Residential Inspections

For most people, buying a home is their single largest investment. You want to make sure that your inspection is conducted by someone who has the experience and educational background to discover and anticipate problems prior to your purchase. New England Inspection Service believes that an engineer can best accomplish this objective.

A competent home inspection should include a comprehensive visual survey of the property, and lasts typically 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours, depending on the problems discovered and the size of the house. You should be present during the entire home inspection, and your inspector should discuss the findings and explain the details of the inspection to you. In other words, the inspector should be an excellent communicator and teacher.

The inspection report should be written in clear, concise language that any person can understand. Even though an engineer will perform your inspection, technical arcane words will be avoided, whenever possible, and all systems inspected during the field survey will be explained to you. Since you have been with the engineer during the entire inspection, the written report will have much more clarity and meaning. Moreover, we at New England Inspection will include a written survey of the site drainage, exterior, siding, windows, trim, chimney and roof. The interior portion of the field survey will include an inspection of the electrical system. All electric panel covers are removed to inspect the condition of the internal wiring. In addition, a structural survey will be conducted which will assess the structural integrity of the home, including the basement, crawl spaces, and the interior of the building including the attic. During the plumbing inspection, the engineer will inspect the condition of any exposed main drains, hot and cold water lines, and operate all plumbing fixtures checking for proper functional water flows and venting. During the HVAC portion of the inspection, the engineer will check for proper operation and safety controls for the heating system and verify all rooms are heated. If ambient temperatures are compatible with air conditioning operation, the engineer will operate the cooling system and measure the discharge air temperature across the evaporator coil. In addition, the engineer will visually inspect the air condition installation including duct work and safety controls.

At the end of the inspection, the engineer will review with you the major items of concern and prioritize these items in the summary section of the report.