What is a home inspection? What should I expect?
Here we will detail how a home inspection works and what you should expect during an inspection.
A home inspection can take anywhere from 1-4 hours depending on the size of the house and the number of ancillary services that are requested, but most inspections are 2-3 hours long. A home inspector assesses whether there are deficiencies in the home and compiles them into a report. An inspector will look over your entire home, attic, and basement/crawlspace, provided these areas are readily accessible. An inspector does not predict the life span of any of the home components, nor are they the ones to place a dollar value on your home.
What an inspector will and won’t do
While a home inspector will go all through your home, the inspection is not exhaustive; they will not remove ducts, paneling, roofing, carpeting, etc. An inspection of this type would likely take 8-10 hours or more. Likewise, an inspector (like many other contractors) will not move couches, beds, tables, ovens, dressers, etc. to see or gain access to a specific area. Home inspections are therefore most effective when a house is partially or fully empty, or at least free of clutter. While home inspectors may scan a wall with infrared, they generally won’t put scopes into walls, look at plumbing supply lines, or inspect electrical cable obscured by a wall.
In most states, and in Tacoma, Washington, you must specifically request for the inspector to test for mold, asbestos, or radon, so be sure to go over this with your inspector before the start of the inspection.
Home inspectors vs. contractors
If you know a particular house system is having a problem (plumbing, electrical, structural, etc.), then just skip the inspector and call the appropriate professional. A home inspector will likely make a recommendation to see one of the other professionals, and many times there is not a need to call them if you think you know where the problem lies.
You may be curious why. First, home inspectors are much like family doctors but for the home; they have a lot of general knowledge about all the systems within a home and will refer to a specialist when appropriate. Second, many times home inspectors are limited by the law and STANDARDS OF PRACTICE in what recommendation they can make for a home. In such cases, a referral is often the only course of action to take. Many home inspectors who have a background in construction or contracting are not legally allowed to refer to this knowledge while working in the capacity of a home inspector. This restriction is in place to protect the client; it helps keep the inspector from citing the defects and then turning around and recommending and/or repairing the home themselves. Instead, another set of eyes and another opinion gets consulted before you begin making changes to your home.
The inspection report
At the end, you will have an inspection report. This is a digest of things that should be addressed in a house. Don’t panic when you see deficiencies; all home will have them. Instead, look at them one by one. Some of them will be pretty minor, like a sagging gate or conduit holders that are a bit too far apart. However, in many cases there can be some things that are more serious and should be addressed, like seismic bracing for the water heater, or missing HEAD FLASHING above a window or door. One of the best things to do after you get the report is to go over it and ask questions about anything that you may not fully understand and to check and see what items in the inspection report you might address first.
Wrapping up
Overall, a home inspection’s purpose is to help you, the homeowner or future homeowner, reduce the surprises and unexpected financial expenses that might come up after you have already spent money on your home.