THE HOME INSPECTOR
Why should you choose The Home Inspector?
We go above and beyond. It's that simple.
But we are all about the details. We choose to do more than our Standards of Practice requires. Here is what makes our inspections much different than the average inspection.
We test for carbon monoxide. Wherever possible, we actually test for it at your furnace, water heater, gas logs, and gas range. Testing helps us to understand how well the appliance is burning fuel, but more importantly: Are the exhaust gases entering the air you breathe? We check for exhaust spillage from gas appliances, check to see if garage air is being sucked into your furnace system, and any other condition which could bring CO into the household air. Is there a carbon monoxide detector present?
Safety concerns are all around. Sharp edges on deck railings, countertops, and staircase handrails, loose blades on ceiling fans, stairs which could make you trip, dark walking areas, windows and doors which do not latch, showers which could scald you, Reversed HOT and COLD faucets, safety recalls on appliances and other products, incandescent bulbs too close to combustibles.
Can you get out if the house catches fire? We note fire spread potential when there is an open attic, smoke alarms present and working, sleeping rooms with no emergency escape route, and special protection from a garage fire.
Aging parts of the home... how long will things last? The old furnace, water heater, air conditioner, the roofing shingles...are they any good? What is normal aging? Should you repair or replace a defective item?
Cracked, sagged and creaking oh my. What do cracks in the inside walls and foundation walls mean? Does the sagging, creaking floor mean that there is structural trouble?
More than a flip of a switch. Protection from lightning by grounding, non-grounded metal things near wet areas, electric ranges which can shock you, is ground fault protection present and working? We look for signs of overloads and overheating, incorrect overcurrent protection, sub-standard wiring.
Comfort is key. Finding leaky doors & windows, poorly insulated attics, poor HVAC design or functioning, the chimney effect which creates drafty conditions, damp places in the home, and poor ventilation.
Take a fresh breath. Peculiar odors: what's the source? Natural gas leaks, formaldehyde, smoker's residue, mildew odor, sewer gas, pet odors. I worry about allergens in your home. I respect the fact that allergens can make your life in this home miserable, so I am especially alert for them. I am wary of mold anywhere it is present, and I will alert you about this, deducing from odors, from seeing inside the furnace, from a visual inspection of the damp places in and under the house.
It's all about your needs. Getting inside from a car, climbing stairs, will a wheel chair work here? Is the bathroom and kitchen accessible? What can be done to make the home more accessible?
Let's look for contamination and hazards. Is the well water safe to drink? We can test for radon gas and water contamination.
Any home design problems? Product recalls which you may not hear about. Issues with hardboard siding, synthetic stucco, windows which fog, cracked door panels, bad attic fans, plastic water piping, low quality wood trim, fiberglass roofing shingles, gas logs, leaky furnace ducting, high water pressure, mold and deterioration of the roof sheathing, aluminum wiring, design mistakes which could turn a home into a raging inferno in minutes.
And all those other little annoying things. Doors that don't latch or fit, windows stuck with paint or won't stay up when opened, "crunchy" sounding floors, dark stains at the edges of the carpeting, miss-wired light switches, loose wall outlets, falling-apart drawers in cabinets, annoying vibrations and sounds, a short supply of HOT water.
Who will be responsible for my inspection? John Woodmansee, our founder, is a master home inspector and has been inspecting homes for over 20 years. Jim Swing brings over 30 years of insurance claims experience which serves him well as a home inspector.
You can expect all NC Licensed Home Inspectors to follow certain basic evaluations. Choose The Home Inspector because we go beyond the basic inspection protocol established by the NC Home Inspector Licensure Board Standards of Practice.
We take more time during our inspections and we are willing to talk to you about your home. Your attendance for the inspection is invited and encouraged! This is when you will hear about especially good things we notice about your home, quality choices in the components, good workmanship, things which took extra time to build-in to this home, good design features.
Many of our clients come by referrals from satisfied homebuyers, and from real estate professionals who understand that a well-informed buyer is, in the final analysis, the most satisfied buyer.
