My wife and I put an offer in on a house on a Tuesday evening. It included a home inspection clause, and the seller's were insistent that we do it the very next day. I found 4Sight on Homestars and give them a call immediately, and got the inspection scheduled for 2pm the next day. Steve showed up early and went to work on a VERY in depth inspection, including:
* Close to an hour outside inspecting the foundation, vents, downspouts, and eavestroughs
* Significant amount of time in the basement checking the furnance, electrical, hot water tank, and exposed structure.
* Water pressure checks
* Attic inspection
* Thermal imaging
* Much more than I can't recall
He found many minor issues (old caulking, old windows, low water pressure upstairs), but the most important thing was the small amount of missing shingles on a peak of the roof. After looking around the attic he discovered that a small amount of water had penetrated, and that some shingles, and possibly some sheathing. He used thermal imaging to check whether water had gotten down past the insulation (it had not). A small amount of mold was found as well, and gave me advice on both how to deal with making sure the roof was fixed before closing, and how to keep an eye on the mold (it was such a small amount, not worth removing unless it grows).
The report was delivered as a PDF the same day as the inspection, and included many pictures showing the potential problem areas.
EDIT a few months after closing on the house:
I'm a bit disappointed that the extent of the issues with the roof were not found. We had the mold removed recently, and they told us there was still a leak. When we had a roofer in, he discovered that the shingles were barely held down at all - only about the first 1/5th of them. This means they could essentially flap in the wind, and water could easily get in during high winds. Due to this, I need to downgrade my review.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $450.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
Response to .... EDIT a few months after closing .....
Ben, Thank you again for your feed back.
Home Inspectors are no different than family physicians, we are generalists, we can only report on what our 5 senses may tell us. A family doctor may recommend that their patient see a specialist thus determining the cause of the problem. Home Inspectors like Doctors get the ball rolling, in most cases the specialist will discover things outside a typical examination.
The evidence and clues that we presented on site and in the 82 page report was very clear that the home had roofing issues. The very 1st page of the summary section, we reported on Leaking. This was captured by a photo showing missing shingles at the roof transition outer ridge, and by another photo in the attic showing water stains in that location of the missing shingles. We also reported on and photographed suspect mold in various locations in the attic. We were very clear in the report that the probability of leakage was high and that a qualified roofer be consulted immediately.
We would not have been able to determine how well the shingles were fastened as we indicated in the report that the roof was inspected from the ground because of (Lack of access (too high/steep)).
If you choose to, please consider adjusting your rating.
Origonal Response - Thank you very much for your review, others reading this will benefit for sure. A Thorough inspection comes from years of experience and a methodology of refined practice. I use a search and rescue approach to my inspections as you had witness during the inspection. I have done many inspections where the client wants me to jump around randomly, that approach does not work. Thank you for your patience during the inspection, there was a lot of ground to cover. Thank you again. Steve Blayney, 4Sight Inspections Inc.