There are many reasons to perform a complex home inspection starting from preparing a house to selling procedure and ending by simple safety measures for future or current tenants. Without matter on what motivated homeowners to do that, it could be a huge challenge. Thus it is useful to know which areas should be covered and which results should be achieved. Moreover, such knowledge gives an understanding of possible areas that may require repairs.
Hence, planning your inspection you should consider the following areas in order to make the process smooth and effective.
The House Components
The first things to be checked should be the house’s foundation, framing, and other structural components, to ensure the stability and serviceability of the building.
House Territory and Exterior
Here the attention is paid to driveways and sidewalks, whether they are unbroken, don’t have cracks or whether all paving atones are in place. Windows, doors, and balconies, siding, decks, and other exteriors surfaces should be also checked.
Roof
Here the focus is made to materials integrity, draining system, downspouts. The shingles will be examined for being buckled, gutters for being loose. Other things to check include chimneys, the pooling water possibilities, and skylights.
Plumbing System
A complex examination of water supply, systems of drainage together with diagnostics of heating systems and places used for fuel storage should be performed. Pumps used for drainage and sump should be checked as well. The signs of serious problems are low pressure of water, damaged places on pipes, found rust or corrosion.
Electricity Supply
The condition of service wires (used for entrance and exit as well) should be discovered together with service panels, breakers and systems of emergency turn-offs. All places with sockets should be discovered and counted by every room. Any problematic or broken fuses and sockets should be replaced.
HVAC System
The list of places to be examined under HVAC system inspection includes vents, chimneys, and flues. The special attention should be paid to equipment for heating and cooling the air. The good practice is to perform regular maintenance of the HVAC system at least an annual basis. Such an approach allows to extend useful life avoid possible issues and decrease the energy consumption comparing to equipment that is not properly maintained.
Another side of the HVAC system that should be inspected is the adequacy of ventilation and insulation, especially in such places as crawl or attic. Inappropriate insulation can lead to excessive moisture and as the resulting mold or other kinds of water damage. The good practice is to check all these places for leaks or excessive moisture on a regular basis.
Interiors
All parts of the house, which can be discovered from the inside such as floor, ceiling, walls, the condition of stairs and railings. Additionally, all surfaces like countertops, interior and garage doors, and cabinets should be checked for possible damages and defects, the existence of rot or harm from insects.
Fireplace
The charming but dangerous places, which should be inspected for good condition of flue and vent in order to stay safe.
Such inspection is complex and can be exhaustive, so sometimes it would be better to delegate it to professionals. Signature Homes has respective experience and expertise, so you can chill while the necessary works with further repairs, needed are held.