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Home Inspection
Building & Home Inspection Certification,
Education, Training, Procedures & Reporting
- HOME & BUILDING INSPECTION - home. Home inspection education classes, articles, free online guidelines, courses & home study courses
- Questions & answers about home inspection certification, licensing, professional associations, procedures, reports, ethics, classes & education
- References
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InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Home inspection education , training, classes, references: this article series explains how to inspect and diagnose all types of defects found at residential and light commercial buildings, how to perform home inspections, home how to find a qualified home inspector, home inspection standards and ethics, and detailed home inspection methodology. Advice for home buyers includes how to choose a home inspector and how to get the most from a home inspection. Advanced home inspection methods are presented, stressing methods for increasing the detection of significant or safety defects at properties, technical expertise, and ethical conduct. Advice is provided for people interested in becoming a home inspector as well as for home buyers or owners who need to hire a home inspector.
Our page top sketch was published by US DHEW and by New York State in 1955 or earlier. [1] A glossary key to the numbered items is found at Home Inspection Definitions & Terms.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Basic & Advanced Home & Building Inspection Methods Courses & Papers
Also see the home inspection topics listed at page top or at Related Topics .
- HOME INSPECTOR EDUCATION lists home inspection training, courses, home study programs, texts, and references for home inspectors and other building inspectors and building diagnosticians as well as for building, structural, and indoor environment forensic investigators
- Advice on Becoming a Home Inspector - opinions and tips from experienced home inspection professionals
- AFCIs ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS 2008 National Electrical Code Update on AFCIs and GFCIs in homes
- ALUMINUM WIRING HAZARDS how to identify and repair the fire hazard of aluminum electrical wiring in homes
- AMPS & VOLTS DETERMINATION how to figure out Amps and Volts at a property
 BUILDING DEFECTS LISTS - curriculum recommendations for home inspector education, includes recommended knowledge base, inspection skills, and typical defects for each major area of residential and light commercial building inspections. Focus is on the identification and reporting of building and building mechanical system defects and hazards, rather than (the more narrow and new-construction-focused building code compliance). - ASHI@HOME home inspection training program - an ASHI version of the Carson Dunlop Home Study Course. Contact the company at 800-268-7070.
 Carson Dunlop's Home Study Course for Home Inspectors can be examined online at that company's website.
Carson Dunlop also offers the ASHI@HOME home inspection training program - an ASHI version of the Carson Dunlop Home Study Course. Contact the company at 800-268-7070. The ASHI School - 888-884-0440 Learn By Doing,
in partnership with Casey O'Malley Associates - Michael Casey and Kevin O'Malley -www.CaseyOmalleyAssociates.com ,
866-363-1330 - Direct 703-969-7070
Get Certified Conference 2011 http://www.inspectionconference.com- Become a Home Inspector? How to enter the home inspection profession (or business)
- BUILDING DEFECTS LISTS - curriculum recommendations for home inspector education, includes recommended knowledge base, inspection skills, and typical defects for each major area of residential and light commercial building inspections. Focus is on the identification and reporting of building and building mechanical system defects and hazards, rather than (the more narrow and new-construction-focused building code compliance).
- Can X-Ray Vision Warn of Sink Holes? in Florida or elsewhere
- Certification for Home Inspectors Professional associations, licensing
Commercial Building Inspection Course - Carson Dunlop
- Checklists vs Narrative Reports - advice for home inspectors & home buyers
- CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS discusses Chinese drywall odors, sulphur smells, and corrosive outgassing hazards in buildings. Major costs to remove this product, repair or replace electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC components may be involved, and there may be immediate safety hazards due to damaged smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors in buildings where Chinese drywall outgassing has caused damage.
- CRAWL SPACE ACCESS - what are the accessibility requirements & codes for entering crawl spaces: how can we inspect a crawl area and buidling conditions when safe, ready access are not already provided.
- CRAWL SPACE SAFETY ADVICE - when should you stay out of a crawl space; how do you enter one safely.
- DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION - Deck & Porch construction details for safe, durable structures. Also see DECK COLLAPSE Case Study
- Developing your X-Ray Vision - 6th Ed. The Science of Building Inspections - advanced home inspection techniques including "The Limits of Vision," "Inattentional Blindness," "Invasive Inspection Methods," "Missed Defects," & "Contextual Inspection," "Termite Inspections," "Moisture & Building Water Entry," © Daniel Friedman 2006-1987
- Developing your X-Ray Vision - 5th Ed.- ppt slides Presentation slides © 2005 Daniel Friedman
- Electrical Education Classes - the following are work in process Power Point Presentations, very large files, for Milestone Electric, Dallas, TX - due - 3/25/2010
- ELECTRICAL GROUND SYSTEM INSPECTION
- ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR
- ELECTRIC METERS & METER BASES
- ELECTRIC PANEL INSPECTION
- Electrical System Inspection Safety Procedures for home inspectors & electrical inspectors
- ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TERMS & DEFINITIONS
- FEDERAL PACIFIC FPE HAZARDS
- The Nature of Vision, Inspecting Complex Systems, why inspectors don't see certain defects and miss important omissions
- Historic Homes, Home Improvement Costs, Research
- Home Inspection Definitions & Terms collected from various professional associations & home inspection standards
- Home Inspector Directory - online directory of home inspectors by state, no-fee listings from InspectAPedia.com
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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- HOUSE DOCTOR, how-to be - education, training, tools, publications for house doctors: air leaks, heat loss, building energy loss diagnosis and cure
- HOME INSPECTOR EDUCATION - lists of courses, home study programs, resources for home inspectors
- Home Inspection Company Franchises - advice and warnings for new home inspectors
- Home Inspection Report Writing Guide & Suggestions from Carson Dunlop
- Home Inspection Report Language Library: Gas Fuel Piping or Tank Faults Basic advice - home inspection report language suggestions
- Home Inspection Report Language Library: Buried Oil Tanks, Basic home buyer advice - home inspection report language suggestions
- Home Inspection Report Language Library: Defects in Oil Tank Installations, Tanks, and Heating Oil Piping
- Home Inspection Report Language Library: Oil Tanks text file list © Oil and Other Storage Tank Leaks, Testing, Abandonment, Inspection - UST home inspection report language files - Reference List
- Home Inspection Standards - historical documents give home inspection standards for earlier years - 1995 - 2002
- How to identify a Sears Catalog Kit house
- How Much Should You Pay For Professional Services? - don't pay too much for a home inspection, and don't pay too little either
- LIGHT, GUIDE to FORENSIC USE - A guide to effective use of light levels, direction, color, frequency & methods for forensic investigation
- Log Home Inspection & Repair Guide - how to inspect, diagnose, and repair problems on log houses; how to identify and determine the age of different types of log homes: traditional log homes, manufactured log homes, slab-sided log homes, and alternative log homes using concrete logs and fiberglass logs.
- MOBILE HOME INSPECTION GUIDE - a mobile home, manufactured home, and trailer inspection guide
Safety & Environmental Articles for Building Owners and Inspectors
- ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings provides a detailed guide to recognizing asbestos-containing materials in buildings and links to in depth articles about individual asbestos-containing building materials
- BACKDRAFTING HEATING EQUIPMENT
- Building Safety Hazards Guide - advice for home inspectors, contractors, and homeowners who need to inspect and examine a building
- Carbon Monoxide - CO
- Chimney Inspection Diagnosis Repair
- Chimney Crack & Collapse Risks, Repairs
- DECK COLLAPSE Case Study
- ELDER-PERSON SAFETY: Elderly & Veterans Home Safety
- Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer, and Enviro-Scare: the relation of cycles of public fear and property values for Asbestos, UFFI, Radon, EMF, Lead hazards - "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
- ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY - extensive information on indoor environmental concerns for just about all residential indoor environmental issues such as asbestos, chemical, or mold contamination, indoor air quality, allergens, lead exposure, etc.
