Here we answer questions about getting a home or commercial property inspection, give tips on home maintenance, and share our knowledge about common home and commercial property 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.
The Problem Starts Underground — Long Before the Backup Tree roots don’t break pipes out of aggression. They break them because pipes leak. Older sewer lines—especially clay tile and early cast iron—were never watertight to begin with. Joints shift, gaskets dry out, and hairline cracks form. That moisture plume in
One of the things we spend the most time explaining to clients doesn’t show up as a defect in the report at all. It usually comes up during the walkthrough, when someone asks a perfectly reasonable question: “Why didn’t you move that?”“Couldn’t you just open this?”“Why not take that apart
Homebuyers often look to an inspection report for certainty. They want to know what will break, how long systems will last, and whether the home will be trouble-free. While inspections provide critical insight, they are not forecasts. Understanding what a home inspection cannot predict is just as important as understanding
After a home inspection, buyers often focus on what defects were found. But experienced inspectors and seasoned buyers know that the same defect does not carry the same level of risk in every home. Two houses can have identical issues on paper—yet one may be a reasonable purchase, while the
Daycare centers and school facilities carry a different kind of weight than most commercial properties. These buildings aren’t just workplaces or revenue generators—they’re environments where children are entrusted to the building itself. That reality changes how inspections are approached and how risk is evaluated. At Upchurch Inspection, inspections of daycare
Auto repair and service buildings are some of the most deceptively risky commercial properties in the Mid-South. They often look straightforward—open bays, concrete floors, overhead doors, basic offices—but the way these buildings are used places continuous stress on structure, slabs, drainage, ventilation, and environmental controls. At Upchurch Inspection, inspections of
Unlike offices or apartments, storage units don’t have conditioned interiors buffering the building from the environment. Exterior walls, roofs, doors, and slabs are exposed to daily thermal swings, moisture cycles, and wind loads without much moderation. Inspectors pay close attention to: Small construction shortcuts that would be hidden inside a
In commercial buildings, mold and air quality issues rarely announce themselves the way buyers expect. There’s usually no dramatic odor, no obvious discoloration, no single “problem room.” Instead, issues develop quietly—behind finishes, above ceilings, inside wall cavities, or within HVAC systems that appear to be functioning normally. At Upchurch Inspection,
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,
