Home inspection across Johannesburg

What inspectors actually find in Johannesburg

Expansive clay heave

Clay soils swell through the rainfall season and shrink through the dry months. Foundations move with them and brickwork cracks where it cannot accommodate the movement. Large trees and slow under-slab leaks turn seasonal movement into differential movement, which is what actually causes damage.Checked: Crack pattern and width, door and window squareness, floor level, tree proximity

Hail and summer storm damage

Highveld storms drive rain horizontally into elevations that shed ordinary rainfall without trouble, and hail bruises roof sheeting and tiles in ways that only leak months later once the coating has failed.Checked: Roof covering, flashings, parapet junctions, gutter and downpipe capacity

Asbestos cement materials

Asbestos has been prohibited in South Africa since 2008, so anything present predates that. Intact, painted cement sheeting is generally low risk and often best maintained in place; the hazard is deterioration or disturbance — drilling, cutting, or high-pressure cleaning.Checked: Roof sheeting, ridging, gutters, eaves boards, older ceiling boards, vinyl tiles

Ageing electrical installations

Pre-1990 installations often carry old wiring, no earth leakage protection, and boards extended piecemeal over decades. A certificate of compliance is a legal requirement on transfer and is frequently the largest unbudgeted cost in an older-suburb purchase.Checked: Distribution board, earth leakage, visible wiring, bonding

Areas we cover

• BedfordviewSloped clay sites with substantial retaining structures, and roof areas large enough that hail damage is costly.
• EdenvaleEstablished stock where seasonal clay movement and ageing electrical installations both appear routinely.
• Kempton ParkFlat, exposed sites where hail and storm damage to roof coverings is the dominant recurring defect.
• BenoniLake-adjacent ground with a high water table in places, producing subfloor damp alongside clay movement.
• BoksburgFormer mining ground in sections, with asbestos roofing common on original outbuildings.
• GermistonAmong the oldest stock on the East Rand, so original wiring and asbestos materials are both likely.
• AlbertonClay soils with a long history of seasonal foundation movement across whole streets.

What it costs

Indicative market ranges for guidance, not quotes. Full cost breakdown →