Unit 141, 635 Gardeners Road, Mascot.

This report records a visual inspection of the above unit and associated common property, undertaken on 14 July 2026. The inspection covered the interior of the unit (both levels), the upper-level common areas, the upper car-park level and the entry-level podium. Moisture readings were taken with an electronic moisture meter, and a photographic record was captured throughout and referenced against each finding.

The inspection was non-invasive and visual. Where a finding indicates a potential condition within the building fabric (for example moisture within a slab), a further invasive or follow-up inspection is recommended before works are specified.

All facing windows on both levels — kitchen, bedroom 1, bedroom 2 and the main bathroom — show extensive mould to the frames, sills and tracks, with mould also present on the roller blinds. In bedroom 2, mould is additionally present on the east-facing upper highlight window. The distribution (facing windows, both levels, on frames and blinds) is consistent with condensation associated with limited ventilation rather than external water ingress.

The photograph of the laundry exhaust-fan duct shows evidence of potential moisture in the slab above, together with dust and possible mould to the external face of the duct.

Recommendation: re-inspect the duct and the slab soffit above. If moisture is confirmed in the slab, investigate the source and rectify before reinstating; if the slab is dry, clean and treat the duct. (A query has been referred to Russell; response pending.) See Appendix A for the detailed ceiling-void / ductwork assessment.

The laundry, ground-floor bathroom and ensuite have no natural ventilation and are served by a single interconnected mechanical exhaust-fan system. The exhaust grilles are moderately to severely dust-filled, and the dust may also contain mould.

Recommendation: clean and service the interconnected exhaust system; test the dust for mould; confirm the system achieves adequate air changes to the non-ventilated wet areas. See Appendix A for the detailed grille / communal-exhaust assessment.

Water ponds on the floor of the ensuite shower recess and was still standing at the completion of testing, indicating inadequate fall to the floor waste.

Recommendation: rectify the floor fall to the waste; confirm the waterproofing membrane remains intact.

The wall-mounted power switch serving the oven is faulty / broken. Recommendation: replace the switch (licensed electrician).

It is feasible to install a dishwasher adjacent to the kitchen sink; services and cabinetry allow for it. Noted for the owner's information.

The mechanical extraction grille to the upper-level garbage room is heavily soiled and the room is dirty. Recommendation: clean the room and grille; include grille cleaning in the common-property maintenance schedule.

Note: fire extinguishers and service penetrations inspected in these rooms were satisfactory and are not raised as defects.

There is a large opening in the external wall of the fire stairwell. This opening permits wind-driven rain to enter and travel across the upper stair landing into the level hallway — there is no raised threshold (hob) beneath the fire-exit doorway — and it compromises the fire compartmentation of the stairwell (a stairwell should be fully enclosed; a large opening introduces an oxygen path, a "chimney" effect).

Recommendation: close the opening (e.g. sheet over the full opening with fibre-cement / flashing) or construct a hob beneath the fire-exit door. Given the fire-safety implication, review against the building's fire-engineering / essential-services requirements.

The upper car-park level is where water ingress is occurring. The lower car-park level, where the subject unit's car space 141 is located, was satisfactory. Most upper-level leaks have already been managed by installing gutter trays connected to small-diameter stormwater pipes discharging to a drain at the end of the car park.

A small number of vertical penetrations through the slab do not appear to be properly fire-sealed. Recommendation: fire-seal the penetrations to the required rating.

A large-diameter stormwater pipe (approximately 300–350 mm diameter) is actively dripping / leaking and has no gutter tray or collection beneath it. This is the only upper-level leak not yet addressed.

Recommendation: install a gutter tray / collection and drainage to the pipe, and investigate the leak source (see Section 6).

The most probable source of the upper car-park leakage is the podium / entry-level external paved area and/or the planter boxes, consistent with waterproofing-membrane failure. Extensive cracked and crazed paving tiles and planter-box defects were observed and photographed in bulk.

Recommendation: investigate and rectify the podium waterproofing membrane and planter-box tanking; re-lay / re-seal the cracked paved areas. Treat this as the primary remediation, as it addresses the source rather than the symptoms in the car park.

Detailed photographic assessment expanding Findings 3.2 and 3.3. The room-side grilles connect to the shared (communal) building exhaust. Findings are from visual / photographic evidence only — no material was sampled or tested; any reference to biological growth, moisture activity or contamination is provisional and must be confirmed by testing before it is relied upon.

• Slab soffit staining — diffuse, soft-edged dark patches with a distinct yellow-brown cast relative to the surrounding slab; a chromatic surface stain, not shadow or underexposure.
• Association with a crack / joint — the staining fans out from and trails down a linear crack / formwork joint, a pattern typical of moisture tracking along the crack and leaching minerals from the concrete.
• Flexible ductwork — duct, collar and taped connection heavily dust-laden and the tape aged; a cold duct in an unventilated void is a recognised condensation source, located directly above the stained zone.
• Insulation batt — greyed and dust-darkened on its upper surface, indicating air movement (and a possible moisture path) through it.

Likely cause (provisional): water staining and mineral leaching from a slab crack, with condensation off the adjacent cold ductwork as a plausible contributor. The morphology is more consistent with moisture staining than an established mould colony, but active growth cannot be excluded from the photograph alone.

• Uniform per-cell deposition — a dark deposit centred in every cell, lighter at the cell walls, repeating uniformly; an airflow-deposition pattern (particulate on the room-side face), not a growth pattern.
• Colour-neutral deposit — neutral black / grey with no colour cast, consistent with dust and lint rather than biological growth; enlarged, the material appears fibrous and matted.
• Deposition direction — dust on the room-side face indicates air is drawn from the room into the void (exhaust / return grilles), consistent with a shared exhaust.
• Degree of loading — Grille B is heavily loaded with free area substantially reduced; Grille A is the same type, loaded but less severely (two outlets on one system at different service intervals).
• Ad-hoc frame material — Grille B shows a crinkled plastic / tape patch top-left; identify it, as anything taped over the system alters airflow.

Significance (provisional): most likely accumulated dust / lint from normal exhaust duty — overdue cleaning rather than a grille defect. Functionally, heavy loading chokes the free area and cuts the exhaust rate below design, lowering moisture removal, raising indoor humidity and promoting condensation in the same void recorded at A.2 — the loaded grille and the stained slab may be part of one moisture story (and relate directly to the window mould at Finding 3.1).

• Cross-contamination / backflow — if the shared exhaust is unbalanced, switched off, or lacks non-return dampers, air can backflow from the common riser into the unit, carrying dust and any contaminants in the void. Verify the presence and function of non-return / constant-flow dampers at each outlet.
• Maintenance responsibility — grille and duct cleaning on a communal system typically falls to the owners corporation; the loading observed suggests servicing is overdue for at least the outlets photographed, and potentially system-wide.

This record is based solely on photographs and does not constitute a mould assessment, an air-quality assessment, or a mechanical-services report. No surfaces were disturbed and no samples were taken. Statements of likely cause are provisional interpretations of visual evidence and may be revised once testing is carried out. Where this record is relied upon for a strata or building-defect determination, complete the recommended testing at A.5 and substitute the results for the provisional causes stated here.