Home Inspection as the Owner's Friend

One typically connects home inspection services to a purchase agreement contingency placed by a potential buyer. Occasionally a home inspection is a kind of forestalling strategy that a seller adopts prior to putting his house on the market. In each case, the client gains in the inspection service a kind of friend because it alerts him to defects that could put the transaction in danger. However, a homeowner can also take advantage of this inspection friendship even when he has no intention of selling but merely desires to keep his house in proper, or at least better, condition. Herein we explore some of the aspects of this owner-inspection relationship.

Of course, the home inspection isn't necessarily the only or even the best friend an owner can call upon to help him restore value in his largest investment and assuage concerns about unknown and possibly serious problems. Newspapers and other periodicals publish timely checklists for performing home maintenance tasks, and the Internet is another source of seemingly infinite advice. However, these guides aren't personally present and mentor remotely. The professional home inspector, on the other hand, doesn't just offer practical encouragement but willingly ventures into those spots the owner would rather not go. Furthermore, the owner would be hard pressed to match the inspector's expertise no matter how lucid the mentoring, and in certain instances this expertise is crucial.

A scrutiny of the major systems and appliances (heating, cooling, plumbing, water heater, and electrical) is part of the home inspection. For the furnace, water heater, and air coolers, the inspector performs an operability test, making note of age and signs of defective performance. He estimates remaining service life and may suggest that a technician provide periodic maintenance. The inspector looks behind the electrical panel to analyze line capacity and the state of circuitry. He keeps an eye out for plumbing leaks, measures water pressure and temperature, tests vent and exhaust fan performance, and checks that all potential cross connections are prevented through air gaps or devices that prevent backflow.

Examining the attic and crawl space is a critical aspect of the home inspection; these spaces are prone to pest and moisture problems. Most of the time they are unconditioned and cramped, rendering traversal difficult. Here, expertise is at a premium, so homeowners are usually quite happy to let their inspector friend perform the task. The inspection items of most concern in these spaces are structure, insulation, moisture accumulation, and ventilation.

The structural part includes checking for cracking or shifting in the foundation, insufficient post or beam support, and beam, joist, or rafter damage. Damage might be stress-related (leaning, buckling, crumbling) or man-made through violation of standards regarding cut notches or drilled holes.

The insulation part includes checking for its presence and depth, estimating R-value, and making sure insulation isn't blocking soffit or crawl space vents. The moisture accumulation part involves primarily inspecting for wet or very damp wood (and also conditions that tend to induce moisture buildup in wood), analyzing for its probable cause (e.g., leaks or rising damp from lack of vapor barrier), and probing for evidence of pest infestation. His qualification for performing a complete pest inspection is arguably the home inspector's most valuable expertise. If termites, ants, or beetles have invaded wooden structural members, the house's structural integrity is likely compromised and the residents' safety is imperiled.

The ventilation part involves checking that there is enough. Unconditioned spaces tend to develop condensation and mold when the ventilation is poor because heat seeps through from conditioned spaces, enabling the air to hold moisture until it strikes a cool surface.

The home inspection results in a report, where the inspector has listed his findings and recommendations. It's like a gift from the owner's friend, showing what needs attention now and what will likely need attention later.