- Fiberglass building insulation and HVAC duct work insulation hazards
- FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE & FOUNDATION DAMAGE SEVERITY
- FPE Stab-Lok HAZARDS & REPAIRS WEBSITE - some circuit breakers may not only fail to protect the building from fire or its occupants from shock, they may also cause arcing, arcover, fire, or even explosion accidents and injuries to building inspectors, electrical workers, building owners, and home inspectors.
- HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS exposure risks, hazards, allowable exposure limits for home heating oil
- ROOF INSPECTION SAFETY & LIMITS - don't fall off the roof
- Safety Procedures for Building Inspectors & Home Inspectors - class on inspection safety, multiple safety hazards discussed
- Safety Procedures for Electrical System Inspectors - how to inspect and test electrical panels and wiring in buildings safely, how to use digital multimeters or VOMs safely, how to avoid a potentially fatal shock
- SAFETY, HEATING INSPECTION - don't blow up the boiler, get burned, or cause carbon monoxide poisoning
- Safety Procedures for Septic System Inspectors - don't fall into the septic tank
- STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS - INSPECTIONS, CODES - safety hazards at steps and railings, checklist
- THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS how temperature changes affect building materials and cause building leaks or other failures
- VOLTS / AMPS MEASUREMENT EQUIP
- Web-Based Inspection Reporting: Horizon: Web-Based Home Inspection & Commercial Inspection Writing & Business Management Software from Carson Dunlop
- Horizon Laptop Web-Based Reporting System - demonstration video from Carson Dunlop. Work in the field with no internet connection. 800-268-7070. (Carson Dunlop assists with technical review and content at this website, InspectAPedia.com)
- ZINSCO / SYLVANIA HAZARDS - some circuit breakers may not only fail to protect the building from fire or its occupants from shock, they may also cause arcing, arcover, fire, or even explosion accidents and injuries to building inspectors, electrical workers, building owners, and home inspectors.
- See also Website Contents for topical research papers, on defect recognition, reporting, repair on individual Building topics or components
- See also Daniel Friedman's CV-list of technical papers and presentations - © cc's available.
Historic Homes, Home Improvement Costs, Home Research
Home Inspection Business Offerings, Franchises, Start-ups, or Inspection Companies for Sale
Home Inspection Standards, Ethics, American Society of Home Inspectors-ASHI and Other Home Inspection Standards, Ethics, and Home Inspector Certification Procedures
- Canadian Home Inspector Certifications - RHI the Registered Home Inspector designation in Canada
- Canadian Home Inspection Association - Quebec certification and professional education for Canadian Home Inspectors
- Canadian Association of Home Inspectors CAHPI, includes the National Certification Program for Home Inspectors, and CAHPI, the professional association and provider of education for Canadian Home Inspectors - in English ou en Francais
- What a Home Inspection Includes - list of house parts and components - also see ASHI Standards of Practice
- How to Get the Most Benefit from a Home Inspection - who attends, who gets the report, ethical issues and tricks, respecting the seller, digesting the volume of information
- How Much Should You Pay for a Home Inspection? - getting the right value for your money - you can spend too much, or too little. This is what Ruskin had to say.
