What does the home inspector look for on the interior of the home?
Your At Home Inspections, Inc. professional looks for evidence of leakage, including damaged paint, buckled paneling, mold/mildew, water stains and/or patchwork. The inspector checks windows and doors for operability, and thermal pane doors and windows for failed thermal seals. Exposed hardwood flooring is checked for water damage and finish failure. Plaster walls and ceilings are checked for excessive cracking (older plaster on wood lath systems can separate and fail). Any nonstandard finish work – for example, rigid foam insulation panels used in suspended ceiling panel frames – is considered defective. The inspector checks masonry fireplaces for loose brick in the firebox, damper operation, and cracking on the sides of the firebox and/or hearth (which could indicate structural settlement/failure of the chimney foundation). Prefab metal fireplaces are checked for damper operation, rust damage (rain cap missing/damaged), firebox-to-flue pipe connection, and fan operation (where applic
