Here we answer questions about getting a home or commercial 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.
You notice a new crack above a basement window after a long, dry Missouri summer. A door that worked in spring now sticks, the floor seems slightly uneven, and a thin line has appeared in the brick mortar. The natural question is whether you're looking at ordinary seasonal movement or
More than 1 inch of inward deflection over an 8-foot wall span is the practical benchmark for professional inspection. Movement beyond 2 inches generally narrows the repair choices and calls for prompt structural evaluation, not casual monitoring. You may notice the problem while hanging a shelf, planning to finish a
You notice a horizontal crack halfway up the basement wall while moving storage boxes, or you see a slight curve when sunlight hits the concrete. The first question is usually, “Is this just an old crack, or is the wall bowing?” The practical way to answer how to tell if
You notice it while moving a box, checking a furnace, or preparing a home for sale. There's a chalky white film on the basement wall, and the immediate questions are usually the same: Is it mold? Is it salt? Is the foundation failing? In most basement inspections, white powder on
You walk downstairs after a stretch of rain and notice a chalky white bloom along the concrete wall. At first, it looks like dust, dried paint, or something left behind by an old leak. Across Missouri, from Cape Girardeau and Jackson to Columbia and Jefferson City, that residue often has
After a March thaw or a July downpour, a Missouri basement can tell you something is wrong before you know what the problem is. Cardboard boxes soften at the bottom, a finished wall develops a dark patch, or the dehumidifier runs constantly while the room still feels clammy. A home
Buyers are often surprised by how much time an inspection spends talking about water. Not just plumbing leaks—but grading, gutters, soil, crawl spaces, flashing, ventilation, humidity, and drainage patterns that don’t seem urgent at first glance. A common reaction is:“But there’s no water in the house.” That’s true in the
When people think about basement problems, they usually think about cracks, water stains, sump pumps, grading, or foundation movement. Those things matter, but in the Kansas City metro, basement conditions often trace back to something deeper: the ground itself. When I review reports from our Centerview, Missouri inspector working throughout
Late summer in Missouri has a way of showing you what the ground has been doing all along. A homeowner steps outside after Labor Day, glances at the garage, and notices a diagonal crack that wasn't there in June. Then the back porch gap looks a little wider, and now
Inspector tested checklist for Mid South homeowners: 4 DIY checks, the plastic test thresholds, and when to call an inspector or contractor.
You're halfway down the basement stairs when you spot it, a horizontal line running across the block wall, maybe with a little dampness, maybe with a slight curve in the wall that you hadn't noticed before. That's the kind of finding that makes people stop and stare, because a horizontal
Inspection first comparison for Mid South buyers. Learn how pier and beam and slab foundations affect long term repair costs, common inspection red flags,…
