Home Inspections-Mechanical

The mechanical portion of your home inspection should be as thorough as any other segment of your inspection. Your inspector should be aware of your heating source, your cooling source, a general idea of how your equipment works, and how old your equipment is. Your inspector should be reporting on the overall performance of your equipment without an in depth inside look into your furnace heat exchanger, for example. Running your furnace fan, checking the limits of your thermostat, checking for dirty filters, ducts, other overall performance items should be included in your inspection. Simply stating that the furnace is a gas forced air type furnace is not enough. Doing an air sample of the ducted air is not a service your inspector should be performing, however, checking the fan operation, looking inside the cover for service records, general housekeeping items such as cleanliness, filter cartridge, and exhaust of the furnace are some of the items that should be included. Your inspector should be reporting in general terms, but specific enough for you to realize just what must be done before your purchase. Ask your inspector for general opinions. He(she) should provide just that, not in depth reports on the specific type of furnace you should be using. Anything beyond generalities and suggestions gives the impression of a secondary motive. Remember, you as a home owner want to know the general condition of the home you are about to purchase or sell. You want to know what needs to be addressed immediately, what can be addressed later, and what items are in good shape. Make sure you ask the appropriate questions. Next time- What services should be expected from an inspector -Inspector Tom