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The 11 Clauses Your Roofing Contract Should Include
The 6 Uses of Hiring a Building Inspector
Apr 11, 2017
Getting a second opinion is always better anyway. Whether your project involves roofing or any other kind of renovation, having a hired inspector draw on their experience to point out your home’s structural flaws and potential ones that could arise during the work phase will beneficial for you.
Changing an AC unit, for example, shouldn’t take more than one visit from an inspector. If a replacement of your venting system is involved, however, there might be a second visit to make sure no electrical wires are in the way. This phase prior to any project needs you to be very clear about what you want to get useful advice and to avoid problems that could halt progress for your new remodel. You’ll also be given certain jurisdictions for the project for you to get the most out of the final product without breaking any codes.
1. Inspections on Concrete
This is a recurring question that comes up when planning a new construction home. Inspection on concrete involves the way the structure is being supported by the base, like whether it’s best to go with a grade beam, spread footing, or pier foundation. The inspector will assess how your home’s foundation is transmitting the bearing wall’s load throughout the base’s midsection and making sure the new roof won't be too heavy on the structure.
2. Utility Pipework Inspection
Pipes inspectors are a great way of identifying outdated or faulty pipelines in your home. This is a crucial step for adapting your house to accommodate for modern bathroom and kitchen fixtures that won’t work properly unless your lines are in ideal condition. A senior bathtub with a high capacity faucet, for instance, won’t fill the tub quick enough with outdated pipes. And if you have any water or gas leaks, your inspector will locate it for you to solve the hazard and save you hundreds or thousands of dollars on energy bills.
3. Floor Inspections
Want to get rid of that annoying creaking in your floors? A floor inspector will eliminate the guesswork stage and tell you what the problem is and how to solve it on the spot. If your remodel involves adding more living space in your home, describe it clearly to your floor inspector to see if the structure will be able to support the extra weight.
4. Inspections on Exterior Walls
Exterior walls to uninformed homeowners seem to be permanent barriers against air and water. It’s not the case that cracks have to form for infiltration to take place. It doesn’t matter how well your exterior wall was installed if the windows, doors, expansion joints and electrical boxes are poorly situated within it. Each of these items potentially provides a passageway for air and water to penetrate. The job of an inspector is to find which of these components or others are weakening the wall’s insulation performance.
5. Roof Inspections
Without fail, you should call upon roof inspections twice a year; once after the winter and once after the summer. Most common structural leaks occur within roofs because of their exposure to the elements year-round. And differently shaped roofs have different varying weaknesses to different weather conditions. Flat roofs don’t hold up well in regions with heavy rainfall if they’re not properly protected with a special waterproof mat or sealants and making strategic use out of gutters and scuppers. Otherwise, if your roof takes the shape of a gable or any other shape that deters storm debris, the trick is then to use special shingles or tiles of different materials to deter water and guide it to specially placed gutters.
6. Insulation Inspection
If your project has your remodeling team installing new walls, an inspection on the level of insulation the surrounding walls will deliver is necessary if you want your home to be effective during the winter and summer seasons.
A wall’s insulation is marked by its R-value – a unit of the wall’s resistance against conducting heat from the outside. A wall’s insulation effectiveness depends on the internal insulation material (e.g. fiberglass, mineral wool, cellulose, polyurethane foam, etc.), its density, and its thickness.
