As a former carpenter for 15 years including some time in the insurance restoration gig i know a few things about building and maintaining a house. Having sold a few houses of my own i wait in apprehension of having a home inspector looking at my home for the potential buyer.
Don’t get me wrong having a home inspection completed is a good idea for a buyer however some of the inspectors i find are far below being qualified. Some have never even put on a carpenter’s belt before.
I would take a lesson from ICBC inspection stations. A home inspector should be someone who is an home inspection proffesional and owns and operates their own contractor services company. The company would need to be licensed by some government agency.
It would be unfair however to rest any unfortunate defects on the inspector. Many defects can be hidden by the structure.
It would still be a safer market but a buyer beware still.

I love the idea of home inspectors but was surprised when I bought my home 12 yrs ago that there was only one home inspector in PG that was reputable and had an understanding of how homes were built and what to look for. He spent 5 hrs going over everything from foundation to roof top to plumbing and electrical, water damage and dry rot and even the land within 10 ft of the house and explained all his concerns and issues and even gave me a number for another home inspector for a second opinion.

Forward ahead a few yrs my brother bought a house and the inspector he got was there for less than an hr made some recommendations then left but the inspector missed some very glaringly painful flaws with the house that ended up costing my brother thousands of extra dollars for repairs. And to top it off charged my brother 3 times the fee of what I paid for my home inspection and he got 5 times the headaches than I had. At least I knew what issues I had.

Why not have the Government build the homes, and meet all the requirements and then sell the houses to people who would borrow the money from the Government. On a resale the Government could issue a Government Inspected Certificate, or Building Sale Certificate. (BS)

Having an inspector should be a personal choice. We don’t need anymore Government intervention in our lives.

The next thing will be mandatory inspections, that will have to meet certain criteria before you can sell your house, the cost will be prohibitive, and you will have to make all sorts of repairs etc;

What we really need is Civil Servant Inspectors, hired by the taxpayers, who would do time and motion studies on all Government workers, document their movements, and ascertain how much actual work they do in relation to time spent on the payroll.

Have a nice day.

NO one should be allowed to be a building inspectors or home inspectors without being a certified carpenter, plus home inspectors should have a good understanding of wiring, plumbing, water and sewage. Every house has issue’s, some are very costly some are just trivial and do not matter at all.

You got that right Palopu

Totally agree.. Home Inspectors should already be very experienced in building homes so as to know what to look for.

Just a thought..how about make the home inspectors ‘accountable’, as it stands right now..you pay $500.00 for the service, and I dont think its an ‘option’ when buying…and yet the first papers you are asked to sign, in triplicate, says the inpsector is not responsible for the report and any omissions it may or may not contain. Really??

I bought a house in March of this year. I called a home inspector. After reading the legal document provided I cancelled the appointment(within the 24 hour free cancellation window) because I wasn’t sure what I was paying for.

The document abstained the home inspector from all responsibility and the language made me question whether or not they would do a thorough job.

And at $550 for a 1 1/2″ hour examination I decided it was a waste. Instead I had 3 friends of mine(including a current and retired carpenter) do a walk through with me. We looked at the foundation, climbed in the attic, checked all the plumbing.

I question whether some of these people have the knowledge in the industry to do inspections. Inspectors should be former carpenters with at least 10 years in the industry.

Maybe if provincial organizations like the BS Safety Authority did their jobs properly, and inspected sawmills to prevent explosions and loss of life, I might have an opinion on housing inspections / inspectors.

I refuse to make comment on subjects and issues that are thrown before us like bird feed! Where is the rest of that report BC Lib-Cons? How long is litigation going to take, maybe stretch it out past the next election?

Thanks Hummer – you said it way better than I. BUT, going through the bank we were required to have an inspection done as part of the process. (mind you, it was a foreclosure) I would have happily walked away from signing the “I take no responsibility” contract.

People#1.

You dont have a clue what your talking about.. This was just an oppertunity for you to continue your left wing dribble..

Tell me, where are the car inspectors when we sell cars?

One can go to a qualified mechanic to get it inspected, BUT it is not a requirement!!! Neither is an on-going inspection and maintenance a requirement. Yet these things drive along the road spewing clouds and rattling and wobbling wheels and god only knows the condition of the breaks…. a few here and there not a significant number by all means …..

There are a number of people I would trust if someone could show me the reason this is required for homeowners.

In order of preference

1. a licensed house builder
2. an architect working in small residential field
3. a municipal building inspector
4. a CMHC building inspector if they still exist

End of the list. There are too many systems in a house that do not concern a carpenter’s everyday expertise. They do not do heating, plumbing, electrical, concrete work just to name a few.

