Home Inspections Explained: What’s Covered, What’s Not, and Why It Matters

Jamie: 00:00:01

Welcome to Thoughts from the Crawl Space, a podcast where our goal as home inspection experts is to support and serve our community.

Whether you're a homeowner, home buyer, real estate agent or investor, we believe everyone deserves solutions to their homeownership challenges and inspiration along the way. Your path to success starts here. Back for part three for our series on typical questions that get asked on inspections or about inspections.

Today we're going to tackle a little bit of the exterior and then maybe touch on a few of the general home inspection questions that we didn't get to last time. So thanks for joining us again.

Hopefully these are informative for you, give you an overall perspective of what's going on in an inspection, what's not happening on an inspection. For example, last time you learned we don't check washers and dryers.

It's certainly within the what we could do, but it's not required as part of the scope of a home inspection. So let's check a couple more of those off before we jump into the exterior. What is typically not checked during a home inspection?

A A swimming pool and spa B Electrical outlets or C water pressure? Well, as part of standard home inspection protocols, that would be swimming pool and spa.

Now, there are certifications or skills you can obtain to do that, but it's not as part of a normal home inspection. True or false? Home inspections are the same as home appraisals. Definitely false.

A home appraisal is the value of the property, while the inspection is more the condition of the property. If we'd have to evaluate it on one word number 27 what would a home inspector do if they find a major issue during the inspection?

Ignore it if it's minor? Well, we just said it's major. B Recommend the issue be addressed and noted in the report.

C Attempt to fix the issue themselves whenever we see a major issue. First of all, what defines what a major issue is? Real estate agents have their own version of this.

A certain dollar amount that might be in the contract. To me, a major issue is up to you.

We've had folks that think a beam that's sagging in the basement or cut is no big deal because they can jack it up and fix it themselves.

Other people have problems replacing a GFCI outlet in the kitchen, and so it can be a small dollar amount, potentially still a major issue, or it could be a potentially bigger dollar amount that to you is not major. And so it all depends on the individual. But basically we'll go back to our basics. What we always look for we're looking for health and safety.

We're looking for water penetration, insect damage systems or components that aren't working right, and then structural problems. So a health and safety issue could be stairs going out down the back deck that have a riser height that's uneven compared to the rest of the steps.

That little step that is shorter than ever, that can throw you off balance. That's a safety issue. Would you consider that major? Most people probably wouldn't.

But if you have trouble with balance or there are elderly people that are going to use that, that could be a major issue. So that's how we address those things. So let's jump into the exterior.

What part of the exterior is primarily checked for damage, wear and water intrusion during an inspection, roofing, landscaping, or outdoor furniture? Well, this is going to be obviously roofing roof is probably almost in every case, your roof is going to be the most expensive component of the home.

Not always, but in most cases it will be.

And so we are really going to pay a lot of attention to that for damage wear, to give you an outline of, hey, this is how long these shingles usually last. This is the condition of your roof.

And without predicting how many years it has left or how old it is, here's some general ballpark figures of where you're at. We're not going to give you quotes on how to repair it. We're not going to give you quotes on what a new roof would cost.

That's up to a roofer to decide. True or false. The siding of a home is not part of an exterior inspection. That is false siding is a very big part of an exterior inspection.

Siding is an essential part of the home. Its purpose is to keep out water. It's to shed water. So we want to know what type it is. We want to see if it's been installed properly.

We want to see if it's watertight to a degree. We want to see if the flashing at the corners and joints and everything is done right and so forth.

For example, on vinyl siding, vinyl siding can be nailed too loosely or it can be nailed too tightly. Vinyl siding needs to contract and expand. Have to have that ability.

And so in order for that to happen, the fasteners you use and the little slot at the top of the vinyl can't be as tight as can be. It has to allow that vinyl siding to move, for example. Also, if you have or back to vinyl, if it's too tight.

What you'll see if you look down a wall, you'll see some Waviness and, and that's because it's expanded, but it can't move. And so it just bulges and looks kind of gnarly. For example, another type of really siding is brick. Older homes, the brick was structural.

