Standard Home Inspection in Columbus
What to expect
Whether you choose us or not, the best thing you can do is attend the inspection from start to finish. We encourage you to walk with us, ask questions as they come up (we love questions), and see the home through an inspector’s eyes. There are a few safety limits: for insurance reasons, we can’t let clients use our ladders to access the roof or attic, and we can’t allow anyone to walk on a roof during the inspection(big no no's for insurance purposes).
A typical standard home inspection takes 3–5 hours on site. Timing depends on the home’s size and condition—and on your curiosity. If there’s more to discuss, we’ll stay and make sure you have clear answers.
For first-time buyers, our inspections double as a hands-on class in home ownership and maintenance—what to watch, what to fix, and how to prioritize. For experienced buyers and investors, we focus on major systems, safety, and the building-science items that affect comfort, durability, and cost of ownership.
After we leave the property, we spend additional time writing your report—typically about 1-2 hours—so that findings are clear, prioritized, and actionable. Our goal is same-day delivery: morning inspections are written in the afternoon and emailed by evening as an interactive Web page & PDF. On rare occasions, a next-morning delivery is more likley; if so, we’ll let you know right away.
What's Included
At Well Built Inspections, every inspector is licensed in Ohio and works to the Ohio Home Inspector Standards of Practice—our baseline, not our finish line. Those standards define what must be inspected, but not how. We go further by using advanced tools on every job-drones, thermal imaging, moisture meters, CO meters, gas-leak detectors, advanced circuit testers, and more, to reveal the hidden and document it clearly. The list below follows the exact order of our inspection reports and blends Ohio’s SOP with our own Well Built Best Practices. So here’s exactly what we include for single-family homes.
Roof
We place our ladders on the house and climb up on the roof if the pitch is less than 6/12. This is the best way to inspect the roof if it is safe to do so. Exceptions would be wet/snow covered roofs, steep pitched and roofs not accessible with a 12ft ladder.
In addition we use a high-powered drone with a 4k camera to inspect the roof from all angles.
Roofing materials (e.g., shingles, membranes, tiles) and their apparent condition.
Roof drainage components such as gutters, downspouts, and related discharge at the roof edge.
Flashing at critical transitions (walls, valleys, penetrations).
Skylights, chimneys, and other roof penetrations that are readily accessible.
Exterior
Wall coverings (siding)
Windows
Doors
Decks
Balconies
Stoops
Steps
Porches
Guardrails and handrails
Drainage and lot topography
Retaining walls
Bushes and trees that are affecting the building
Walkways
Patios
Driveways
Foundation walls
Vent exhaust (dryer and kitchen vents) and air intakes
Exterior spigots
Garage (if applicable)
Overhead doors
Torsion and expansion springs for safety cables.
Garage door openers, including auto-reverse.
Interior: doors , stairs, walls, floor, electrical
Basement/Foundation/Structure
Foundation walls
Basement floor
Crawl spaces
Sump Systems, including the sump basket, sump pump, sump cover, and extension piping.
Floor structure (posts, beams, joists, etc.)
Basement insulation
Signs of basement moisture/water intrusion. Water seepage is a major concern for buyers. We scan the exterior walls with a thermal imager and we use moisture meters to prove, or disprove, elevated moisture levels when they’re seen with the thermal imager or if any other signs of past leakage is present.
Plumbing
DWV – Drain, waste, and vent pipes
Water supply pipes
The visible portion of the water service pipe, which is the water supply pipe that brings water into the home
Water heaters
Water heater vents.
Clothes washers and dryers
Floor drains
Sinks
Toilets
Tubs
Showers
Gas lines.
We document the locations of the main gas and water valves.
Air Conditioning
Exterior condenser unit
Refrigerant lines
Condensate drainage
Thermostat
AC system operation- Testing the temperature differentials for proper operation.
Heating
Installed heating equipment such as furnaces and boilers. We use a CO Meter during furnace operation. This gives us a good insight if there are any excessive CO being leaked that could be a health problem for the occupants and if we need to get "eyes on" the heat exchanger.
Furnace filters are inspected and clients are shown how to change the filter.
Ductwork
Registers are all checked for operation with an infrared camera.
Vent connector, vent and visible portion of the chimney
(ERVs) Energy Recovery Ventilators or (HRVs) Heat Recovery Ventilators
Electrical
Exterior electrical components
Service drop
Service entrance conductors
Service entrance cables
Service mast
We remove panel covers of main panel and any sub-panels to inspect the wiring inside. For the record, this is not something that sets us apart from our competition, most inspectors in Ohio area doing this.
Service grounding and the grounding electrode conductor. The service ground and proper bonding are the two most important items that keep an electrical system safe.
Interior electrical components, including most, if not all, of outlets, switches, and lights.
Ground fault circuit interrupters
Arc fault circuit interrupters
Smoke and CO alarms: I recommend these be changed out if over 10 years old. I also recommend upgrading CO alarms to low-level types to increase safety from sustained low levels of CO that won't trigger typically installed alarms but that can cause health issues such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and reduced cognition.
Attic
We make every effort to physically access and inspect attics. If we can safely walk or carefully crawl without compressing or displacing insulation, we’ll go in to evaluate conditions up close.
Framing & roof sheathing
Exhaust fans & duct terminations
Insulation type, depth & coverage
Ventilation and airflow paths
Finding hidden air leaks:
Attic by-passes (air leaks) are often concealed under insulation. When we suspect leakage, we may lightly move a small area of insulation to verify conditions, then return it to place after documenting the finding.
Interior
Ceilings – Scanned with a thermal imager on every inspection to help spot hidden moisture, heat loss.
Walls – Thermal imaging used on all inspections to identify possible leaks, missing insulation, or concealed defects.
Floors – Checked for damage, movement, moisture concerns, and trip hazards; thermal imaging used when conditions suggest.
Doors – Operated for fit, latch, weatherstripping, and clearance; scanned with a thermal imager on every inspection.
Windows – Tested for operation, seals, and safety glazing where required; thermal imaging used on every inspection.
Skylights – Evaluated for flashing, condensation, and interior staining; thermal imaging used on every inspection.
Stairs, Handrails & Guardrails – Reviewed for stability, spacing, and safety-height compliance.
Countertops & Cabinets – Assessed for attachment, function, damage, and water exposure at sinks and dishwashers.
Exhaust Fans – Verified for operation and proper venting paths to the exterior.
Kitchen Appliances – Operated with basic functions (when present and accessible): range/oven, cooktop, vent hood, dishwasher, built-in microwave, refrigerator, and disposer.
Environmental- Most of the items here are excluded except where noted
Mold testing-Extra Fee
Mice,vermin
Lead Paint
Asbestos
Radon- If this test is desired, we will contact a radon tester in our network and get them in touch with you asap.
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