The exterior components of a building work together to provide a weathertight skin, if all the parts are doing their job. Protection against intruders, both animal and human, is also offered by the building skin.
The structure of a home is the skeleton, which includes the foundations and footings as well as the floors, walls, and roof.
The primary purpose of a roof is to keep the building and its occupants protected from rain, snow, sun, wind, and all the combinations of these.
The purpose of a house plumbing system is twofold. On the supply side, the idea is to get water for drinking, washing and cooking to the appropriate areas of the house.
The purpose of a heating system in the North American climate is obvious. How well a heating system performs is not so obvious.
The electrical system is very important from both a safety and convenience standpoint. Generally speaking, electrical systems are expanded and upgraded over the life of a house, rather than taken out and replaced on a regular basis.
There are many types of air conditioning systems; however, they all work on the same principle. They move heat from a relatively cool space to a relatively warm space.
With the exception of new super-insulated houses, virtually every house has room for improvement when it comes to insulation, ventilation, caulking and
weatherstripping. These will improve comfort levels and conserve energy.
The building interior is looked at for a number of reasons. The interior provides clues to structural problems and is often the area where water leakage is first detectable.
These are the most common services that are provided by Home Inspection companies in Ontario & Canada today. A fully trained and Certified Home Inspector will have knowledge in all these areas to help educate you as to what you should know before buying, selling or building a home.
A maintenance inspection is essentially the same as a standard home inspection, but the inspection is done for the current owner. Most of these homeowners have been in their homes for over five years, and they may or may not have had their home inspected at the time they purchased it.
Another difference between a buyers inspection and a homeowner maintenance inspection is that we sometimes go a little ” Mike Holmes” on the house by cutting into stuff or taking stuff apart that we wouldn’t normally do for a traditional home inspection. While a traditional buyers inspection is subject to a purchase agreement with standard language saying it’s a non-invasive inspection, we don’t have those kinds of limitations with a maintenance inspection. Usually, the homeowner is right there with me for the maintenance inspection. If I’m concerned about water intrusion below that basement cabinet in the corner, I’ll ask the owner if I can drill a hole in the back of the cabinet and stick a borescope in there to check it out.
I think most home inspectors like to get to the bottom of stuff like this, and homeowners appreciate the extra work involved to get to the bottom of questions.
Win-win.
Everyone’s happy and we all sleep better at night.
Think of a maintenance inspection as a checkup visit to the doctor or dentist that need only happen every three to five years or so. A maintenance inspection will help to prioritize a home improvement list, and to hopefully find out about small problems before they turn into big ones. In some cases, a maintenance inspection will reveal something that was thought to be a small problem but, has already turned into a big one.
A maintenance inspection also gives homeowners a chance to have a professional home inspector answer questions with a completely unbiased viewpoint.
The home inspector isn’t there to sell anything. We’re just going to give unbiased, accurate opinion using the years of knowledge we have obtained inspecting homes just like yours. If we can save you money or find ways for you our client to avoid unnecessary repairs bills we will feel that we’ve done a good job.
