Diamond Home Inspection

I like art, I do.... But there isn't even a handrail here. I keep thinking *toddler trap*, I envision grandma falling down the stairs or uncle Bill falling over with a dizzy spell....

Buying a condo? Get it inspected.
This HRV was so neglected, the filters were plugged up and being sucked into the fans. There was no effective air exchange - only a few years old and terrible indoor air quality. (this was true for all three units I inspected in this complex back in September.

When it comes to the exhaust pipes, I'm a bit of a stickler for best practice. The instructions call for primer (purple typically) and then enough cement to create a visible seal all around the pipe at the joint. What's your level of risk tolerance for a CO2 leak inside the home?

Buying new? Get it inspected! These artificial stones are being installed like the old lick-and-stick indoor-bricks and it won't last in Calgary!
Two layers of paper, proper flashings, base coat & THEN the stonework.

When you forget to bring your saw up onto the roof... just bash a hole in the OSB sheathing.

I know a lot of good roofers. NONE of them install roofs on NEW houses, I assume because there is no money in it.

If you're buying new....Get It Inspected!

What is it with no one insulating attic hatches in new builds?!! You wouldn't expect a piece of plywood to be good enough for a hole this size in an exterior wall... The attic is just as cold as outside!

Buying a house is buying a job..... Your job includes cleaning, and not using the heat register in the kitchen as a dust pan... Where do you think all the stuff magically disappears to?

Plumbers used to have a nickname - wood butchers. There wasn't a structural component they weren't willing to cut to make way for their piping.... Sometimes just a piece, sometimes a chunk... In this case, the entire joist was severed.
What would you tell your client if you did this to their house?

There's a certain type of landlord who "use up" houses. Buy 'em, suite 'em, never do anything unless its something the tenants demand. Sell the house when EVERYTHING needs repair. The inspections take forever.
This flat roof flashing leaked water into an inner wall of the home

An old panel.... new breakers.... seven breakers with doubled-up wires. The electrician used two breaker spots to feed a sub-panel with four breakers...

This was a rental property with two suites.

I don't think I would be proud enough of this work to have left my business card.

Dryer vents are not supposed to have screens: they prevent lint from clearing and block the airflow. Higher bills and higher fire risk.

Buying a house is buying a job. Sometimes that means admitting when you don`t know.... But how do you know what you don't know? Can you trust the kid at the big box store? Can you trust the internet? Does Uncle Charlie REALLY know what he's talking about?