Every exterior condition can have a positive or negative effect on the interior of the home. Understanding the conditions on the exterior of the home better prepares us for evaluating and understanding the conditions on the interior of the home as well.

Our home inspections are performed in a detailed systematic way.  We approach each inspection as though we were pealing an onion. We carefully remove and evaluate each layer at a time.  Each layer of this inspection gives us a greater insight as we move closer to the interior of the home.   We can often speculate what we might see inside the home by the defects that we have identified outside the home.  A comprehensive inspection helps us to connect the dots which will typically lead us to the source of potential issues that we are observing at the interior of the home.

Excessive cracks in floor tiles are closely observed and noted.  Occasionally these issues in the flooring can represent potential settlement in the poured concrete flooring below the tiles.  These types of cracks may also be indicative to a poor tile flooring installation.  The grout should be in good condition as compromised grout lines can allow tiles the space they need to move and become loose.

The interior walls of the home are evaluated while considering the conditions and threats that could exist on the opposing side of each wall.  Irrigation systems can often allow moisture to build up behind walls. Leaking shower pans can also contribute to moisture behind walls.  Considering the areas of concern are always at the forefront of our minds while inspecting the interior walls of the home.  It should be noted that this is strictly a visual inspection and we cannot identify what is not visible at the time of the home inspection.

The attic is intentionally inspected before we evaluated the ceilings at the interior of the home.  We often observe roof leaks, plumbing leaks, condensation issues from the HVAC system as well as other issues that may contribute to visual concerns that may be identified when inspecting the interior walls and ceilings. 

All accessible doors and windows will be inspected and tested during the interior portions of the home inspection.  It is not uncommon to find moisture issues below windows or at the base of doors frames.  We often identify window counter balances as well has hardware components that need to be repaired or replaced. 

All easily accessible outlets will be tested to verify that each outlet is ground and to assure that it is correctly wired for safety purposes.  We will test each GFCI outlet when it will not disrupt computers or other sensitive settings that should not be interrupted. 

Air supply registers and returns are noted in each room.  We check the temperature to verify that conditioned air is properly being supplied to each room.   Observations of damaged or obstructed ductwork are considered when evaluation the air supply to the home.  Smoke detectors are also identified and tested during the interior portion of the home inspection.