Welcome to Border Home Inspection’s blog. I will start by saying that I have never blogged before and will hopefully make this into a usable tool that can connect my skills with your home questions. I pride myself in customer service and have surrounded my self with a team of professionals such as plumbers, electricians, engineers etc. that can help me identify problems that arise in my day to day inspections. Lets face it, no inspector can know everything. I believe the mistake most people make including inspectors is to not ask someone who knows the answer. It is my sincere wish that this blog will become a tool for my customers and others to access for some of those answers.

Recently I gave a presentation to a small group of people who are in the process of buying a home. The main purpose of the presentation was to show the importance of hiring a professional inspector rather then going it alone. Many buyers try to save the inspection fee by asking their parents or friends to view the home with them. Often the friends are carpenters or have renovation experience. While this type of advice is good and inexpensive it may cost the buyer in the long term.  During the presentation I involved the audience by showing photos of defects and asked if anyone could see the issues.  Most often the issues were not easily seen without special equipment such as thermal imaging or moisture meters.

In many cases I have found significant hidden issues that were in need of repair, costing the buyer soon after they move in. I tried to stress the fact that if issues go undetected and repairs become evident once the new owner moves in the costs may cause undue hardships. After all the costs of buying a new home are said and done there is not usually much money left over for repairs, especially if they were not expected. I am passionate about the home inspection process because I believe it is a critical step that will benifit most home buyers.

In future blog posts I hope to discuss issues that are important to the readers of this blog. If you have an issue or concern about anything home related please ask and I will try to answer the question as best as I can here so it will benefit all those who read it.

Here are a few ideas I may write about in the near future;

The most common inspection defects I find.

Attic ventilation and common issues in an attic.

The attitude of the inspector is critical.

Inspections and the environment.

Thermal imaging and energy loss and retention, how energy moves.

All trades are welcome to add their thoughts as this