The Home Inspection Co

I hired Ted for an inspection on an 100 yr old house after getting several recommendations from work colleagues. I was told to book a day off work and bring a notepad - the inspection was excellent. Extremely thorough, we covered pretty much every inch of the house, the attention to detail was amazing.
Ted is a little more expensive that other conveyor belt inspection companies but he is worth every penny, he searches out the home to make sure you know what you're buying, he teaches you as you go and provides you with the report which can essentially be seen as a handbook to your home.
I feel like a know almost everything that i need know about the home i'm buying and feel very comfortable making the purchase - i will use Ted again for future purchases and will be recommending him.

We hired Ted from THE Home Inspection Co. to look at a duplex we were considering purchasing in Port Moody. I had heard good things about Ted's work, and was not dissapointed. Ted had arrived 30 minutes before I did first thing in the morning, to do an initial inspection of the interior. From there, we proceeded to inspect every inch of the house, including specific focus on areas where the roof on the house was about to be replaced. Throughout the inspection, Ted pointed out areas of possible concern, and areas that could be fixed/improved and severity. We ended spending about 6 hours on a 2400 sq ft home. After the on-site inspection, Ted produces a thorough report of all findings during the inspection, including a listing of all improvements that could be considered and their severity levels.
We will certainly consider Ted again if we purchase a new home, as we have not come across someone who is that thorough in their work. Most of all, Ted cares about the work he performs and looks out for his clients best interest. This is a rarity in the world of home inspections nowadays.
Although you could consider the cost of a home inspection costly, just think what the alternatives are should a sub-par home inspection not uncover, and what may await you in years to come. Keep up the good work Ted!

We hired Ted on two occasions (Aug 2014 and October 2014) during the process of searching for a new home, and we could not have been more satisfied and appreciative of the job he did.

Ted has enormous experience and knowledge in the applicable areas of home construction, maintenance, and contracting, and he brings all of it to his inspections. It is also apparent that he keeps himself up to date on recent building science. His expertise elevates the title of "inspector" far above common notions.

What impressed us even more, however, was his attitude and integrity. Ted truly advocates for his clients, and it is obvious he takes tremendous pride in his work. I will try not to repeat what other reviewers have already praised, but highlight just a few examples of the many ways in which Ted surpassed our expectations.

Ted took the time and made the effort to look everywhere. It is telling that on our first inspection, Ted injured his head and drew blood attempting to get into some basement spaces needing inspection. Despite hurting himself, he barely paused. On our second home inspection, Ted somehow found a way to maneuver his way into an attic through a tiny awkward space in a closet. Keep in mind that home inspectors are not required to inspect things or areas that are not readily accessible at the time of inspection. And I would not have faulted Ted for skipping these difficult spaces. But it speaks to his attitude that he would persist in these situations.

Another example: by now, many will have read about the impressive, detailed, and comprehensive reports that Ted produces. They blow people away, and our experience was the same. But in addition to his report, his follow up was incredible. After the inspection of the second house he inspected for us, there was some remediation work that needed to be done on the home. Ted contacted us several days after he had already completed our inspection, because he had been passing through the neighbourhood where the house was located. He had taken a second look to re-examine some points, and also managed to speak to the service person who had been hired to do repair work that day. I would have never expected this kind of conscientious followup from a home inspector before meeting Ted.

It seems the process of searching for and purchasing a home is fraught with encounters with deceitful self-interested parties. In all of this, our experiences with Ted and his home inspections were a a much needed reminder of what genuine, committed, and competent service is.

We've used Ted's services three times, and have always been impressed with his attention to detail and his depth of knowledge about existing and potential issues in a home. His first inspection was an eye-opener that saved us from making what would have been an extremely unfortunate purchase decision. It was a highly informative tour that took the full day. Ted explained everything he was finding as he found it, and the implications. Equipped with what we learned from him about “red flags,” we began our search again and found an apartment in what we believed to be a well-constructed and well-maintained strata. Ted's second inspection confirmed this, and we've been extremely happy here for the past nine years. Recently, my mother-in-law purchased a new condo and there was no question that Ted would conduct that inspection, too. She was able to confidently proceed with the purchase based on his thorough analysis. Ted's post-inspection reports are exhaustive, and include a written and photographic record of his observations, a list of the items that require attention in order of priority, maintenance tips, and a resource section. A day or two following the inspection, he reviews it with you, page by page and line by line. Ted continues to make himself available as a resource whenever we have a question regarding maintenance of our home, and we can always count on him to respond with a thoughtful and helpful reply. We highly recommend Ted Gilmour and T.H.E. Company to any homebuyer who wants to be as certain as possible that they're making a sound real estate investment.

We first met Ted about 15 years ago. We were deciding whether to stay in our home or move. In order to stay, we needed extensive renos. So we called Ted (we read about him in a newspaper I think) to go over our house and let us know if renovating the place would be money well spent or if we should pack up and move.
Ted spent several hours going over our home from top to bottom. His report was amazing in the detail and advice he offered. Turned out our house was worth renovating, so we did and there were no regrets.

Years pass, and I am asked by a coworker who was in the market to buy a first home whether I knew a reliable home inspector, I gave her Ted's number. Her husband was reluctant to use him (or anyone for that matter) but she insisted and Ted went over the house they were looking at and found a massive structural problem. Saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her husband ended up thanking Ted. They found a second home, asked Ted to look at it and they got the green light from him.