You would have two courses of brick tied together with a soldier wall. This is very uncommon in newer homes. What we see now with brick, even in all brick homes, it's brick is basically the siding. People like the look.

It does have some. Some insulation value. It's certainly strong. But what if it's cracked? Are the cracks a problem?

Is it a stair step crack on the mortar joints or is the crack through the brick, are they offset? Is it pulling away from the wall and so forth? There's a lot of things to look for on siding that are a major component of the exterior.

Inspection number four, which area would be inspected to check for signs of water damage or poor drainage around the home? Windows and gutters, gutters and downspouts, fences and gates. Well, number one here is going to be gutters and downspouts.

You want to get that water away from your home. It's depending what stat book you look at, 93 to 95% of water in a basement comes from roof and yard runoff. So it's not.

I have a high water table and it's seeping through the basement floor. It's mostly, hey, I got too much water around my foundation wall. I need to get it out of there.

And so if your gutters are clogged, they're going to just run over the front. If your downspouts are missing or they don't discharge away from the foundation, it's going to pool in the corners.

And that's why we see many times a basement foundation will have a stair step crack at the corners because water over time has just pooled there. It's settled the dirt. It settled the footer and created some of that cracking. So make sure your gutters and downspouts are in great shape.

What could an inspector check for in the driveway during an exterior inspection? Cracks or uneven surfaces? A clean driveway or the color of the asphalt? Well, primarily cracks. Cracks and uneven surfaces is what we're looking for.

You know, cracks in a home inspection is normal, but. Excuse me. Cracks in concrete is normal, but what kind of cracks are they? How old the concrete are? They offset cracks.

Even if it's normal, it might be offset and be a trip hazard. So we're going to point that out. Another one. What should an inspector look for on the roof during an inspection?

We Talked about roof a little bit at the beginning. What kind of wear are we looking for here?

We're looking for shingles that have the silvering around the edges, which means the granules have been lost. We're looking for that fiberglass matting showing through. We're looking for torn shingles. We're looking for shingles that have slipped a little bit.

Maybe the nails have come out. Maybe they weren't nailed right to begin with. So over time, they've. They've torn off of their. Their moorings, so to speak.

You know, when you have a shingle, it has a nailing strip. The nail is supposed to go in. That's the thickest part of the shingle. And the shingle above it will cover that nail then.

So there's many things to consider if you're nailing a shingle on. If you don't do it right, it's going to show up down the road.

Which of the following would be a concern during an exterior inspection related to the home's foundation? A. Sagging or uneven floors. C. The color of the front door. C. The landscaping.

Certainly the landscaping is a concern, but the best answer here would be A, any sagging or uneven floors. This can definitely indicate foundation issues. So what should an inspector check for around the exterior of the home?

So I talked about the siding already in episodes before. We've talked about the grading and drainage. We're going to look for gaps or cracks.

Any penetration into the wall, it could be your air conditioner line, a cable line, the gas line. Any of those penetrations through the wall, if they're not sealed, that's an avenue for pest entry. So that's one thing you want to keep caulked.

Even spray foam, if it's not too big of a gap. That will help to keep critters out and keep moisture from seeping in to that area. So let's talk about chimneys.

What would an inspector check for in the chimney during an exterior inspection? Decorative features, signs of cracks, deterioration or structural issues, and the type of bricks used.

Really, this just comes down to signs of cracks, deterioration or structural issues. We don't really care about the type of brick used. We want to see what condition they're in. Is it on the outside?

Could be spalling from water entry, getting in through the crown, running down, freezing, popping off the face of the bricks. Potentially that can even get into the firebox. Inside number 11, true or false.

Exterior doors are only checked for their aesthetic appearance during an inspection. I think after this series, by now, you know the word aesthetic is kind of silly. We don't check for that. So that's false.

They're checked for functionality, security, and proper sealing. In other words, does it work? Can you lock it, and does it keep out water and air? To a degree.

