Here we answer questions about getting a home inspection, give tips on home maintenance, and share our knowledge about common home issues. We are here to help you. If you can’t find an answer to your questions here, you can always contact us via our contact page.
Mixed-use buildings are often marketed as the best of both worlds. Retail or office on the ground floor, residential above, steady foot traffic, diversified income streams. On paper, they look resilient. From an inspection standpoint, mixed-use properties are where risk compounds, because the building is being asked to perform incompatible
Hospitality properties tend to project confidence. Lobbies are clean, rooms are staged, lighting is warm, and finishes are chosen to feel inviting. For buyers, especially those new to hotels or short-term lodging properties, it’s easy to assume that visible upkeep reflects underlying condition. In hospitality inspections, that assumption is often
Churches and nonprofit facilities occupy a category all their own. They’re often large, heavily used, emotionally important spaces that were never designed to operate like modern commercial buildings—yet they’re expected to perform reliably, safely, and affordably for decades. At Upchurch Inspection, inspections of churches and nonprofit facilities require a different
One of the most common misunderstandings in commercial real estate is assuming that a single inspection answers every question. A general commercial inspection provides critical, broad visibility—but it is not designed to exhaustively evaluate every system, material, or risk pathway. At Upchurch Inspection, we treat specialized inspections as decision tools,
Homes built before 1950 have a pull that’s hard to explain if you haven’t lived in one. Solid materials, real craftsmanship, established neighborhoods—there’s a reason buyers are drawn to them. Many of these homes have already outlasted several generations of newer construction. But age changes the inspection conversation. When we
Home inspection reports are meant to clarify risk. But in practice, they often do the opposite—especially when buyers focus on severity labels, long defect lists, or emotional reactions instead of what the findings actually mean. Misinterpreting inspection severity doesn’t just cause stress. It frequently leads buyers to lose money, lose
Closets look harmless. Quiet. Boring. Out of the way. Which is exactly why fire hazards love them. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve opened a closet door and immediately taken a step back. Not because something was on fire — but because if conditions lined up just right,
Kitchen islands are supposed to feel solid. Anchored. Permanent. So when I lean on one and it shifts — even a little — I already know something went wrong long before I got there. Cabinets don’t need to fall over to be a problem. Movement is enough. Why “Floating” Islands
Stairs are one of those things people trust without thinking about — until they don’t. You walk them every day. Muscle memory kicks in. Your brain stops paying attention. And that’s exactly why bad stair geometry is so dangerous. When stairs are wrong, they don’t announce it. They wait. What
Ceiling stains are liars. They tell you something happened — but not when, not where, and definitely not whether it’s still happening. That’s why I never stop at “old water stain” and move on. Water doesn’t show up on ceilings by accident. And it rarely shows up only once. Why
High-efficiency furnaces are great when they’re installed correctly. Quiet, efficient, and cheaper to run — on paper. In the field? I find more venting mistakes on high-efficiency furnaces than almost any other heating system. And most homeowners have no idea anything is wrong. PVC venting looks simple. That’s the problem.
This is one of those things everyone assumes is handled. Smoke alarms are there. CO detector’s on the wall. Maybe one chirps every now and then when the battery’s dying. Looks fine. Feels fine. And then you actually test how the system works — or doesn’t. The Big Shift Most
