Inspection Services

The Preferred Home Inspection is a thorough and objective visual examination of a home’s condition, performed by a trained Inspector. I will thoroughly inspect all major components of the property, describing problem areas as well as positive aspects that were found. The Inspection provides homeowners with a basic understanding of all systems in the home, including electrical, plumbing, heat, cooling, and related systems. This inspection may include an initial Radon screening as recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a water sampling test. This inspection is an excellent time for the buyer to ask questions about the home’s condition. The Home Inspector’s goal is to educate the home owner, and to give that home owner a good perspective in making an informed decision. 

· Your Preferred Home Inspection will include:

· Radon initial screening (two visits required)

· Roof, vents, flashings, and trim

· Gutters and downspouts

· Skylight, chimney, and other roof penetrations

· Decks, stoops, porches, walkways, and railings

· Eaves, soffit and fascia

· Grading and drainage

· Basement, foundation, and crawlspace

· Water penetration and foundation movement

· Heating systems

· Cooling systems

· Main water shutoff valves

· Water heating system

· Interior plumbing fixtures and faucets

· Drainage sump pumps with accessible floats

· Electrical service line and meter box

· Main disconnect and service amperage

· Electrical panels, breakers, and fuses

· Grounding and GFCI’s

· Fireplace damper door and hearth

· Insulation and ventilation

· Garage doors, safety sensors, and openers

· And much more …

We are experienced in Raleigh's older constructed homes.  We have inspected many older homes over the years.  We have also renovated many of them in the past 14 or so years.  I live in a 1923 constructed home in Raleigh's esteemed Five Points.  I understand the condition of these homes both as they were built but also as they exist today.  Meaning the age of the material at which they were built and how these materials are holding up to the way at which today's families live in the them today.

The homes built many years ago were constructed with premium heart pine cut at true dimensional sizes.  What does that mean?  It means a 2"x4" was cut at 2" in height by 4" in width.  Thee  lumber used was heart pine.  Heart Pine is the old growth Yellow Pine once common in the American South and Atlantic Coast regions.  These trees were very dense and high in resign content.  As a result, Heart Pine is very durable.  Today's constructed homes are built with 1-5" x 3-5" knotted yellow pine.  A significant difference in size and durability.

Typical home heating practices of the time was to use coal as a main source of heating and then a little later  homes  were heated with oil furnaces.  Oil tanks were typically buried beside the homes foundation as a large oil tank set beside the home was unsightly.  Today these heating systems are out of practice however these oil tanks can be found filled with oil.   Oil may be seeping into the soils adjacent to the home as a result of tank failure - an unwanted condition.  Conversely if you were to purchase a home with a buried oil tank can be a costly repair as it is a phase 1 environmental hazard.  

There are of course many other factors that come into play with the construction practices of the time period that should be reviewed with an experienced Home Inspector.  

Asbestos is a natural mineral that has been mined and used for centuries because of its durability, heat and chemical resistance. Long considered a “miracle” mineral, asbestos has been utilized in thousands of products, in everything from insulation and other construction materials to car brakes and hair dryers. At the height of its use, asbestos could be found in over 3,000 consumer products.  Over time, however, researchers realized that when asbestos materials are disturbed or damaged, asbestos fibers can be released into the air and cause dangerous exposure. When people accidentally inhale or ingest the microscopic fibers, the mineral can eventually lead to serious health problems, like mesothelioma and asbestosis.

If your home was built before 1978, there is a good chance it has lead-based paint.  In 1978, the federal government banned consumer uses of lead-containing paint, but some states banned it even earlier. Lead from paint, including lead-contaminated dust, is one of the most common causes of lead poisoning.

Lead paint can affect a family in many ways....some not even typically thought of like in the soils outside the home.  Lead paint can affect an entire home especially one that has been through many renovations due to its age.  The particulate can become air borne and enter the homes mechanical system.  It can lay dormant in areas that may have not been used frequently in the past like basements or other service areas.  It can be encapsulated with other layers of paint and be dormant until a remodel occurs.  Consult with an experienced Home Inspector to protect your family.  

After the turn of the 20th century, Portland cement based concrete began to be used as cast-in-place, poured concrete foundations. The earliest versions were pictured in Gustav Stickley’s “More Craftsman Homes” catalog starting in 1912. These early versions were constructed by digging the foundation trench, pouring a concrete footing and embedding steel reinforcement rods (rebar) into the footing. A two-sided, wooden form was constructed on top of the footing to contain the concrete in an orderly way. Stickley even added a third wooden form in the middle to serve as “insulation.” The wood used to create the forms ranged from 1 x 6-inch to 1 x 12-inch boards stacked on top of each other.  Unlike a stone, brick or concrete block wall, a poured concrete foundation is poured as one continuous wall. The term used to describe this technique is “monolithic,” which essentially means “one piece.”  This technique has some advantages, but it does present one significant disadvantage. If a poured concrete wall starts to bow in one small area, the areas adjacent to the problem area could fail as well.  

What does that mean?  That means that the product used to apply the bricks that make up a older homes foundation is beginning to fail as a result of parging or efflorescence.  This is made apparent when a homes foundation walls and masonry piers have a cloud of white powder on the crawl space surface soils.  Once tested it is typical that the noted condition is apparent.  Note that the homes of today experienced less loads - both live and dead.  This also greatly accelerates the failed structural members.  

Knob and tube wiring is an early standardized method of electrical wiring in buildings, in common use in North America from about 1880 to the early 1940s.  It consisted of single-insulated copper conductors run within wall or ceiling cavities, passing through joist and stud drill-holes via protective porcelain insulating tubes, and supported along their length on nailed-down porcelain knob insulators.  Where conductors entered a wiring device such as a lamp or switch, or were pulled into a wall, they were protected by flexible cloth insulating sleeving called loom.  The first insulation was asphalt-saturated cotton cloth, then rubber became common. Wire splices in such installations were twisted together for good mechanical growth, strength, then soldered and wrapped with rubber insulating tape and friction tape (asphalt saturated cloth), or made inside metal junction boxes. 

Knob and tube wiring was eventually displaced from interior wiring systems because of the high cost of installation compared with use of power cables, which combined both power conductors of a circuit in one run (and which later included grounding conductors). 

Galvanized pipes are steel pipes that have been dipped in a protective zinc coating to prevent corrosion and rust. Galvanized piping was commonly installed in homes built before 1960. When it was invented, galvanized pipe was an alternative to lead pipe for water supply lines. Today, however, we have learned that decades of exposure to water will cause galvanized pipes to corrode and rust on the inside.  Issues are greater at the joints as a result of the water pressures presented.  An experienced Home Inspector will be able to identify the noted conditions.

Older homes across every city in America are found in well established downtown areas where the most desire to live, work, and play exist.  The older homes of Raleigh are no different.  City of Oaks Home Inspections is truly where to be and we are here to help!

We advise to move forward with your home purchase...just move forward with the right knowledge and experience that City of Oaks Home Inspections provides and feel confident that you are safe and well invested in your new home purchase.