You Just Had an Inspection............... Your home inspector supplied you with a considerable amount of information during and after the inspection. Let us help you with questions you may have on the inspection and or the report. First a couple of key points;
Your inspector will normally not give a recommendation on the purchase of the house
Items on the report noted under the heading
"SYSTEM / ITEM" Items under this heading describe the system / item inspected and different aspects of the system / item. (Example; Heating unit, type of fuel, location, etc.). Each item under this heading is prefixed with a number that corresponds to a condition noted by the inspector in one of the corresponding sections below it. If multiple units or items are noted, then the letter assigned to that area / item will be used in the corresponding sections noting the condition of that particular unit or item only. Other units / items will have a different letter assigned to them as noted in the first section. Example; Bathroom A: lower ½ bath, Bathroom B: masterbath, letter A will be entered by the inspector in the condition noted for that bathroom only and letter B will be entered in the condition noted for that bathroom only. A multiple unit dwelling would be differentiated by units. Example Location A: lower unit, Location B: upper unit, etc.
Items on the report noted under the heading;
"Conditions noted in this column require routine maintenance and or minor repair" Conditions noted under this heading should be properly maintained and may require minor repair to ensure proper operation or serviceability. Failure to do so may cause the system / item to require additional and more extensive repair. Satisfactory or serviceable means that the system / item is operating as expected at the time of inspection. Just because the item is noted to be satisfactory, that does not mean that other conditions that may be present are satisfactory. In one such example; the roof shingles are in satisfactory condition because they are new, however other factors exist that may lead to water penetration as a result of ice damming.
Items on the report noted under the heading;
"Conditions noted in this column require some repair and or close monitoring"
Conditions noted under this heading require “some” repair, meaning that the repair at this time is relatively moderate and with proper repair, maintenance and close monitoring should remain serviceable. “Close monitoring” means that the system / items noted under this heading that have been repaired or are in need of repair should be closely monitored for additional repair due to the fact that they may be nearing the end of their expected serviceable life. Some systems or items may have been, or will be repaired and may require more extensive repair in the foreseeable future. Example; a repair was noted to a roof covering. This may indicate that shingles in other areas may also be beginning to wear out, even though they are not in need of replacement / repair at this time, or rust noted on the chimney pipe, eventually the pipe will perforate, closely monitor and repair / replace as necessary.
Items on the report noted under the heading;
"Conditions noted in this column require necessary repair / further evaluation by a Qualified professional"
Conditions noted under this heading require necessary repair as soon as possible to ensure further damage to the system / item and that other areas or components do not become damaged. It may be possible that damage to surrounding areas or other systems may have already occurred. These areas may not be able to be viewed by the inspector. The conditions noted under this heading require more extensive repair and are not recommended for the homeowner. It should be noted that the inspection conducted is visual and not technically exhaustive, therefore, a qualified professional i.e.; Licensed Plumber, Licensed Electrician, Structural Contractor etc. should evaluate and make the necessary repairs. Prior to any structural repairs we recommend evaluation by a structural engineer if possible.