The Scope and Purpose of a Home Inspection

Purchasing property involves risk

The purpose of a home inspection is to help reduce the risk associated with the purchase of a house by providing a professional opinion about its condition. A home inspection is a limited visual inspection and it cannot eliminate this risk. Some homes present more risks than others. We cannot control this, but we try to help educate you about what we don’t know during the inspection process. This is more difficult to convey in a report and one of many reasons why we recommend that you attend at least part of the inspection.

A home inspection is not an insurance policy

This report does not substitute for or serve as a warranty or guarantee of any kind. Home warranties can be purchased separately from insuring firms that provide this service.

A home inspection is visual and not destructive

The descriptions and observations in this report are based on a visual inspection of the structure. We inspect the aspects of the structure that can be viewed without dismantling, damaging or disfiguring the structure and without moving furniture and interior furnishings. Areas that are concealed, hidden or inaccessible to view are not covered by this inspection. Some systems cannot be tested during this inspection as testing risks damaging the building. Our procedures involve non-invasive investigation and non-destructive testing which limits the scope of the inspection. Where moisture meter testing is indicated in this report a Protimeter Surveymaster was used.

This is not an inspection for code compliance

This inspection and report are not intended for city / local code compliance. During the construction process structures are inspected for code compliance by municipal inspectors. Framing is open at this time and conditions can be fully viewed. Framing is not open during inspections of finished homes, and this limits the inspection. All houses fall out of code compliance shortly after they are built, as the codes continually change. National codes are augmented at least every three years for all of the varying disciplines. Municipalities can choose to adopt and phase in sections of the codes on their own timetables. There are generally no requirements to bring older homes into compliance unless substantial renovation is being done.

This is just our opinion

Construction techniques and standards vary. There is no one way to build a house or install a system in a house. The observations in this report are the opinions of the home inspector. Other inspectors and contractors are likely to have some differing opinions. You are welcome to seek opinions from other professionals.

The scope of this inspection

This inspection will include the following systems: exterior, roof, structure, drainage, foundation, attic, interior, plumbing, electrical and heating. The evaluation will be based on limited observations that are primarily visual and non-invasive. This inspection and report are not intended to be technically exhaustive. We follow the InterNACHI Standards of Practice and are generally looking for functionality (are things working) and safety issues.

Your expectations

The overall goal of a home inspection is to help ensure that your expectations are appropriate with the house you are proposing to buy or sell. To this end we assist with discovery by showing and documenting observations during the home inspection. This should not be mistaken for a technically exhaustive inspection designed to uncover every defect with a building. Such inspections are available but they are generally cost-prohibitive to most homebuyers.

General Disclaimers

The approximate square footage listed in the report is listed as a courtesy and is based off of public records and disclosure. An evaluation of square footage of the buildings and property lines is beyond the scope of this inspection.

The number of bedrooms identified is pulled from the MLS listing or public records. Any observed non-conforming bedrooms will be identified in this report.

A thermal imaging camera was used to check walls and ceilings for thermal anomalies and also to check specific appliances for verification of proper function. All thermal images will be pared with a normal picture of the same frame. Thermal imaging cameras use the infrared light spectrum to build a picture of the house. Experienced thermogrophers look for clues in these thermal images that could lead us to otherwise concealed water leaks or missing air or thermal barriers. In older homes, incomplete air and thermal barriers are so common, we will only report on items that look significantly deficient and are worthy of correction. This service is included with our home inspection; it is limited and is not a complete thermal mapping of the house. Note that weather conditions (e.g. whether it has rained in the days/weeks leading up to the inspection) can significant affect the effectiveness of thermal image testing.

When testing appliances, any operational defects noted will be listed in this report. However, just because an appliance turns on and runs, it does not necessarily mean it was working effectively. I was testing for basic function of appliances; testing every feature, option, and the overall effectiveness of the appliance is not feasible during an inspection.

Mold, mold testing, and indoor air quality are beyond the scope of this inspection. That being said, any suspected mold or conducive conditions for mold that we observed will be reported on. If mold or indoor air quality is a particular concern, we recommend an additional evaluation and further inspections by a specialist.

Radon level testing is not included as part of this inspection. While radon is a concern in many areas of the United States, according to the EPA, the Seattle area has low risk for radon levels (see EPA map.) If radon levels are of specific concern, we recommend contacting a company that provides this service. Note that it takes 48+ hours to accurately measure radon levels.

Your participation is requested

Your presence is requested during this inspection. A written report will not substitute for all the possible information that can be conveyed verbally by a shared visual observation of the conditions of the property.

How to Read This Report

Getting the Information to You

This report is designed to deliver important and technical information in a way that is easy for anyone to access and understand. If you are in a hurry, you can take a quick look at our "Summary Page” and quickly get critical information for important decision making. However, we strongly recommend that you take the time to read the full Report, which includes digital photographs, captions, diagrams, descriptions, videos and hot links to additional information. This report can also be printed on paper or to a PDF document, but the best way to get the layers of information that are presented in this report is to read your report online, which will allow you to expand your learning about the inspected property.

Chapters and Sections

This report is divided into chapters that parcel the home into logical inspection components. Each chapter is broken into sections that relate to a specific system or component of the home. You can navigate between chapters with the click of a button on the left side margin.

Most sections will contain some descriptive information done in black font. Observation narrative, done in colored boxes, will be included if a system or component is found to be significantly deficient in some way or if we wish to provide helpful additional information about the system or the scope of our inspection. If a system or component of the home was deemed to be in satisfactory or serviceable condition, there may be no narrative observation comments in that section and it may simply say “tested,” or “inspected.”

Observation Labels

All narrative observations are colored, numbered and labeled to help you find, refer to, and understand the severity of the observation. Observation colors and labels used in this report are:

• Procedure:
  Description of the procedure I follow while inspecting various components of a house.
• Note:
  Refers to aside information and/or any comments elaborating on descriptions of systems in the home or limitations to the home inspection. These also include contextual photos of the house and pictures of various components of the house while operating.
• Tier 1 - Major Concern:
  These represent priority items like major safety issues, active issues causing damage to the house, or items of significant expense that are looming in the near future.
• Tier 2 - Repair:
  These are lower priority deficiencies that may not need immediate attention, but should be addressed in the near/medium term future. These are usually deferred maintenance items, occupant safety concerns, or sub-par construction/installation problems.
• Tier 3 - Improve:
  These are things that are working but could be better. These are minor items like nuisance repairs, minor safety updates, energy efficiency improvements, or potential reliability problems. Often these are improvements that may not have been necessary--or even have existed--when the property being inspected was constructed (e.g. changes in building standards over time.)
• Monitor:
  Items that should be watched to see if correction may be needed in the future.
• Future Project:
  A repair that may be deferred for some time but should be on the radar for repair or replacement in the future. Also optional upgrades to the house's function.
• Due Diligence:
  Observations that may require further investigation and/or clarification that could not be provided during the home inspection.
• Recommended Maintenance:
  These are items that should be considered "routine home ownership," such as servicing the furnace, cleaning the gutters or changing the air filters in the furnace. Generally a house costs ~1% of the purchase price per year to maintain.
• Homeowner Info:
  These are pieces of "good to know" information about the house. For example, the location of the main water shut-off valve, gas shut-off valve(s), etc.

Summary Page

The Summary Page is designed as a quick-to-read bulleted overview of all the deficiencies noted during inspection. This overview is not a substitution for reading the entire inspection report.