@ northman; get back to me when you are able to refute the following facts which are consistent with, and support, the contents of my first comment!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/union-calls-for-release-of-full-report-on-burns-lake-explosion-1.1388355

Facts and truth northman, facts and truth!

Sorry, I left one group out. Building Technologists (not technicians) registered with ASTTBC with proven experience with small residential building design.

Bought 4 Houses all before 1979, every House has things you will have to fix and if you don’t like it don’t buy second hand buy New and get a Warranty . I think this Home Inspection thing is just a new Racket to make Money, take your Time buying don’t be pressured ,take someone along in the Trades and look the Place over, you will never find a Place perfect! Owning a Home takes Money and many don’t have any!

People#1

There is a thread when you can post whatever is on your mind it is called Friday free for all. As there are 4 Fridays every month with any luck one might land on a day when the hormones and irritability are raging[mad cow disease?]
You would think something with a bird brain would be interested in bird seed o_O

I would agree with gus and the others. IMHO, a licensed home inspector should have a solid background in home construction or a related field.

I don’t think the use of a home inspector should be required, but there certainly should be some type of professional standards associated with the role.

“There are a number of people I would trust if someone could show me the reason this is required for homeowners.”

You forgot Mike Holmes! :)

When I hired a building inspector for my last house I did so on the hope that between the two of us we could spot any large problems. I didn’t seriously expect him to find a whole lot of the little issues but I expect small problems when buying an older home. Luckily for me, the inspector noticed that the entire septic system was on it’s last legs and we revoked our offer.

@ etwitt; Meh, home inspections – mill inspections, doing both right can save lives! Funny how this government wants input on home inspections when they seem unable to do a proper job with mill inspections!

I recently watch a movie that reminded me of this government… what was that movie called now? Hmm… oh yeah: “Lost in Space”. :-D

oops… “ewitt”, sorry about that.

People#1; “Maybe if provincial organizations like the BS Safety Authority did their jobs properly, and inspected sawmills to prevent explosions and loss of life, I might have an opinion on housing inspections / inspectors.” WorkSafe BC is responsible for mill inspections. BCSA deals with gas, electrical, building codes & boiler regulations. Facts & truth. Last I heard WorkSafe was contemplating charges against the employer(s) for poor house keeping practices.

Home inspections aren’t rocket science. Anyone smart enough to pass all the tests and fit enough to jump through all the govt hoops should be good to go. No need for certified carpenters or contractors only to be permitted to do inspections. Like I said, it’s not rocket science. Honesty is a huge part of it. Just like the inspection program for commercial vehicles, there are and always will be those that will pass junk just for the money, and there are lots of them out there.

I stand corrected in my first comment, The BS Safety Authority is responsible for investigations, in this case investigating and producing the report on the mill explosion. It is WorkSafe BS that is responsible for inspections.

“The B.C. Safety Authority said at the time it wasn’t releasing its full report because Crown counsel was reviewing a referral on the mill explosion from WorkSafeBC, the agency that enforces workers’ safety.”

You may be right detoe43, WorkSafe may be considering charges against the employer(s) for poor house keeping practises. But that report by the BS Safety Authority could also point the finger at WorkSafe BS for not providing timely inspections and enforcement. The report may even go so far as to identify ongoing changes made to Occupational Health and Safety Regulations that resulted in lack of government agency oversight and/or enforcement and compliance problems / issues.

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when Shirley Bond, Pat Bell and Rich Coleman met and decided to asked recipients, including members of the safety authority board, to “immediately destroy any copies, excerpts or references to BCSA’s investigation report to prevent inadvertent disclosure.”

“Home inspections aren’t rocket science”

No, they are not. It is house building knowledge, skill and attitude. It is one of those things that everyone thinks they understand, when they actually do not.

It is not something one can learn in 2 weeks, 2 months or even during a 12 week full time certificate course. I think the two year building technology course at BCIT should be the minimum.

A house is built by people with much more than carpentry skill and experience. Carpenters work with lumber and wood sheet goods. That is it.
Here are a few of the specialty contractors who complete the construction of a house, just to remind people:
1.Excavator/backfill
2.Concrete/asphalt
3.Framing contractor
4.Roofing contractor
5.Electrical contractor
6.Plumbing contractor
7.Mechanical contractor
8.Drywalling
9.Painting
10.Flooring
11.Millwork – doors, windows, cabinets, cabinet tops
Unless they have worked for a builder or a professional design firm, not a single one of them has the experience of certifying construction payment when a new building is constructed. They also have no estimating experience (some home inspectors will provide a rough estimate of how much it will cost to do something even though that should be done by at least a certified appraiser).

