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.
The first warm afternoon after a hard Missouri freeze is when many homeowners notice the change. A stair-step line has appeared along the mortar near a window, a brick face looks rougher than it did in the fall, or a thin crack runs diagonally above a door. In Cape Girardeau,
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
During an inspection, buyers sometimes notice the inspector lingering over things that seem insignificant. A slight slope in the floor. A hairline crack near a window. Rust beginning to form on a fastener. A door that doesn’t quite close the way it should. It’s common to hear, “Is that really
One of the most misunderstood parts of home inspections is timing. Buyers often assume that if a problem exists, it should be obvious on inspection day. If it’s not visible, it must not be real. In the regions we serve—Memphis and Jackson in West Tennessee, Nashville and Middle Tennessee, Little
Peeling paint, dark staining, soft wood, or deterioration along the edge of a roof can be easy to dismiss as cosmetic. Sometimes it is mostly a maintenance issue. Other times, damaged soffit or fascia is a clue that water has been reaching an area that should stay reasonably dry. That
An inspector’s field-tested steps to spot missing or blocked brick weep holes, why mulch and debris often cause them, and when to call a pro.
Fiber cement has a reputation for being bulletproof. Rot-proof. Bug-proof. Fire-resistant. Set it and forget it. And then I get down on one knee, look at the bottom edge, and realize it’s been set up to fail. Fiber Cement Doesn’t Rot — But What’s Behind It Does This is the
Step-Downs Aren’t a Defect — Until They Are A step-down foundation isn’t unusual. Anytime a house is built on a slope, you’re going to see changes in elevation. The foundation follows the grade, stepping down in sections instead of cutting and filling the entire lot flat. On paper, that’s efficient
Decks don’t usually fail because the wood gets old. They fail because the deck was never properly tied to the house in the first place. And almost every time I see a serious deck problem, it leads back to one piece: the ledger board. What the Ledger Board Does (And
Storm Cycles Shape Wear Patterns When I review reports from our Centerview, Missouri inspector across Western Missouri, storm-related damage shows up in very consistent ways. This region sits squarely in a corridor that sees frequent hail, straight-line winds, and fast-moving thunderstorms. Homes don’t just age here—they get tested. Understanding what
East Tennessee Water Doesn’t Sit Still When I review reports from our inspector in Knoxville, one issue consistently stands out above the rest: uncontrolled water movement around the home. In this part of East Tennessee, gravity and rainfall do most of the talking. Water doesn’t pool quietly here—it moves, accelerates,
You Can’t Understand East Tennessee Homes Without Understanding the Ground When I review reports from our inspector working in East Tennessee, foundation performance almost always traces back to one thing: geology. In this part of the state, houses don’t just sit on the ground—they respond to it, shift with it,
