As a Professional Home Inspection Company with highly trained and certified inspectors we try to address all issues and concerns to ensure we provide all customers with the best experience possible. We always invite feed back to ensure all issues and questions are addressed as soon as possible. Holding inspectors to the highest standards we strive to cover all details and provide all customers with a detailed report, explain what we do during the inspection, what items are inspected and what items are not covered or not inspected during each inspection. This is done at the beginning of the inspection before anything is started. The “binder” mentioned in the clients comments is called our Inspection Resource Guide. This is reviewed with the client at the start of the process to ensure they completely understand what we are there to do, what a home inspection is and is not, how we do our inspections, how we will rate each item, answer questions, educate them on the house, and hopefully eliminate surprises. At the conclusion of each inspection we go back over the entire house with the client. We walk back through the property to educate them on the home’s components, inform them about any concerns or issues that should be addressed and answer all questions. The Inspection is not complete until the clients needs have been addressed fully. As all Reputable Home Inspection Company should do, we follow the ASHI, (American Society of Home Inspectors) Standards of Practice (SOP) we ensure our inspections meet or exceed standards that are required for each inspection. In addition to ASHI certification, all our inspectors are also NIBI (National Institute of Building Inspectors) certified. To be NIBI certified the inspectors must be retested and certified each year. Addressing issues mentioned in the clients post: 1) Client: He did not inspect the sprinkler system: The client is referring to the Lawn Irrigation System per the ASHI Standards of Practice, The Order Agreement, (read and signed by the client and stated on the Inspection Report) Lawn Irrigation Systems are not inspected and are not part of a standard home inspection. Order Agreement signed by the client By way of example only, a standard Home Inspection does not include inspection or evaluation of or for: buried piping, tanks, piles or other underground elements; swimming pools/spas; hot tubs; lawn irrigation; Supplement information A standard home inspection does not include evaluation of elements such as underground drainage systems, site lighting, irrigation systems, barbecues, sheds, detached structures, fencing, privacy walls, docks, seawalls, pools, spas and other recreational items. ASHI SOP 6.2 The inspector is NOT required to: A. inspect: 2. interiors of flues or chimneys that are not readily accessible. 6. fire and lawn sprinkler systems. 2) Client Claim: couldn't inspect the fireplace due to liability issues on his part. Inspection Report: 1.7 CHIMNEY Chimney cap in place; no interior evaluation possible. Have inspected cleaned/checked as a precaution by a qualified technician. 8.8 FIREPLACE Not Inspected, Inspector can not see inside the flue and ensure fireplace and chimney will function correctly. Recommend a qualified chimney sweep clean the unit and chimney and inspect for safety. Supplement information: Chimney Inspections - The type of limited visual inspection of chimneys, vents, fireplaces and stoves performed as part of a home inspection does not include the in-depth evaluations that professional chimney and fireplace inspectors and technicians generally must conduct to comply with current code requirements and/or identify concealed conditions and deficiencies. These inspection requirements may include three types of inspections - Level I through Page 6 of 40 Level III - with a Level III inspection being the most technically exhaustive. If such inspections are desired or locally required, they must be performed by a qualified chimney inspector or technician. Fire Place Inspection Limitations - Due to typical design restrictions, any inspection of the fireplace, stove and inserts is limited; internal components, flue, flue connectors, etc., are generally not visible. Furthermore, any inspection is of the physical condition only, and does not include code/fire safety compliance assessment or an operational check of flue/vent drafting. Unit and venting deficiency may represent fire/safety concerns. Flue inspections should be performed by a qualified chimney sweep or competent specialist. ASHI SOP 5.2 The inspector is NOT required to inspect: B. interiors of flues or chimneys that are not readily accessible. 3) Client Claim: electrostatic air filter. He didn't inspect the air filter because it wasn't turned on. During the inspection the electronic air filter was turned off by the current owner of an occupied house, I have no idea why it was turned off, Could it be defective, could it be damaged, could it just be off by mistake, I didn’t know at the time. I opened it up and looked at it, took pictures & put it back together. It appeared to be functional but I couldn’t tell. If something is off you usually don’t turn it on because you don’t know the reason it is turned off. In the report I referred him to the owner’s manual and recommended having the complete HVAC system service. Inspection Report: 11.4 BLOWER Filter is an electronic air cleaning system, these are usually not inspected during a normal inspection, the unit was turned off at time of inspection, recommend obtaining operator’s manual and following manufacturer’s directions for proper use and maintenance. ASHI SOP 8.2 The inspector is NOT required to: 4. electronic air filters. 4) Client Claim: Since the inspection we have found several things he overlooked, such as door bell didn't work: The door bell worked at the time of the inspection 5) Client Claim: ceiling leak in the bathroom that should have been noted: The lead plumbing vent stack over the bathroom was damaged from squirrels chewing on it. The squirrels had chewed holes in the top which would allow moisture to enter the opening and stain the ceiling drywall. The Midwest was experiencing a severe drought at time of the inspection. During the inspection there were no signs of moisture on the ceiling. Moisture stains could have happened between the inspection and the time the buyer moved in. We had rain in that time period. Was it noted by the new owner on the final walk through before title transfer or after they lived in the house and we have had rain? Noted on the report in words and pictures the buyer was told about it and shown the damage on my walk through. Was it fixed, I don’t know? Inspection Report: 1.2 PLUMBING STACKS (1) Lead vent stack over master bathroom sink has been damaged by rodents. This may allow water to enter the attic and damage the insulation and drywall. Repair is recommended. 6) Client Claim: and most importantly a very serious CO2 leak in our furnace A High Efficiency American Standard Furnace: Model # AUX1C100A9481AA, Serial # 6023HCL7G was installed. The unit was manufactured in 2006. During inspections hundreds of pictures are taken to document the condition of everything. I have 6 pictures of the furnace and vent piping. The unit was very clean and on a regular maintenance schedule as noted by the service tickets on the duct work. The exhaust/ intake on the HE furnace is piped out through the side of the house with two PVC pipes. The exhaust on HE furnaces is a lower temperature and is wet from condensation. A leak in the pipe would create a condensation stain or water drip, either at a pipe seam or in the furnace cabinet. Neither was found during the inspection During inspection a combustible gas detector was used to determine if CO2, natural gas or other gases were present in the house. Not a trace was found. If a gas leak is found during the inspection the gas company is called and the gas shut off until they arrive and repair the system. In addition, following my inspection the local gas company, does a complete gas inspection of the house to ensure all gas appliances (furnace, water heater, gas burning fireplace logs and cooking appliances) are working properly, safely and properly vented. The gas company passed all the appliances including the furnace and the vent piping. If they didn’t pass they are locked out and repaired before turning the gas back on. The gas company does not budge on this. It states that a HVAC service technician told them they had a problem. I don’t know what the HVAC technician found or what exactly he told the home owner, I was not contacted, questioned or asked any questions at any time after the inspection. We have a policy and tell each client during the inspection that if an issue arises and they have questions, they should call and we will do what we can to help or find someone to make the repairs. I contacted the client by phone immediately on November 17th, after I heard form a third party that he had an issue. I asked to return to the house to investigate, I was told, No, no need, he said he had already taken care of it. I then sent an email with an Incident report for him to complete so I could determine what issues he was having and how best I could help him. The incident report was never returned. This Angie’s list complaint was posted before I had known of any incident, and before I contacted him. I can assure all efforts have been made to satisfy the client. To provide superior customer service you must have communication. There was a breakdown of communication from the start on this inspection. As stated from the start we strive to be the very best, all feed back is used to improve and make each inspection the best it can possibly be.