CERTIFIED PLUS
NORTH CAROLINA HOME INSPECTIONS

 

CERTIFIED PLUS NORTH CAROLINA HOME INSPECTIONS Your Complete NC Home Inspection Service Home inspection Prices start at $199 for a North Carolina home inspections - Home Inspection Raleigh NC, Home Inspection Durham NC, Home Inspection Apex NC -Home Inspection Cary NC, Home Inspection Chapel Hill NC, Home Inspection Garner NC - Home Inspection Holly Springs NC, Fuquay Varina NC, Home Inspection Morrisville NC - Home Inspection Raleigh North Carolina, Home inspection Durham North Carolina - Home Inspection Apex North Carolina CERTIFIED PLUS NORTH CAROLINA HOME INSPECTIONS   PRICES START AT $199 - The price is set according to the size of the house. Call for exact prices for your North Carolina real estate home inspection. REPORT - ON SITE SUMMARY - At the end of the home inspection you will receive a summary report of the needed repairs. You are now ready to negotiate any repairs after the inspection. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE - Our home inspectors are professionals. We are one of the few companies that offer a money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with our home inspection, we will gladly refund your money. APPLIANCES - All appliances that are purchased with the house will be tested at no extra charge. Appliances such as the dishwasher, stove, refrigerator and the washer and dryer. KITCHEN INSPECTION The kitchen is one of the most important areas to be inspected. Not only is it a heavy traffic work area with cooking equipment, it's a room that quite often has been remodeled. For these two reasons the kitchen will be inspected for function of the equipment and the quality of the workmanship if the kitchen has been remodeled. The following is a detailed description of items inspected in the kitchen and the method of inspection. STRUCTURAL - As with any room, the inspector will first inspect the floors walls and ceiling for structural problems. It is very common for the home owners to remodel the kitchen themselves and some of these do it yourself owners should not be doing this type of work. KITCHEN FLOOR - The floor is inspected for settlement and floor covering. All houses will have some normal acceptable floor settlement. What our inspector is looking for is noticeable sloping. If any sloping is noted, the inspector will look for a structural problem or improper installation of the floor. The floor will also be inspected for the level match to the adjacent floors. Sometimes a home owner will install a new kitchen floor that doesn't match in height the other floors which is not really a professional job. FLOOR COVERING - With a newer style house, the floor covering will be inspected for condition. With an older house, the floor covering has most likely been changed a few times and will be inspected more closely. The inspector will be looking for levelness of the floor, and the quality of the workmanship. As example, are the tiles installed properly with the seams straight and the proper mortar used and installed properly. COUNTERTOPS - The counter top will first be examined for burn marks, stains or damage. Besides the surface condition, the inspector will evaluate the levelness of the counter top and whether or not it is properly secured to the base cabinets. He will then check to see if it caulked properly to avoid water running off the back of the counter top and damaging the base cabinets. One other note about counter tops, granite and other expensive counter tops have to be inspected for cracks and sleight defects that may have occurred during installation. BASE CABINETS - The base cabinets will be inspected for stability and condition. Every drawer and door will be tested for function. WALL CABINETS - The upper wall cabinets will also be tested for stability and condition. The stability test will be mainly how well the cabinets are mounted to the wall and whether or not the cabinets are bolted together properly. A quick story about an wall cabinet inspection that almost caused physical injury. I was checking the wall cabinets for stability in my usual manner of giving a good tug on the bottom of the cabinet to see how well the cabinet is attached to the wall. Well to my surprise, the cabinet ripped loose from the wall and came crashing down on the counter top. The cabinet smashed beyond repair, the counter top was damaged, and several dishes in the cabinet were broken. The reason for the accident was very simple, the cabinet was over loaded. The owner needed storage space for all her dishes and stacked two rows of full dinner plates in that cabinet from bottom to top. The weight of all those dinner plates must have weighted over a hundred pounds, and all it took was a tug on the bottom of the cabinet to pull it from the wall. Needless to say, from that day forward, I always look in the cabinet before I give a much gentler tug on the cabinet to test the stability. SINK - The kitchen sink is a very important inspection for two reasons: it's a work area and water is involved. Our inspector will inspect for condition, function, and any areas around or under the sink for water damage that may have occurred from previous leaks. The inspector will then check the sink faucet for function and the water flow for adequacy. Next he will check the plumbing under the sink and make sure that the plumbing has a proper "P" trap, and at the same time check the base of the cabinet for any water damage. RANGE - COOK TOP - WALL OVEN - Our home inspection includes the inspection of all appliances that are being purchased with the home. All appliances will be tested for condition and function. While testing the cooking appliances the inspector will also check for any noticeable safety hazards near or around the appliance. DISHWASHER - With a Certified Plus Home Inspection, the dishwasher is tested by running the unit through a full cycle. Experience has taught us that dishwashers leak more at the end of the cycle than at the beginning and for that reason, the dishwasher is run through a full cycle. The inspector will also check the dishwasher discharge line for condition and to determine if the line has the recommended high loop installation. ELECTRICAL OUTLETS - The electrical outlets will be identified for type and tested for function. There are normally three types of outlets found in the residential home: two prong, three prong and a GFCI type ( ground fault circuit interrupted). The following is a brief description of the different style outlets: Two prong outlet - Two prong outlets are usually found in older homes. This type outlet is not the best outlet for safety because it doesn't have a ground line that will direct and control any stray current that may escape the outlet or equipment being used. The big fear is that if your body touches a stray current from the outlet or equipment, your body now becomes the conduit for the electricity which is dangerous. Whenever our home inspector finds a dwelling with two prong outlet, he recommends that the old style two prong outlets be updated for safety reasons, to outlets that meet today's electrical standards. Three prong outlet - A three prong outlet provides a third line that directs the current to ground. It is a much safer outlet than a the older style two prong, and for this reason, mostly all appliances today have a three prong plug. GFCI outlet - The full name, ( ground fault circuit interrupter) is a tremendous advancement in electrical field for safety. It works like this, If there is a short circuit or if there is a stray circuit the outlet will trip before a person can get a serious electrical shock. These type of outlets are used mainly near water or in areas where equipment is used. This type of outlet should always be installed in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, laundry, basement, and the exterior of the dwelling. MICROWAVE - It appears that a microwave oven is a must in every home today. Even though the microwave is not included in the inspection, with a Certified Plus Home Inspection, the microwave will be given a courtesy inspection at no extra cost. Licensed North Carolina Home Inspector Serving: Alamance County, Chatham County, Johnston County, Lee County, Orange County, Wake County. Towns and surrounding areas for Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Hillsborough, and Raleigh. Disclaimer - North Carolina DISCLAIMER - The information contained on this site/article is for general information only. Anyone using information obtained from this site/article has the responsibility to obtain professional advice on your particular problem or circumstance Certified Plus home inspections LLC. disclaim all responsibility, including negligence, for all consequences of any person acting on, or refraining from acting in reliance on, information contained in this site/article. The laws and regulation undergo frequent changes and the fact that there is a multitude of items covered under the "Grandfather Clause" anyone using this information , should first obtain professional advise on your particular circumstance before using information from this site/article. Note - Due to the fact that every home inspection is unique, and many of the items mentioned in this site/article may be inaccessible, covered with wall covering, storage, etc. Certified Plus Home Inspections LLC. gives no guarantee, or promise, expressed or implied, that every/any item mentioned in this article will be inspected or addressed in a home inspection. Any home inspection conducted by Certified Plus Home Inspections LLC, the actual home inspector's report supercedes any information contained in this site/article.