Phone, email and booking hours

When are the phones answered?

Phones are answered Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 6pm and on Saturday from 8am to 2pm. They are closed on Sundays and public holidays. Emails and form requests can be sent at any time, and anything that arrives outside those hours is picked up first thing on the next working day, in the order it came in.

If your request is tied to a date, such as a building condition or an unconditional date on a purchase, put the date in the first line of the email or in the form's date field so it is seen straight away.

How quickly will someone reply?

Expect a call back the same working day for requests made during booking hours, or early the next working day for anything sent late. That call confirms the address, how to reach the roof space and subfloor, who will let the inspector in, and the date you are working to. Visit times depend on the week, so mention any deadline when you first call rather than later.

What to have ready before you call

A few details make the first call short and let the visit be planned properly. None of them is essential, and the inspector will ask for anything missing, but a buyer working to a condition date saves a day by having them to hand. Photos of holes or dust are useful too, sent by email after the call.

• The property's street and suburb, and whether you own it, rent it or are buying it.
• Why you are calling: a building report, holes or dust, beetles on a sill, a piece of furniture, or a purchase.
• Where the roof hatch and subfloor access are, and whether either is locked, painted shut or very low.
• Your condition or settlement date if you are buying, and the agent's name if they arrange access.
• Any earlier treatment you know of, with dates if the paperwork exists.

Phone, email or the booking form?

All three reach the same booking queue, so use whichever suits you. A phone call suits anyone working to a tight date or with questions about access. Email suits photos and longer descriptions. The form on the book an inspection page asks for exactly the details listed above and adds a date field for buyers.

Where the inspector travels

The inspector comes to the house, wherever it is in the Auckland region: the isthmus, the North Shore, West Auckland, the eastern suburbs and the south. Steep sections, shared driveways and apartment buildings are fine, but say so on the first call so access and parking can be arranged. Notes on particular suburbs are under locations.

What the first call cannot settle

Nobody can say over the phone whether borer is still active or how much treatment a house needs, because that depends on what is found in the timber. The first call books the inspection and answers practical questions. Any treatment price follows the visit, in writing, for the timbers the findings identify; the borer prices page shows the published ranges in the meantime.

Suspected exotic termites are different again: the Ministry for Primary Industries asks for them to be reported on its pest and disease hotline, 0800 80 99 66, before anything is sprayed or disturbed.

Who answers

Bookings are handled for the independent timber-pest operator who carries out the inspection, and your details go to that operator to arrange the visit. How personal information is handled is set out in the privacy statement, and the arrangement itself is described on how it works.

Next

• Borer inspectionWhat a borer inspection records, part by part, and what it costs
• Pre-purchase borer inspectionA borer check timed to your building condition, read alongside the building report
• About LignumWhat the service is, what it records, what it leaves to builders, and the rules the work sits under