Home Inspection Client Asked, “Do You Inspect In the Rain?”

People sometimes ask if we inspect in bad weather. When I answer, I tell them stories. Here are two.
It was one of those rare days last summer when it not only rained – it poured. I was doing a final phase inspection on a newly constructed home. During the inspection the bottom fell out and it rained so hard that the clients and I were stuck in the house. Water was running down the street from curb to curb, like a river. We were talking as I inspected about how badly we needed rain, not just a “gully-washer.”
As we walked into the garage, I noticed two puddles of water. The puddles were on opposite sides of the garage. Each puddle was gathering at the floor, running from behind the sheetrock walls.
Upon entering the attic I found two distinct spots on the bottom side of the roof decking where the rain was coming in, dripping onto the sheetrock below, and running to the walls and below.
The moral of this story is, I would never have located those roof leaks on a dry day, and the home buyers wouldn’t have found them until they were home owners.
Recently, I was inspecting early in the morning after a hard over night rain. What made me think of this article was what I saw outside the home that morning. There was a 10-12 foot wide pool of water standing at the foundation on one side of the house. All along that side of the house, the water was puddling, and not running anywhere. My thought that morning was that the ground actually looked like it would drain pretty well, down the side of the house and off the property. The moral of this story is the same: Though we always check for grading and drainage problems, I would not have suspected that water would stand along the side of that house, unless I had been there after a hard rain.
We inspect in bad weather. We do so, because the inspection schedule doesn’t allow for a whole lot of juggling, but also because we know that when you buy that house, you will be living there in good weather and in bad. And you deserve to know our best opinion. So, give us a call and let us put our hard work to work for you.

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Is Water On At the House? It Makes a Difference For Your Inspection

With winter weather showing up in the Metroplex this week, it’s a good time to let home buyers know a few things that might save time, effort and frustration in scheduling a home inspection. Some listing agents, government agencies, and owners have started to “winterize” vacant homes on their inventory. This means that the water supply to the home will not only be turned off, but the plumbing fixtures and water heaters may have been drained.

When preparing to sign the purchase contract, ask the real estate agents involved to make sure that the house can be inspected, including plumbing fixtures. Get permission up front to keep water on, where it is possible, or to “de-winterize” the property, if the sellers or their agents insist on winterizing anyway.

Many inspectors will include a surcharge in their fees to de-winterize a home for the inspection, since the process takes extra time and care in order to prevent accidental water damage. Some inspectors will charge an additional fee to “re-winterize” the property, since this too takes extra time, tools and expertise. Ask your inspector if there are extra charges involved at the time you schedule your inspection.

At House Exam Inspection, our policy has always been to get permission from the listing agent before we de-winterize, and not to charge for de-winterizing. It’s a company choice. We take great care to prevent property damage, and we make certain that arrangements for re-winterizing have been made, or we do it ourselves. This is just another way we stand out from the average inspection company, and provide an extra measure of service to our clients.

If you have any questions, feel free to call, or email us. You may leave a comment below. We are always glad to be of service.