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State of the Art Reporting

Types of Inspections

New Home Tarion Inspections

Has anyone told you building a new home is fun...  don't believe it !!

Building, closing and moving into your new home is one of the most stressful times you will experience.   There are many hundreds of decisions you will have to make along the way. 

Before you move into your new home you are obligated to complete a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) with your builder.

 You have yet to settle in and before you know it you have to submit a 30 Day form. 

Which items from your PDI do you need to include on your 30 Day form ?   What do you do if PDI items are still outstanding when you submit your 30 Day form ?

Pre-Delivery Tarion Inspection (PDI)

Under Tarion you are required to complete a PDI before you close the real estate transaction on your new home.   This inspection is completed with your builder and can take anywhere from one to several hours to complete (the benchmark is one hour for every one thousand square feet).
You are not a builder and do not know what to look for during this very important point in your new home warranty journey.   Let us help.

We will examine your home inside and outside with you and your builder and will help you to identify and document every system and structural deficiency in your home so that nothing is missed and your builder records every defect we find.

30 Day Form Tarion Inspection

Within 30 days of your Closing or Interim Occupancy Date you should submit this form to Tarion and your builder.   You need to include all items not completed from your PDI and and new items you find after you take possession on this form.   Your builder will then walk through your home with you identifying which items in their opinion are warrantable or non-warrantable.   You are permitted to submit only one 30 Day form so you want to make sure you don't miss anything.

Be pre-armed with a form listing which items are and are not warranted and which the builder will complete as "a courtesy".   We will make sure nothing is missed.

Year End Form Tarion Inspection

This is your final opportunity to examine your home while everything is still covered by Tarion.   It is difficult to determine which items are still warrantable or non-warrantable and which are the result of normal wear and tear.

We will help you prepare all these reports in a thoughtful and thorough manner to ensure no major building mistakes are missed which are required to be fixed by your builder.   Again, you may only submit one form to Tarion so you do not want to miss any item in this report.

Real Estate Inspections

Pre-Listing Inspection

When selling your home you want to know what is deficient so those deficiencies can be corrected before the home is listed for sale.   When the purchaser's home inspector completes the home inspection (a standard these days), you will know confidently that major defects have been assessed and corrected if necessary. 

Pre-Purchase Inspection

Now that you have found your dream home and after your Offer of Purchase has been accepted by the seller you will need to waive the home inspection condition for the sale to become final.   This type of home inspection will reveal all major defects with the homes' many mechanical and structural systems to allow you to make an informed purchase decision.

Condominium Pre-Listing and Pre-Purchase Inspections

(Low Rise and High Rise)

New and resale full and common element condominiums have become increasingly popular in the past few years.   The process of buying a condominium has become increasingly complex; from the Disclosure Documents, the Schedule 'C' boundaries of your unit to what you and your Board of Directors are each responsible for inside and outside of the unit.   This type of inspection will examine all the mechanical and environmental systems inside your unit as well as the Exclusive Use Common Element areas.

Other Inspections

Home Maintenance Inspection

Like your car, your home needs regular maintenance throughout its' lifetime.   Maintenance is not something which naturally comes to mind for a lot of homeowners when owning a home but it is absolutely necessary to ensure that systems perform their functions for their expected lifespan.
This type of inspection will document the timing of maintenance for all systems throughout your home and establish which of these systems are in need of immediate maintenance and which can wait until later in the schedule.

State Of The Art Reporting

New Home Inspections

PDI - The PDI document filed with your builder and signed by our home inspector will be the only report as per our PDI contract (See our Sample Contract)

30 Day and Year End forms - The 30 Day or Year End form filed with Tarion by our home inspector will be the only report as per our 30 Day / Year End contract (See our Sample Contract).

Real Estate Inspections

Within 24 hours of the inspection you will receive by email a web enabled PDF Inspection Report including photos showing all areas of concern.   (Request a sample report).