So what part of the home's exterior might an inspector evaluate for pest control concerns? A, the roof and attic. B, the foundation. C, the windows. Well, this is going to primarily be the foundation in crawl space.

And we say outside because this is where they come in from. All right, so here's a little tip. If you have vinyl siding and you have those, like, hollow corners, which.

The vinyl siding corners are hollow in the middle, that is a very common access point for mice, squirrels, any other kind of rodent that can fit up in there. All right, so what you want to do is buy a.

Something called a critter cap that is shaped like the corner of a one of those corners and snap it in the bottom, and that will keep critters from getting in there and crawling all the way up and into your attic. I would estimate 95% of the homes we inspect with vinyl siding have evidence of mice or other rodents in the attic.

So maybe you don't think about that too much, but that's a, you know, if you don't know where those critter caps are, you can't find them online. Well, put something in there. Steel wool can work. It will rust eventually, but it'll at least work temporarily.

Another question that we've been asked before, the siding. What about cement asbestos siding?

Cement asbestos siding is an older type of siding, and it's basically a concrete product mixed with asbestos fibers to bind them. And it's a really good product. You see it on older homes. The only hazard it can be to humans is if it gets airborne. Right.

And that's not going to happen unless you're ripping it off, breaking it up, tearing it out, things like that. Now, I will say if you see chips, cracks, gaps, finding replacement for that is very difficult.

And in that case, you may have to take precautions to take it off or have someone take it off for you. But that is generally a pretty good product. Here's another one. True or false.

The inspector checks for signs of termites during an exterior inspection. True. We're going to check inside, too, but we're going to check outside because, again, that's where they start. They live outside.

They're trying to get in your home. Here's a. This is kind of a review question, but I'm going to go over it anyhow, because it's so important.

What feature of the exterior would be evaluated to ensure water flows away from the foundation? The driveway slope, the gutter system or exterior paint? Well, paint, stupid gutter system is the right answer.

You want to have them slope properly and you want to have enough downspouts to handle the amount of water. If you have a really long house, you may need an extra downspout in the middle rather than just on the ends. Think something to consider.

And another thing to consider on downspouts is if you can avoid running them underground. That's great.

Those pipes underground, the corrugated tile that usually go into the ground, inevitably, especially if you have areas with trees and debris that drop into the gutters, inevitably they get clogged and then they don't drain and then water just sits there and then it backs up into your downspout and freezes in the winter and it can just create a mess. So put it out on the ground where you can see it or you can clean it if needed. And that's going to work out much better in the long run.

So, last one, which exterior feature would an inspector check to ensure it's safe and secure? A, the mailbox, B, the front porch steps and railings, and C, the garage lights. Well, all those can be checked. We're not going to check mailboxes.

We don't really care about mailboxes. But the front porch steps and railing, it's the first thing people see when they show up.

It's what they need to hold on to if they're climbing the stairs. This also goes for stairs outside. You may have exterior steps going to your backyard or to a lake or something.

And frequently, for aesthetic reasons, folks don't put in handrails. And now you have someone that needs a handrail and they don't have it. So we're always going to call that out.

Lack of a handrail is always something that's going to be mentioned. And also the riser height. The steps should not vary more than 38 of an inch between steps in a set.

Now if you have a set of steps that's nine inches and they're all nine inches or roughly nine, that's okay. But if you have seven, seven, nine, seven, that's not okay. So you want to have a consistent height to your steps.

Obviously, nine inch steps are unusual. That's a little higher than normal, but it's better than having an uneven step in a set of otherwise normal steps. So just some things we look for.

I hope you have enjoyed this series and gives you a clear indicator of what we're looking for out there, the excitement that we get from looking for stuff. We really are here to protect you and to empower you to make a great decision on buying the house or not. So we look forward to serving you.

Give us a call if we can serve you in any way and we'll talk to you soon. Thank you for listening.

This week you can catch up on the latest episode of the Thoughts from the Crawl Space podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. For more information about Gold Key Inspection services, go to goldkeyinspect.com Sam.