More questions to ask during your Home Inspection

Welcome back to our blog post series on “Questions to ask on your home inspection”. This post is going to go over questions 3 & 4. 

3. How is the heating/cooling system functioning and what is the overall condition of it?

This is one of the bigger questions you should be able to answer after reviewing your report. During the inspection, your home inspector should be testing the heating and cooling system just like you would normally use it. This really means we’re going to use the thermostat. If you have to do more then adjust the heating & cooling with the thermostat to get it working, it’s not working how it should be. Even with the smart thermostats, you’re adjusting a thermostat on an app, but you’re still adjusting the thermostat and not doing something like opening a gas valve or priming an oil fed boiler unit before turning the heat on. Some thermostats are a bit different than others and its important to ask your inspector how they activated it if you have questions on how to do it yourself.

That covers the “is it functional” part of the question, but let's dive into the second part, “what is the overall condition of it?”. This is important to ask because things can be in overall fair or good condition but still have some material defects with them. Sometimes the elbow on a pipe coming out of a boiler may be corroded and need replacing. That is a material defect, remember question 1. But overall, the rest of it may appear and function in good condition. Just like sometimes a portion of ductwork on an HVAC system may not be supported correctly or may have become disconnected; again, that is a material defect, but the rest of the system may be in fair or good condition. Maybe some of the insulation on the heat-pump piping has been pulled off, perhaps by a critter. It should be replaced but the system may still be functioning fine at the time of the inspection.

4. What is the condition of the attic, floor structure and foundation?

This is really to get some more information on important structures that make up your home. The Attic, to see how the top of the structure is. The floor structure, which realistically is mostly only observable in the basement in most cases, and the foundation. Remember, home inspections are of the observable structure and components. If there is a ceiling or walls put up around the inside of the foundation, your home inspector is not going to be able to see behind it. In cases where the outside of the foundation is covered by the siding, or the grade is too high against the home, the home inspector will also not be able to see it or report on its condition.

In the attic, we’re looking for signs of moisture, adequate insulation, the type of roof structure it is, the condition of the framing members and decking, and ventilation to name a few items. Again, certain items can be damaged, but the overall conditions can still be ok.

With the floor structure and foundation, this is what’s holding up your floor and your home, so they are pretty good things to ask about. It’s important to remember, materials, methods and building codes have changed over the years. This is why it’s not a great idea to ask if something is to code. Asking the condition of the floor structure and foundation lets you get a more helpful answer. There may be some maintenance or repair needs, there may be some things to monitor, and there may be some things that are not really done anymore but were when the house was built. Those are specifics though, and overall condition can differ from specific needs within the entirety.

See you in another two weeks for #5 & #6