What's Inspected?

What's inspected in a Standard Home Inspection?

Spotlight Home Inspections follows the Standards of Practice set forth by the North Carolina Home Inspector Licensure Board. Below is a general overview of the components included in a home inspection. Items not listed are not required by the standards of practice, the inspector may add additional items to each personalized report as a courtesy to the client.

Structural Components

  • Foundation

  • Floors

  • Walls

  • Columns or Piers

  • Ceilings

  • Roof Structure

Exterior

  • Wall cladding, flashing, and trim

  • Entryway doors and a representative number of windows

  • Garage door operators

  • Decks, balconies, stoops, steps, areaways, porches, and appurtenant railings

  • Eaves, soffits, and fascias

  • Driveways, patios, walkways, and retaining walls

  • Vegetation, grading, and drainage with respect only to their effect on the condition of the building

Roofing

  • Roof coverings

  • Roof drainage systems

  • Flashings

  • Skylights, chimneys, and roof penetrations

  • Signs of leaks or abnormal condensation on the building components

Plumbing

  • Interior water supply and distribution system, including: piping materials, supports, and insulation; fixtures and faucets; functional flow; leaks; and cross connections

  • Interior drain, waste and vent system, including: traps; drain, waste, and vent piping; piping supports and pipe insulation; leaks; and functional drainage

  • Hot water systems including: water heating equipment; normal operating controls; automatic safety controls; and chimneys, flues, and vents

  • Fuel storage and distribution systems including: interior fuel storage equipment, supply piping, venting, and supports; leaks

  • Sump pumps

Electrical

  • Electrical service entrance conductors

  • Electrical service equipment, grounding equipment, main overcurrent device, and interiors of panelboard enclosures unless unsafe conditions are present

  • Amperage and voltage ratings of the electrical service

  • Branch circuit conductors, their overcurrent devices, and the compatibility of their ampacities at the interiors of panelboard enclosures unless unsafe conditions are present

  • The operation of a representative number of installed ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, switches, and receptacles located inside the house, garage, and on the dwelling's exterior walls

  • The polarity and grounding of all receptacles within six feet of interior plumbing fixtures, and all receptacles in the garage or carport, and on the exterior of inspected structures

  • The operation of ground fault circuit interrupters

  • Smoke detectors and installed carbon monoxide alarms

Heating

  • Heating equipment

  • Normal operating controls

  • Automatic safety controls

  • Chimneys, flues, and vents, where readily visible

  • Solid fuel heating devices

  • Heat distribution systems including fans, pumps, ducts and piping, with supports, insulation, air filters, registers, radiators, fan coil units, convectors

  • The presence or absence of an installed heat source for each habitable space

Air Conditioning

  • Central air conditioning and through-the-wall ductless installed cooling systems including: cooling and air handling equipment; normal operating controls

  • Cooling distribution systems including: fans, pumps, ducts and piping, with associated supports, dampers, insulation, air filters, registers, and fan-coil units

  • The presence or absence of an installed cooling source for each habitable space

Interiors

  • Walls, ceiling, and floors

  • Steps, stairways, balconies, and railings

  • Counters and a representative number of built-in cabinets

  • A representative number of doors and windows

Insulation and Ventilation

  • Insulation and vapor retarders in unfished spaces

  • Ventilation of attics and foundation areas

  • Kitchen, bathroom, and laundry venting systems

  • The operation of any readily accessible attic ventilation fan, and, when the temperature permits, the operation of the readily accessible thermostatic control

To view the Standards of Practice the inspector abides by please visit the Standards of Practice tab at the top of the page.