Home Inspection

Considering a Home Inspection Career? Signs of Poor Home Workmanship

September 15, 2022

The condition of a person’s home has the potential to greatly affect their quality of life, for better or worse. If you’re passionate about helping others, have a keen eye for detail, and are interested in the construction industry, a career in home improvement could be perfect for you. You can play an essential role in a client’s home buying process, highlighting issues that could guide price negotiations in addition to giving your clients an estimate for the repairs they’ll have to do once they move in. 

In many cases, home inspectors use their expertise to detect problems that could cause major safety concerns when left unfixed. If you’re considering this career path, you may be wondering what signs you should be looking out for. Here are some signs of poor home workmanship to take note of outside, inside, and in the foundation of your clients’ homes. 

Signs of Poor Workmanship on the Outside of a Home 

When you begin your home inspection on the outside of a client’s home, the windows, doors, patios, decks, and concrete surfacing should be your main focus. Look at the way windows are sealed; if you notice condensation between the glass on thermal windows, this is a sign of a failed seal. This can result in higher energy bills for your clients, mould and mildew growth which can affect air quality over time, and draftiness. Doors with seal failure might create the same energy efficiency problem as windows. 

Watch out for cracks in the walking surface of patios and where they intersect with the wall of the house. Throughout your home inspector career, watch for concrete cracks as well, as this can be an indication of soil that was not properly prepared before the concrete was installed. 

Check windows, doors, concrete, patios, and decks during your home inspection career.

Signs of Poor Workmanship to Look for Inside a House

Inside your clients’ homes, look for cracks in the drywall, as this can indicate soil movement or structural issues. Watch for uneven floorboards, tile cracks, water marks under the carpet or linoleum, and discoloration–these can all indicate water infiltration that occurs as a result of cracks in the foundation. Pay attention to the temperature inside the house. If there’s a problem controlling the temperature inside, faulty HVAC systems are likely to blame. Observe how the switches and electrical outlets work as well. 

Subtle signs inside a house may indicate foundation problems.

Signs of a Bad Foundation to Watch for During Your Home Inspection Career 

As you’ll learn in home inspection training, many of the most common and detrimental problems in a house are difficult to observe right away. For example, construction flaws in a house’s foundation can be difficult to spot at first. Check for sagging floors, peeling wallpaper, damp crawl spaces, protruding nails, doors that won’t close properly, and cabinets and countertops that separate from the walls. Here at the North American Trade Schools, we teach students about every component and system within a house, including roofing, structure, electrical, heating, air conditioning/heat pumps, plumbing, exterior, insulation, and interior so that their clients can rely on their consulting services. 

Ready to become a home inspector

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