Fast forward to two days ago. We contacted Ted and asked him to go over a townhome we wanted to buy. We met him there and spent the next 5 hours combing the place. We learned lots. First of all, the trick of realtors to employ tons of scent when showing a house means they are hidng something. The owner has a cat. Frankly I could care less, I have cats I know what they smell like, but I imagine lots of people would not like it, but masking it with over powering vanilla scent is a bad idea. I was suspicious about why so much scent was used and got my answer when we inspected the house. The vanilla was gone when we arrived but the stink in the fridge was not. this is not a deal breaker, but is an indicator that the homeowner either hasn't got a sense of smell or doesnt care. The rest of the house was fine, we closed windows and let the air settle while we did the rest of the inspection. No smell of mould or mildew was present thank heavens, just the dirty fridge and the dirty broiler tray in the oven. To me a house shoudnt reek of vanilla, a clean house smells like a clean person, there is no smell.

The other thing is, Ted looks at the minutiae as well as the large. Sometimes the small things are the most troublesome. Bathroom fans for example. Dirty, clogged up fans will breakdown. A quick regular clean will keep things running smoothly for years. Most of us ignore our bathroom fans until they start making that 'wup wup' sound, then we realize we should have been looking at them ages ago. Grouting around bathroom tiles needs close examination as well, otherwise how do you know if there are cracks, which means water penetration? Ted does all this. He can spot a water stain on a bathroom floor or failed caulking around the tub, something the average person just doesnt see.

Ted took over 100 pictures for his report which is fantastic because after awhile your mind can be overrun with images and its great to have pictoral references to problem areas to jog your memory. Also, hard cold proof of a problem in a photo is pretty hard to dispute.

He also makes sure that the buyers are right in there like he is, after all, you are buying the place so you need to be engaged in the inspection process, hes not there for his benefit, but ours. He never speaks condescendingly, and makes sure you know what he's talking about. I like that. So many 'experts' have their noses in the air and their hands in your pockets. It can be quite insulting. Ted is not like that at all.

Ted's fees may shock you at first, but really, think about this. If you are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions on a home, why the heck would you cheap out on the inspection? It makes no sense whatsoever, after all, what is a thousand dollars compared to 600,000? barely a drop in the bucket.

Ted worked in the construction industry for years, hes done drywalling, framing, plumbing, electrical, cabinet making. I imagine he wields a mean paint brush as well. His advice is worth following and we really appreciate the cost estimates for the repairs, and the offer of a referal to get the help for the work to be done.

His report is nothing short of amazing. Detailed doesnt begin to describe it. I can't begine to say how fantastic the report is, you have to see one to beleive it.

Ted is more than just a house inspector, he will give you a repair plan for your home, a cost estimate and who to go to for the work. I trust his eye, his judgement and his conclusions. I would never buy another house without him. If, when we go to move next time, and he's retired, I'll be asking him to recommend someone to inspect. We wouldn't make a move without him.

We hired Ted approximately 2 years ago to inspect our new home to ensure everything was up to par prior to the expiration of the first builder warranty period. Ted was thorough, detailed and extremely helpful. He found a couple of Building Code violation issues (which we were then able to get the builder to repair) and made a variety of recommendations for improvements (and suggested which of those recommendations were more urgent than others). He patiently took the time to explain to us in plain language the issues he uncovered. He also provided a binder containing his findings, including colour photographs, and recommendations. It is an extremely useful document that we have referred to often.
Since initially hiring Ted, he has made himself available to us to answer any questions we have. Two years after our initial inspection Ted came back to our home to examine two areas that we have been attempting to get repaired. He again provided a thorough explanation of the results of his examination and made more suggestions for us to follow up with the contractor we had hired. Much to our surprise, he did this free of charge.
We highly recommend Ted for his home inspection service.
Thank you Ted. From Kim & Gary

Ted's home inspection service is awesome. He gets to the site early and looks around the external area before you show up. During the inspection, he explains everything thoroughly and patiently answers naive homeowner-to-be questions. Ted provides suggestions and recommendations during the inspection. As another review noted, Ted's home inspection report is an owner's manual for your house. You can go back and make the suggested changes or corrections to make your home a better home for your family. Ted will take the time to review the entire report with you once he finishes compiling it. He will offers to provide advice should you ever need to ask him anything regarding your new home. That's service.

We have used Ted's services twice. We would never hesitate to use his service again. We highly recommend Ted to anyone wanting a very thorough area by area inspection of a home. He might even be awesome to help you learn about and improve the home you already own!

Thanks Ted!

It was just a pleasure to work with Ted. His report is actually not just a report but as well lifetime homeowner manual with all necessary information and links. Yep, it is not cheap, but it worth each spent dollar. It is like a course for a homeowner, with great examples.

I Strongly recommend THE service for everybody!

Ted is a skilled and conscientious inspector who is very knowledgeable about the home construction industry. He takes the time to thoroughly inspect a home and ensure that his clients are educated on the nuances of his findings, whether they relate to deficiencies or future maintenance efforts. Our search for a home took place over a number of years, and despite the many options for home inspection services in the market, we never doubted that Ted was the best. During this time, we engaged Ted’s services for three home inspections and found him to be an individual of high integrity who we could count on to be our trusted advisor. A home purchase is a complex and significant financial transaction – having access to reliable and credible information is invaluable. We now have our home and have greatly appreciated Ted’s assistance on the journey.