Know the scope and limits of home inspection
Q: What exactly are home inspectors required to inspect, and what are they not required to inspect? It seems some inspectors include decks, pools and spas, while others do not. Can you please explain exactly what is the scope of a home inspection?
A: Home inspectors inspect conditions that are within the standards of practice of the American Society of Home Inspectors, and similar state associations. These standards are available for viewing at the websites for these associations.
The scope of a home inspection is not without specific limits and boundaries. Some homebuyers hire inspectors without realizing the nature or extent of these limits. Misunderstandings about this can produce post-purchase encounters of the worst kind.
Basically, a home inspection is a visual inspection only, limited to those aspects of a property that are accessible at the time of the inspection. Primary considerations in a home inspection are observable aspects of the plumbing, heating, electrical, roofing and foundation systems, and more, plus any other conditions that might be required for home inspectors by state law.
To ensure buyers and other parties understand these bounds and limitations, home inspection contracts and reports specifically list aspects of a property that are included in the inspection and those that are not. When these parameters are not clearly understood, needless conflicts sometimes arise in the aftermath of a purchase.
Regarding your specific concerns, spas and pools are optional items in the home inspection industry. In locales where swimming pools are common, inspectors typically include these as part of their service, although often for an additional charge. In most areas, home inspections include decks, although some inspectors will base the inspection fee on the size of decks, just as they would charge more for a larger building.
Before hiring an inspector, be sure to ask any questions you may have regarding the full scope of the inspection to be performed. This will help to avoid disappointments after the inspection is completed.
Q: I need a good building code reference book and am overwhelmed by the abundance of available volumes: books for building codes, plumbing codes, electrical codes, mechanical codes, fire codes, and so on. And most of the codes in these books have nothing to do with residential buildings. Who needs to know the requirements for hospitals, schools, auditoriums and factories? Adding to the confusion is the fact that the codes are updated and expanded every three years. How does one get the essence of home requirements without buying a library?
A: For those whose professions require a working knowledge of the expanding universe of building codes, a library of code volumes may be necessary. For home inspectors, and especially for the average person seeking to understand the basic requirements of home construction and residential safety, much less is needed.
For anyone seeking the simplest and most straightforward digest of common residential code requirements, nothing compares with Code Check. This includes five concise, well-illustrated booklets that distill the essence of residential building codes in a common sense format that literally redefines the term "user-friendly." Examples from this excellent resource can be viewed at www.codecheck.com.
• To write to Barry Stone, a certified building inspector, email him at barry@housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
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