- Home Inspection Terms & Definitions
- How to Enter the Home Inspection Profession - how to qualify, obtain experience, develop competence, & reduce risk for the inspector and the client
- ASHI Certification Links
- Home Inspection Reports - a Critique narrative vs. checklist type home inspection reports
- ASHI Standards of Practice for Home Inspections - Jan 2002 and ASHI Standards History - links to older and alternative versions of Home Inspection Standards
- ASHI Standards of Practice for Home Inspections - Jan 2001 and ASHI Standards History - links to older and alternative versions of Home Inspection Standards
- ASHI Standards of Practice for Home Inspections - 1997 and ASHI Standards History - links to older and alternative versions of Home Inspection Standards
- ASHI Standards of Practice for Home Inspections - 1996 and ASHI Home Inspection Standards History
- ASHI Standards of Practice for Home Inspections - 1995 and ASHI Home Inspection Standards History
- ASHI Code of Ethics for Home Inspectors 1993, and ASHI Ethics History - links to older versions; Note: newer may be found at ASHI
- ASHI in 1996 ASHI History - association description from 1996
- ASHI Home Inspector's Certification Exam guide
Frequently Asked Questions , FAQs about Home & Building Inspection Procedures, Education, & Resources
Question: Why is it so costly to get into the home inspection business, and what courses or classes are best?
I've been looking around for good advice about home inspection. I'm in the 'brainstorming stage', of starting a new venture. My interest is multi-purposed. I want to become a certified home inspector in Pennsylvania, as the first stage. I've found it difficult to get good advice about which 'on line' course to purchase. Hidden fees, and marginal disclosure are my hurdles.
Your site is the first I've seen that seems without bias. Is it possible to see a comparison of on line courses for certification in Pennsylvania? I am willing to pay for the best, but it seems impossible to compare.
The purpose of my schooling is to facilitate a dream my son and I share. My son is in college for another two years, and wants to become a real estate 'mogul'. He is actually taking the right classes. As most his age, his imagination/dreams fall short of reality. I'm a home owner. No mortgage, and willing to sell if it could provide start up cash for our goal.
Why does it require $25K to get this home inspection business off the ground, when the course costs only a thousand dollars?
I've got other financial backing, but prefer to go forward on my own. I will appreciate your reply.
Your site has been what I was looking for, unless you are in the business of promoting a vested interest. There are recognized associations other than ASHI.
I am eager to learn more. - D.R.
Reply:
I'm sorry to have to reply that I don't have specific enough information about home inspection courses in PA to have an opinion about which is best. Some national education projects with which we've been connected are listed below at Books & Articles. I'm not sure why you have found it costs $25,000. to enter the home inspection "business", unless you are considering buying a franchise (see Home Inspection Company Franchises). But the cost of education is certainly going to be more than the $1000. you quote, as to succeed and to practice at a level of competence that minimizes the chance that you'll harm your clients, continuing education and professional involvement will be needed.
As I have experience in the home inspection education field, naturally I have opinions about that education process in general, as well as about some of the courses offered in classrooms and by distant education. Some more general advice about both choosing a home inspection course and home inspection education might include
- Take a look at the education and experience of the instructors themselves. Some instructors may actually have had little or no field experience, or may come from an industry that gives them depth in a particular topic but who have little idea about what's needed during a home inspection. During an home inspection seminar in St. Louis a highly competent expert from the gas company was invited to tell us what problems to look for during a home inspection. He brought a gas meter onto the dais and proceeded to show how a gas meter is disassembled and tested for accuracy - interesting as background but completely off track.
- Watch out: home inspection educators and classes, like construction in general, is often plagued by arm-waving "experts" who in fact have strong opinions but who have never even read the instructions on the box. Look for authoritative citations to expert sources when standards, procedures, and requirements are being discussed.
- Getting licensed vs. staying in business: Most important: front-end or beginning home inspector education is aimed at meeting the requirements for licensing or "certification" in various states and provinces. But having worked on home inspection course curriculum development, standards, and exam or test questions, I can assure you that it is impossible to include in any single series of classes or tests all of what a home inspector really needs to know to avoid a catastrophe such as missing a costly or even fatal defect at a property.
- Continuing professional education: Getting into the "business" (it's less of a profession and more of a business these days) is easier than staying in the business. Therefore my OPINION is that anyone serious about developing professional-level expertise as a home inspector needs to plan for continuing education, participation in classes, seminars, professional meetings, etc. You are quite correct that there are "recognized" home inspection associations besides the original - ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
- Professional home inspection associations, ASHI and others, include among their members people who are highly ethical, professional, serious, and competent, and almost always such people are happy to assist newcomers to the field. As in any association, you'll also come across some people who are perhaps more lax about ethics, professionalism, and competence.
