rooms and draughts make it uncomfortable to live in, whether hidden damp is quietly damaging the home and the health of the people inside it.
It’s the biggest investment most of us will ever make, and the fix for the wrong problem costs the same as the fix for the right one.
That’s what a Total Building Assessment is for. It answers the question before the money moves, so you buy, renovate or build with the facts in hand instead of hope.
some symptoms you can see. others just feel like life
A cold room announces itself. But some of what an unhealthy home does never gets blamed on the house: the colds that keep coming back, the tiredness that has no obvious cause, the asthma that keeps flaring. Whatever stage you’re at, the questions sound like these.
pre-purchase
existing home
existing home
before renovating
under construction
new home
blower door testing
If your home is cold or draughty, or you want to know exactly how it performs, a blower door test measures its air tightness: how many air changes per hour it leaks. We test at any stage, from lived-in to mid-build to handover.
The National Construction Code sets a maximum allowable air leakage for new homes, but it’s generous and rarely verified. Well-built modern homes sit between 1 and 6 air changes per hour, older homes often exceed 20, and a certified Passive House proves 0.6 or lower.
Too leaky and warmth pours out. Too tight without mechanical ventilation and moisture becomes mould, which is why every home should be tested, and almost none are. Read our guide to mechanical ventilation in homes.
You can book a blower door test on its own, or as part of the full assessment.
thermal imaging inspection
We survey your walls, floors, ceilings and glazing with a high-resolution thermal camera, showing what the eye can’t: insulation that’s slumped or missing, thermal bridges letting warmth escape, and leaks around glazing and doors.
These cold spots hit comfort and health alike. They’re the chilly corners you can feel, and the surfaces where moist air condenses, which is why mould appears in room corners and on window reveals. Paired with the blower door, incoming cold air lights up on screen, turning invisible leaks into images you can point to and fix.
The camera also finds what water leaves behind: damp materials read cooler on screen, so hidden plumbing and roof leaks show up before any stain does.
moisture, condensation & mould investigation
If you have condensation on your windows, damp or wet patches in the home, or mould you can’t get rid of, we’ll investigate. We take moisture meter readings across the home, use the thermal camera again to trace where the moisture is coming from, and document the findings with a visual inspection.
These issues aren’t only an old-home problem. New homes are increasingly affected, depending on the era of the build, the building code at the time, and the designer’s and builder’s approach to moisture and ventilation.
You get a written report with clear recommendations: what to fix, in what order, and what to leave alone.
why Align
Align is a multi-award-winning design practice, founded on the belief that everyone has the right to live in a healthy home. One of our founders brings hands-on construction experience from a national-award-winning building company, and our team’s background sits across construction, design and building science.
We’re registered architects and certified Passive House designers, and we’re always at the forefront of high-performance and healthy home practice.
Being architects, we can also assist with design ideas that come out of the report, through our renovations and extensions work. Where your home needs more than the three core investigations, we extend the picture with two further assessments, detailed below.
two further assessments, when they're warranted
The three core investigations answer most questions a home can ask. These extend the picture, and we'll tell you plainly whether your situation needs them.
PHPP energy modelling
For homes heading toward a serious performance upgrade, we model the entire building in the Passivhaus Planning Package: every wall, roof, floor, window and junction, your climate, your orientation. The model calculates the home's real heating and cooling demand and shows exactly which improvements move the needle, assessed against the Passivhaus standard.
It's the analytical backbone of a deep retrofit, and the natural next step when the core investigations reveal a home worth transforming rather than patching. Read about our Passive House work.
building & structural inspection
Performance is one half of a home's condition; defects and safety are the other. Where the full picture is needed, most often pre-purchase, we organise and coordinate a comprehensive inspection by an external licensed building inspector covering the site, exterior, interior, sub-floor and roof space, with a structural engineer engaged if concerns arise.
The inspection is completed by the licensed professional under their own terms. Our role is arranging it, coordinating it, and presenting the findings alongside the performance picture so you see the whole home at once.
Next steps to peace of mind
From the first call to the next step, here’s what happens.
book a discovery call
A free, no-obligation call about what your home is doing. We scope which investigations will answer your question, whether that’s one, two, three, or the combined package.
on-site assessment
We complete the assessment on site, with a verbal summary on the day where possible. Written reports are typically delivered within two weeks.
your next step
We walk you through the report, then help you take the right next step: bringing in a specialist, working with a builder, continuing with us on design, or, if you’re buying, deciding whether to proceed.
what does it cost?
Every home is different. On a discovery call we’ll scope which investigations yours needs, and quote from there.
- blower door test
- thermal imaging inspection
- moisture, condensation & mould investigation
- PHPP energy modelling
- building & structural inspection
a recent client review
Frequently asked questions
Can my home actually make me sick?
Yes, and the research on this is strong. The World Health Organisation recommends indoor temperatures stay above 18°C, and homes below that are linked to higher blood pressure, respiratory illness, and worse mental health. Damp and mould are linked to asthma, respiratory infections and allergies. Tasmania has one of the highest space-heating demands in the country, so many homes here fall below that threshold through winter. An assessment finds the specific reasons your home is underperforming, so they can be fixed at the source.
How is this different from a standard building inspection?
A building inspection is a visual assessment for defects and safety: structural issues, roof condition, pest damage, obvious wear. A Total Building Assessment measures how the home actually performs, using instruments: how airtight it is, where the thermal weak points are, and how moisture is behaving. Both are useful, and they cover different ground. If you need both, we can arrange a licensed building inspector alongside our assessment.
Do I need all three investigations, or can I start with one?
You can start with one. On a discovery call we’ll help you scope which investigation answers the question you’re actually asking. If you’re chasing a cold and draughty problem, a blower door test may be enough. If you have visible condensation or mould, the moisture investigation is where to begin. The combined package gives the full performance and health picture.
Can you assess a home before I buy it?
Yes. Pre-purchase is one of the strongest use cases for a Total Building Assessment. We work to your timeline and give you the information you need to decide whether to proceed, negotiate, or walk away.
What do I actually get from the assessment?
A written report with clear recommendations: what we found, what to fix, in what order, and what to leave alone. We walk you through it in person or on a call so you understand the findings, not just receive them. Reports are typically delivered within two weeks of the site visit.
Will I be able to understand the report?
Yes. The report is written for you, not for other engineers. Findings are explained plainly, prioritised, and paired with recommendations you can act on. If any part isn’t clear when we walk you through it, we work through it until it is.
Do you do mould testing or mould removal?
We don’t do lab or sample testing, and we don’t remove mould. What we do is find the moisture source and the conditions that let it grow. The report includes clear recommendations on what to do to resolve it.
Where do you work?
Our studios are in Launceston and Hobart, and we work with clients across Tasmania. Pricing above applies to sites within 60 minutes of our office locations, and we can quote for sites further afield.
stop guessing. start measuring
Tell us what your home is doing, and we’ll tell you which investigations will find the cause, and which ones you don’t need.