Excerpts From - THE 6-MINUTE HOME INSPECTION GUIDE
for the Home Buyer & Residential Investor (Booklet) (2007)
By Eitan Aharoni, AIA
- "Your objective is to identify and classify the deficiencies in the homes you are viewing so that you can build a strong basis from which to make a prudent purchasing decision."
- "You need not be an architect or engineer to determine whether the house sits well on its site and if it is inviting."
- "The entryway is the best vantage point from which to gain an overview of the interior of a house that you, your family, and your pets might be living in for years to come."
- "An important three-way relationship exists in a kitchen between the Sink, the Refrigerator, and the Oven."
- "Listen for plumbing noises and sniff the under-sink area. Check the shutoff valves for the hot and cold water pipes that are located under the sink and that lead up to the faucet."
- "Position your hand on the bottom shelf as far back as you can reach and feel for moisture or rot. A messy, smelly under-sink should raise concerns about leakage or poor maintenance."
- "Flush the toilet and listen to its music. A toilet bowl in distress will communicate its troubles to you."
- "Hold the showerhead and rock it gently through its wall penetration. A loose shower pipe suggests poor pipe strapping, which could be a problem for all of the plumbing pipes concealed in the walls."
- "Water intrusion through the building envelope—which includes the roof, walls, windows, doors, and floors—accounts for the highest single cause of construction-defect claims for residential properties."
- "Ground settlement is a hidden culprit that can affect floors and walls."
- "Stairwells are associated with serious accidents. Therefore, building codes are restrictive on stairway construction."
- "Building codes require that ground grades surrounding the house and adjacent to the house (generally within five feet) slope away from the house to facilitate proper drainage and to keep moisture from entering the interior."