The benefits from working together in education, professional development, and even marketing far exceed the personal gain that might be obtained by being individually greedy or exclusive. Your task will include sorting out the people with whom you want to associate from those you will want to avoid. Your recognition of the ethical and practical issues around hidden fees and marginal disclosure make clear that you already have a criteria for making that distinction.
- Focus first on what you know least: In beginning one's home inspection education, and considering the vast breadth and depth of knowledge that is required to approach all of the many systems, materials, and components of even a simple residential structure, there is one trick that can help: admit to yourself, honestly, which topics you know the least about, and concentrate on becoming educated on those areas first.
- Eschew overconfidence: Last among this sermon, is the need for humility. As soon as one of us becomes overconfident that we know know it all, we're going to make serious mistakes, errors, or omissions that put both our clients and ourselves at risk. Even after thousands of diligent home inspections, the best inspectors approach every building with a genuinely curious mind, asking "what crazy weird new problem am I going to find here?" And never, ever try to buffalo or bluff your clients. I found that the more honest I was about admitting what I did not know, the more my clients trusted me.
Particularly because you are planning to work in the field, I invite you to take a look at any of our articles that you find of interest, and to comment, critique, ask for more information, or contribute information. Doing so improves the quality of our information and it gives another opportunity for a credit-link to refer readers to you for your own professional services.
We would much appreciate hearing any comments, critique, suggestions, or further questions that you may have after you've taken a look at any of our online articles (see CONTACT). We are dedicated to making our information as accurate, complete, useful, and unbiased as possible: we very much welcome critique, questions, or content suggestions for our web articles. Working together and exchanging information makes us better informed than any individual can be working alone.
Please keep me posted on how things progress, and send along photos of interesting or curious things you come across at home inspections or in classes if you can. Such added details can help us understand what's happening and often permit some useful further comment. What we both learn may help me help someone else.
More detailed advice about becoming a home inspector is found at Home Inspector, How to Become a.
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- [1] Basic Housing Inspection, US DHEW, S 352.75 U48, p.144, out of print, but is available in most state libraries; New York State version, ca 1955, source of our page top sketch of house parts. However even this illustration appears to have been copied from a still earlier source and we have seen this identical drawing with different numbers and often published without a consistent key that defines the numbered items.
- [2] Gregory Brown, P.E., Eastern Environmental Engineering Services, Califon NJ, Tel: 908-832-5098, Email: gabrown48@comcast.net. Mr. Brown, a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, provides environmental / compliance, investigation, and remediation services and is the contributor of ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS, New Jersey - Update on New Jersey Environmental Regulations that impact real estate transactions.
- [3] Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF] ISBN-10: 0471331724
ISBN-13: 978-0471331728
- [4] Building Pathology: Principles and Practice, David Watt, Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (March 7, 2008) ISBN-10: 1405161035 ISBN-13: 978-1405161039
 Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. The firm provides professional home inspection services & home inspection education & publications. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The Home Reference Book & illustrations from The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop Associates' provides:
- Commercial Building Inspection Courses - protocol ASTM Standard E 2018-08 for Property Condition Assessments
- Home Inspection Education Courses including home study & live classes at eleven colleges & universities.
- Home Inspection Education Home Study Courses - ASHI@Home Training 10-course program.
Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on these courses: Enter INSPECTAHITP in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference Book, a reference & inspection report product for building owners & inspectors.
Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference eBook, an electronic version for PCs, the iPad, iPhone, & Android smart phones.
Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter inspectaehrb in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors.
Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Illustrated Home purchased as a single order Enter INSPECTAILL in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Horizon Software System manages business operations,scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
- The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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- Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, have provided us with (and we recommend) Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates' Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment
Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Technical Reference Guide purchased as a single order. Just enter INSPECTATRG in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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