Home

About Us

Basic Home Inspection

Basic Home Inspection Guidelines

Mold Inspection and testing

Radon testing

Healthy Home Inspection

Protecting Yourself when buying a home

Pricing

Info Links

Contact Us

Our home inspection service is a visual  unbiased non-intrusive inspection that is looking for existing problems or potential problems which also include safety issues.

The inspection can take normally anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 hours to complete and in some rare instances up to 8 hours.

We highly suggest that you accompany the inspector so you may physically see any concerns during the inspection. You will not be asked or allowed due to insurance issues to go along with the inspector on the roof, attic or crawlspace (if applicable) as these can be dangerous areas.

There are seven main areas of concern they are:

• Structure - the most important element of a home. It is the skeleton of the home and the usefulness of the home completely depends on how sound the structure is. Due to the fact we are in Florida developing sinkholes and hurricanes can weaken a previously strong structure without anyone noticing. We inspect foundations, floors, walls, columns, ceilings and roofs. We will probe structural components where deterioration is suspected. We will enter under floor crawl spaces and attic spaces except when access is obstructed, when entry could damage property, or when dangerous or adverse situations are suspected.
• Exteriors - Wall claddings, trim, doors, windows, attached structures, drives, walkways, patios, grading, vegetation, garage and retaining walls if present all have unique characteristics that can give information about overall integrity of a home.
• Roofs - this is the number one concern of most home buyers and owners. We check the roof covering, roof drainage system, flashings, roof penetration areas (vent pipe, etc.), chimneys if present and check for water penetration and condensation.
• Plumbing - another concern of home buyers and owners is plumbing. No one wants to come home to a flooded house. What we check is the water supply entrance, supply distribution piping, fixtures, faucets, drain, waste, vent system, hot water system, sump pumps, fuel storage and distribution piping if applicable.
• Electrical - this is a visual inspection, not a code inspection. We will inspect the service entrance conductors, service equipment, grounding equipment, main over current device, main and distribution panels, amperage and voltage rating of service, branch circuit conductors, over current devices and their amp capacities and voltages, polarity and grounding of all receptacles within 6 ft. of interior plumbing, all receptacles in the garage or carport and on the exterior of the structures. We will operate a representative number of installed lighting fixtures, switches and receptacles located in the house, garage and exterior. We will operate all GFCI's and report any observed aluminum branch circuit wiring.
• Heating & Cooling - We check permanently installed heating systems. We look at the heating equipment, operating controls, automatic safety controls, chimneys, flues, vents, pipes, fans, exterior of ducts, supports, dampers, insulation, air filter, registers, radiators, fan-coil units and convectors. We check to see if there is a heat source in every room and we will operate the system using normal operating controls but only if we feel it is safe to do so and will not cause damage. We check the central air conditioning system, the cooling and air handling equipment for any visible concerns, we operate the system using the normal operating controls but only when weather conditions and circumstances will not cause equipment damage. If the central air conditioning system is not part of heating distribution system, we will check the separate fans, exterior of ducts, piping, supports, dampers, insulation, air filters, registers and fan coil units that are part of the independent system. We do not check window units as these are not permanent parts of the structure.
• Interiors - We inspect walls, ceilings, floors, steps, stairways, balconies, railings, counters, representative number of cabinets, representative number of doors and windows, separation walls, fireplace, garage or other dwelling unit attached to the home, security bars and safety glazing in locations subject to human impact. We will report signs of water penetration into the building or signs of abnormal or harmful condensation on building components along with safety issues.

The inspection report is 33 pages in size and you will receive it 1 to 1.5 hours from the physical end of the inspection if you've chosen the written only report and the next day if you've chosen the computer generated report with photos. The written report has 4 copies, 3 will be given to the client one will be kept by the inspector for no less than 2 years. The report goes into much more detail then what is described above as the above is a general idea of what the inspection consists of.  

To read the exact Home Inspection Guidelines used by certified home inspectors in the United States go to our home inspection guidelines page.