Category Archives: Home Inspection

Petaluma Home Inspector Santa Rosa Home inspection

Manufactured Home Foundation Certifications

The requirements for government guaranteed loans on manufactured housing changed to include a permanent foundation. It is required that foundations be certified by a licensed professional engineer to be in compliance with HUD-7584 (Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured Housing). This applies to FHA and VA loans. As a result, many private lenders offering conventional loans have added this as a requirement for their loans. We have partnered with the engineers … Continue Reading

Petaluma Home Inspections – Attics

Petaluma Home Inspectors – Attic Inspection In this video clip Steve Ramos, Petaluma Home Inspector, walks you through an attic inspection of a typical home in Novato, CA.  Home inspections in California are performed to a standard.  There are more than one Standards of Practice that are applicable in California for home inspections.  Most of the major home inspection associations are in agreement that attic inspections have limitations that are … Continue Reading

Petaluma Home Inspector – Electrical Wiring Systems Double Taps

Petaluma Home Inspector Steve Ramos on Inspecting Electrical Systems Home inspectors are required to look at the readily accessible wiring.  In most cases this means that the panel cover for the electrical service is removed and the wiring and breakers are visually inspected.  One relatively common home inspector finding is the “double tap”.  A double tap is when two electrical wires are connected to one breaker and that breaker is … Continue Reading

Home Inspection of Federal Pacific Electrical Panels

Home Inspection Story About Federal Pacific Electrical Panels It was just another home inspection, or so I thought, when I walked up on this electrical panel as I have for so many years.  I knew the panel brand, which is Federal Pacific  or FPE, had a history so I always approached this brand of panel with a little more respect than the other brands that are common to our area … Continue Reading

Home Inspector – Roofing Inspection

Home Inspectors perform roofing inspections during a home inspection.  One type of roofing material that is often inspected is the asphalt shingle (aka composition roof).  In this home inspection video blog I walk you through the basics of an asphalt shingle roof inspection I conducted in Petaluma Ca.  A home inspector will often give a range of expected service life and this case roof is at the end of its … Continue Reading

Sample Home Inspection Report

Here is a sample report for our home inspection service.  Reporting details vary somewhat with the age and condition of the building.  In this example the building is a 1955 single level slab home in average condition for its age.  Home inspection reports are specific to a building and client requirements.  All home inspections that are for the purpose of real estate purchase or sale should comply with industry trade … Continue Reading

The Power of Infrared Technology

There is cutting edge inspection technology available today that gives you the power to see what no one else can see. Before infrared technology that brown stain on the ceiling might be a leak in the roof, after infrared technology that brown stain,well, it just needs a little paint (because we verified using infrared powered technology that the leak is not active). That is just one example of how the … Continue Reading

Moss, is it devouring your roof?

The black growth covering roofs is a fungus. This fungus, because it lacks chlorophyll, is unable to manufacture food from raw materials as other plants do. It must therefore get nutrition from some form of organic matter. When fungus receives its nutrition from dead organic matter, it is called a saprophyte. This particular fungus also requires a warm humid environment to thrive in. Now that we know what this growth … Continue Reading

Home Inspectors – Choosing the Right One for Your Home Inspection

Home inspectors offer a critical service in the process of buying a home.  Choosing the right home inspector for your home inspection can be a daunting task.  Most consumers are not in the market on a regular basis hiring home inspectors.  According to industry statistics from the California Department of Real Estate families move on average every seven years.  If you extrapolate that to hiring a home inspector every seven … Continue Reading