As far as Holmes goes, I used to love that show just to see how many mistakes he made. ;-)

From the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) Standards of Practice. The inspector shall:
A. inspect:
1. structural components including the foundation and framing.

So I get an inspection done. I ask whether they adhere to the ASHI Standards of Practice. They say yes.

Let us say my house has a full bury basement with full height insulated walls in the basement, full enclosed ceiling as well as finished floor on sleepers over concrete. The main floor and second floor are also fully finished walls, floors and ceilings over wood framing. The attic is accessible and the buildings has wooden trusses that are visible from the attic access.

Can anyone here tell me how an inspector can inspect the foundation (which included footings), walls, concrete reinforcing, sill plate anchors, floor joists, beam sizes and lumber grade, framing lumber, and so on. To do that thoroughly one would have to spend more time than the cost of the inspection would allow.

So, that is not really what is done. What is done is one looks for indicators – springy floors, creaky floors, drywall beads cracking, discolouration, drywall cracking over wall openings, space between baseboards and floor, and so on.

Yes, one can have a complete 147 page book of checklists. In the end, someone will have to make a decision whether 3 of those indicators and 5 of the others tell a story to cause alarm.

No, it is not rocket science, but a newby, no matter how diligent will very rarely do as good a job as a diligent and knowledgeable person with 20 years of experience in all such matters.

Gus you have absolutely no comprehension as to what a certified carpenter is do you?

furtree, you have absolutely no comprehension of my background that would most likely put me in a better position to know what a journeyman carpenter is!

When was the last time you saw a journey carpenter install an electrical system or plumbing system on a commercial job – not in his/her own house?

Few framing carpenters would be able to make complex cabinets such as a cabinetmaker could.

And on and on it goes.

I am afraid you are living in fantasy land.

BTW, I asked a question that is VERY reasonable and you cannot even answer it other than with another question that border on an ad hominem attack.

That tells me something about your level of expertise on this topic.

Here is a link to a red seal (interprovincial ticket) carpentry exam.

Tell me how many of the questions deal with plumbing, heating, electrical, cabinetry, etc.

I do not find a single question dealing, for instance, with truss uplift and how to prevent it ….. something that carpenters should know and many new tradesmen do not.

tradesecrets.alberta.ca/SOURCES/PDFS/exams/002_exams/002_IP_PracticeExam.pdf – 2010-04-07

Inspectors should be held to an exteremely high standard for training and subsequent licensing….the choice to hire an inspector as part of the home buying process should be done solely at the discretion of a prospective buyer……

Exactly Boomerang. It is one thing to inspect a building under construction when one inspects workmanship while the work product is still uncovered.

It is a totally different thing to inspect a 20 year old building and even more so a 50+ year old building which is more like a cross between forensics and troubleshooting. One really has to have a solid background in how buildings are put together today and how they were put together several decades ago to sniff out potential spots where things could be falling apart.

One can arm themselves with all sorts of instruments, but if one does not know what they actually tell you, then they are just for show and you can charge $100 more.

Wow no one has a clue what a carpenter does… incredible… how did it ever get to this. Allowing anyone to build a house for starters i guess. That is why you need someone to inspect your house before buying it….unbelievable!!! Maybe the electrical and plumbing can go in the toilet to.

One of the major reasons for the growth of house inspectors is because those who provided the services promoted themselves with the government by telling them they are the only ones qualified to do it and actually got the government to believe that.

Why was anyone doing that? Because realtors did not guarantee a thing, and rightfully so, and house buyers started to pin their poor purchasing decisions on someone other than themselves, and quite rightfully so.

While new houses come with a semblance of a warrantee, old ones do not.

In buying and selling homes over the past 30 years (4 in total) I have found no need for the inspectors.
Be honest when selling, and diligent when buying.
There are no guarantees against problems or mistakes in life and we shouldn’t expect that another level of bureaucracy and its associated cost will give that assurance.

Gus Don’t get your knickers in a knot, I’m not avoiding you, its that I haven’t been able to reply.
I’ll start by saying the only ones in reality to qualify for home inspectors should be ticked carpenters, but why be involved in such a haphazard, thankless industry by putting their reputation and possibly their certificate on the line for a lousy few hundred dollars per inspection. For an example of what I mean by thankless simply watch Holmes on Homes, and what is mentioned about them or even here on this site the home inspectors are constantly being criticized for their inspections, and from a Holmes who I believe has no trades ticket.