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Standards of Practice

Blog

New Home Tarion Inspections                

• Attend your PDI as a Designate

$ 425.00 to 2500 sf

$ 465.00 - 2501 sf to 4000 sf

$ 500.00 - 4001

PLUS HST

• 30 Day / Year End forms
• Inspect your unit
• Set up your Tarion My Home account
• Add any items not completed from your PDI
  
• File your form with Tarion complete with pictures

$ 450.00 to 2500 sf

$ 500.00 - 2501 sf to 4000 sf

$ 550.00 - 4001

PLUS HST

Real Estate Inspections                             

• Pre-Listing, Pre-Purchase, Post-Closing Inspection

$ 425.00 to 2500 sf

$ 465.00 - 2501 sf to 4000 sf

$ 500.00 - 4001

PLUS HST

Consulting

On a per hour basis at $ 50.00 per hour

(minimum one hour)

• Focusing on a particular element of the home

*Ask for a quote for larger homes and duplexes, triplexes  and multiplexes

All fees are payable at contract signing

(before the inspection)

Cheque, Cash and Inter-Act transfers accepted

Home Inspection Standards Of Practice

Home inspectors are bound by  Standards of Practice which are dictated by the Association to which we belong. 

I belong to Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspctors (CAHPI).

Below is a link to these standards which I take very seriously and to which I adhere without reservation

Blog

What your home inspector didn't tell you !!

Ice Damming (1st in a series)

The Explanation

A cool roof is key !!!

A combination of:
     Not enough insulation.
     Not enough ventilation.
     The lower the roof pitch is more likely to happen.
     More frequent around valleys.
     Often not predictable

            (may happen in one area and never again).
     Often depends on the wind direction.

Causes

Occurs during winters which have periods of rapid freeze/thaw.   As a thaw happens water runs past the heated portion of an exterior wall onto the unheated soffit area and when a freeze happens the water freezes causing a berm.   As this action is repeated the berm builds up causing an area of water behind the berm.   As the water rises behind the berm water is forced up under the shingles.

What to look for…

Inside
Wetness/stains along the top of an exterior wall or at ceiling lights (water runs along ceiling vapor barrier).

Water running out at the top of window frames.

In the attic – Ice stalactites hanging from the roof above (pinpoints the area).

Outside

Large icicles overhanging the roof edge.

A large berm of ice at the roof edge.

Water or ice running down the wall surface.

Remedies

• Shovel snow off the roof and remove the ice from the roof edge for short term relief (watch that your shovel doesn’t damage the roof surface).
• Increase ventilation by adding foam soffit vents under the roof surface (ensure the soffit is vented).   One every second bay.
• Ensure sufficient roof vents are installed.
• Increase insulation levels (insulation should not touch the roof surface or block soffits).
  

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Humidity (2nd in a series)

The Explanation

Excess interior humidity is the enemy.

Relative humidity levels (the percentage of water vapor the air can hold at a certain temperature) inside, build up from the causes listed below until the air cannot hold any more water vapor.   The air reaches its dew point where water vapor condenses into liquid on a colder surface (water running down windows).

Commonly accepted levels of relative humidity & temperature:

30 % to 50 % at a temperature of 15 to 27 C. 

Buy a hydrometer (inexpensive) to monitor your interior relative humidity levels... or, it may already be built into your thermostat.

Causes

Dryers not exhausted outside.

Bath exhaust fans not left on long enough after a shower or bath.

No bath fan or the bathroom window not left open after a shower.

Kitchen range hood missing, not vented outside or not left on during cooking.

Excessive number of plants or plants being watered.

Clothes being dried on racks inside a house.

Aquariums.

What to look for...

Water running down windows.
Wood floors cupping / crowning

(Wood fibers fill with water causing wood surfaces to warp).
Doors warping & binding.

Remedies:

•     Run bathroom fans for 45 minutes after a shower.
•    Ensure kitchen range hoods & dryers vented outside.
•    Control interior Relative Humidity levels.
•    Buy a hydrometer to monitor humidity levels.
•    Run the furnace fan in the ON position.

Some notes on mold:
Mold needs

1) A supply of fresh water.

2) Organic material ( wood, drywall paper etc).

3) Lack of ventilation.

Mold: < 100 sf can be wiped away // > 100 sf professional remediation needed.

(TIP: type of mold is only known through professional testing. Javex wiping only spreads the spores)