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.
Zoned HVAC systems sound great on paper. Multiple thermostats, customized comfort, and better efficiency — at least that’s the pitch. In the field, I see a different story more often than not. Zoning only works when every component does its job. When one fails, the whole system starts lying to
If a home has comfort issues, high utility bills, or rooms that never seem to match the thermostat, I almost always end up in the crawlspace. That’s where the money usually leaks out. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told a buyer, “Your HVAC isn’t the problem —
This is one of those HVAC issues where a lot of people — including some technicians — guess instead of verify. Warm air coming out of the vents? First reaction is usually, “Must be low on refrigerant.”Sometimes that’s true. A lot of times, it isn’t. This is where thermal imaging
If I hear an AC kick on and shut off again before I can finish writing the serial number down, my radar goes up immediately. Short-cycling is one of the fastest ways to destroy an HVAC system, and I see it constantly — especially in homes where the seller says,
One of the first tools I pull out on an HVAC inspection isn’t a gauge or a camera — it’s a thermometer. Delta-T is simple in theory: it’s the temperature difference between the air going into your system and the air coming out. In the real world, it tells me
I’ve already started seeing the confusion out in the field, and 2026 isn’t even fully here yet. Just last summer, I was inspecting a newer build outside Bartlett. Home was barely three years old, seller bragging about the “almost new” HVAC system. Buyer asked a simple question at the end
The phrase independent contractor sounds straightforward. Most inspectors hear it and think autonomy, flexibility, and freedom from corporate control. In theory, it means an inspector runs their own professional practice while partnering with a company for marketing, scheduling, or administrative support. In practice, the model has drifted far from that
As home inspection companies grow, they tend to look more alike. Centralized scheduling. Rigid policies. Standardized reports. Layers of management between the inspector and the client. At Upchurch Inspection, we’ve grown too — but we’ve made intentional choices about how we grow, and just as importantly, what we refuse to
Over the past decade, the home inspection industry has changed. Large, multi-state companies now operate in dozens of markets at once. Scheduling is centralized. Reporting is standardized. Systems are designed to scale quickly. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that model. But as the industry becomes more nationalized, it’s worth asking
Most homes have problems. That’s not a criticism — it’s reality. Homes are exposed to weather, moisture, movement, wear, and time. An inspection that doesn’t identify issues isn’t thorough. But there’s an important distinction that often gets overlooked: Finding problems is not the same as explaining risk. At Upchurch Inspection,
Most inspection companies don’t set out to build something compromised. They build for efficiency.They build for growth.They build for coverage. And for a while, those goals align with quality. Then scale introduces pressure.Pressure introduces shortcuts.Shortcuts introduce silence. Not dramatic silence — subtle silence.The kind that lives between what could be
At some point, most independent inspectors consider joining a larger operation. Sometimes it’s about volume.Sometimes it’s about stability.Sometimes it’s simply fatigue — marketing, scheduling, billing, and admin wear people down. Multi-inspector firms promise relief. And sometimes, they deliver it. But before joining one, there are questions every inspector should ask
