Modern building practices strive to achieve higher energy efficiency, sealing homes tighter and reducing ways for conditioned, indoor air to escape to the outside. Due to this, there is little exchange of the air between the inside and outside. When radon rises through the ground, it becomes trapped in the envelope of a home like an air-tight bubble. The better sealed a home is, the harder it is for radon to escape. This leads to higher concentration and may need mitigation methods.

When insuring a home in Florida, insurance agents may require a Wind Mitigation report to be provided. This report identifies the building features of the home that contribute to protection against hurricane force winds and preventing them from lifting the roof from the house. While this report may not determine if the home can be insured, it will contribute to the credits that impact insurance rates. The higher the level of hurricane protection, the more credits and potential discounts may be applied.

The first category of the wind mitigation is the roof deck attachment, which addresses how the roof decking is attached to the roofing trusses. There are three common levels in this category, with C having the highest rating against hurricane uplift. The most common attachments in each category are as follows:

• A: 6d nails spaced 12 inches apart in the field and 6 inches apart along the edges.
• B: 8d nails spaced a maximum of  12 inches apart in the field.
• C: 8d nails spaced a maximum of 6 inches apart in the field.

The next category is the roof to wall attachment, which addresses how the roofing members are secured to walls of the home. This is achieved with nails or metal brackets which are embedded in the exterior walls and attach near the ends of the roofing members, near the soffits.

• Toe Nails: This refers to the roof being secured with either nails anchoring the trusses to the top plate of the wall, or a metal bracket attached to the top plate of the wall and attached to the rafter with 2 nails.
• Clip: A clip can use the same bracketing as a toe nail, however it is attached with 3 or more nails, which has been assessed through past evidence to hold more securely than just 2 nails.
• Single Wrap (Strap): This consists of a metal strap nailed twice to one side of the rafter, which then wraps over the top of the rafter to be nailed at least once more to either the top or opposite side of the rafter.
• Double Wrap: This can consist of a metal strap attached to the wall on both sides of the rafter, as well as nailed with at least three nails on each side of the rafter, or can consist of two single wraps side-by-side.

The roof geometry section identifies the wind deflection properties of the shape of the roof. These are categorized into being a Hip, Flat, and Other.

• A hip roof has downward slopes at all sides to deflect wind up and over the roof, with an allotment of up to 10% of the length allowed to be an other type.
• A flat roof is a roof on a building with 5 or more units, with at least 90% of the surface area being less than 2:12 slope.
• An Other roof is one that does not qualify as Hip or Flat. This is generally used to identify a gable roof.

A Secondary Water Resistance barrier is an adhesive, Modified -Bitumen roofing layer that is applied to the roof sheathing. It is an additional waterproof layer to provide protection in the event of the loss of the roof covering. The wind mitigation simply asks for verification of if this layer is or is not present.

The opening protection is an identification of the types of openings into the home as well as the impact ratings of the doors or windows in these openings. This category is an all-or-nothing credit. If any opening is not hurricane rated, the entirety of the structure is no longer considered to be impact rated. In order to consider an opening to be impact rated , the inspector will need to verify the rating, most likely through the rating sticker or label the manufacturer places on it.

Purchasing a home can be one of the largest and most stressful investments many people will ever make. In order to assist buyers in making this investment with the utmost confidence, a home inspection helps identify the items that may need to be repaired. This helps prevent being blindsided by costly repair bills once moved in. Home inspectors can also note items that may need to be maintained, informing buyers of ways to keep the home in good working order for longer.

The home inspection is a non-invasive, visual evaluation of the components of a home. The inspector will review and note observed defects in accessible areas, such as the exterior walls, roof, attic, garage, HVAC units, water heaters, plumbing, electrical panels, pools, pool equipment, appliances, interior rooms, and more. On an average house, inspections can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to complete.

A common misunderstanding of a home inspection is that a house may pass or fail the inspection. The goal of a home inspection is not to approve the house, but instead to simply give the home buyer a concise, professional opinion of the state of the home, empowering them to make a fully informed decision.

Damage to sewer lines can impact your health, your home, and your pocket book. However, having a sewer scope inspection can help identify issues before they become a much larger problem. A snake-like cable with camera is used to examine the home’s sewer line to identify issues such as damage to the pipes, blockages, etc. A Sewer Scope allows homeowners, buyers, and sellers to act before extensive damage occurs resulting in very expensive repairs. ​

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  Inspecting homes can be a very dangerous career if the right precautions aren't taken. From getting on slippery rooftops to going into crawlspaces'. 
   Crawlspaces' often get overlooked by homeowners; out of sight, out of mind. Until inspection day comes, and the potential hazards are brought to everyone's attention.
   Common hazards found in the crawlspaces' include but not limited to:

• Improper wiring
• Toxins
• Animals

1. Improper wiring- Use caution if you see loose, exposed wiring, hanging electrical components, or open junction boxes. These wiring issues become particularly dangerous near water.Although difficult to identify, electricity is a significant risk to home inspectors. Touching a live wire can cause painful and, sometimes, fatal injuries, including electrocution, electric shock, and burns.
2. Toxins- When inspecting a crawlspace, be on guard for sources of toxins, airborne or otherwise. These may include:

• Mold 
• Asbestos insulation
• Radon
• Dry rot
• Gas or chemical leaks
• Sewage

Exposure to these toxins can cause a variety of health problems, ranging from mild irritations to serious illnesses. Mold exposure, for example, may cause coughing and wheezing.
3. Animals- Inspecting tight quarters is already challenging enough, adding venomous, and possibly deadly small critters to the mix has the potential of being extremely dangerous.

• Snakes
• Vermin: Spiders, ants, bees, wasps, cockroaches, termites, scorpions, rats, and mice
• Larger mammals: Skunks, raccoons, groundhogs, possums, and cats

In the photo to the right, you can see someone who was using a trash can as a DIY septic holding tank in the crawl space. Not only does this have the potential of causing a foundational issue, but also is extremely dangerous for inspectors to breathe in. 

Water leaks can do more than just waste water. Over time, a leak in the ground can cause significant damage to the foundation of your home, increase moisture within the structure and encourage the growth of mold and other infestations. Ignoring a pool leak could prove to be a very expensive problem to solve. 

​A determined effort toward water leak detection can help to mitigate the possibility of these disasters happening. ​