Building Inspection

In today’s “buyer beware” environment, it is more important than ever for prospective home buyers to get their homes professionally inspected.  Whether that inspection is of an occupied residence, a foreclosed home or new construction, C&S Consulting can provide a professional, detailed home inspection to help bring peace of mind to the prospective buyer.  Many homes in the Central Missouri area are not covered by building codes or inspection processes, particularly those outside of any city boundaries.  As a result many home owners make modifications and remodel themselves, or hire contractors to do these tasks, with no oversight as to appropriate practices.  This has resulted in a wide array of safety and structural issues, such as basement bedrooms with no safety egress, decks causing damage to the main building structure and balconies with the potential to collapse.  A home inspector is trained and experienced in identifying these kinds of deficiencies and providing the home buyer with information so they can make informed choices.

Today’s environment has seen an explosion in new technologies being applied to residential structures, including the growing field of renewable energy.  Windmills, solar voltaic panels, high capacity battery packs and backup generation facilities take special considerations and special electrical code compliance.  On grid and off grid applications require a completely different approach to power, and how the resources are applied.  Typically these are applied uniquely to each structure, often with little conformity to standards and codes.  C&S has the engineering expertise required to evaluate each of these systems on their own merits.

Traditional home inspection

An currently occupied, or recently occupied home inspection is what most home buyers are interested in.  This type of inspection is intended to provide a snapshot of the home’s condition for the purchaser, looking for structural and functional issues that could impact the value and utility of the home.  This type of inspection looks at the primary systems, electrical, plumbing, structure, exterior and appliances, providing information on the condition and type of each of these systems, identifying deficiencies or issues.  If you haven’t used a home inspector before or this is your first inspection, you are encouraged to visit our “what to expect” page.

Foreclosure inspection

Foreclosures provide special challenges to home buyers.  Since these homes are typically unoccupied for significant periods of time before sale, they frequently exhibit special problems, such as vermin infestation or structural deterioration due to lack of maintenance.  Foreclosures also have the unique issue that the last residence may have caused intentional damage to the building systems or structure.  Since Foreclosed homes are virtually always purchased “as is” it is important that the prospective buyer be as aware of the buildings issues before the purchase is made.

New Construction Inspections

A common practice in todays building environment is to hire a building inspector to oversee the construction of a new home.  Contractors or general contractors are in business to make money, plain and simple.  While many reputable contractors would not risk endangering their reputations, and future customers business by cutting corners, that can’t be said of all contractors.  Since many building systems, such as electrical, plumbing and structural components have limited access once walls are insulated and closed in, it can be in the buyers interest to have an impartial inspector make periodic visits to the construction site to ensure that construction is following appropriate best practices and codes.  Unlike a traditional inspection, this type of inspection requires multiple visits and coordination with the general contractor to ensure that the inspector has access to critical items before they are covered or encased.  Some customers also prefer detailed photographic records of the structure at various points in the process, allowing them to go back at a later date and see exactly where plumbing, HVAC ducting or wiring was installed in walls and ceiling/floor spaces, as well as what was embedded in or buried under concrete slabs.

Light commercial inspections

Commercial structures intended for public occupancy have a unique set of requirements that are more stringent than a typical residential structure.  Apartment buildings and retail sales structures have  code compliance standards that must be carefully considered.  C&S has the experience and understanding of NFPA 70 (NEC) and NFPA 101 (Life safety code) needed to provide pre-purchase inspections of light commercial buildings.  Typically this inspection will be done in conjunction with an inspection by the authority having jurisdiction to ensure that the authority is equally satisfied and prepared to sign off on occupancy permitting.  The jurisdictions inspectors are concerned about public safety, C&S’s task is to provide the buyer with a look at structural deficiencies, shortcomings and issues that may impact the structures value and maintenance currently and in the long term.

Cost

A traditional home inspection will typically take  4 or more hours, depending on the size of the home and the type of construction.  A standard ranch style home with less than 2000 square feet on a slab or unfinished basement  would normally cost the purchaser $400.  This cost includes the inspection process, a final inspection report and the follow-up conference to discuss and explain findings as well as answer any questions the client may have.  Larger homes or properties with multiple structures will have some added expense.  Payment is typically made by cash or check at the post inspection conference.  For a more detailed list of costs see here.

Scheduling

The home buyer requesting the inspection is invited to attend the inspection.  They should at the very least meet the inspector at the building site to ensure he has access to the structure and again at the end to discuss the results of the report.  Inspections can be preformed either in the daytime or the evening, which typically suits most working home buyers schedules more effectively.  The only real requirement on scheduling is that the inspection be started with enough light to complete the outside inspection process.