Porch Light Home Inspection

Completed a commercial property inspection off Greenwood Avenue in Bend, Oregon on a building that has been home to a number of successful businesses over the years. These established commercial properties carry a lot of character and operational history, and a thorough inspection helps a new owner understand exactly what they are acquiring before the keys change hands. We are proud to support our client as they prepare to take ownership and carry that legacy of business success forward from a great Bend location. Knowing the full condition of a commercial property before closing is one of the smartest investments a buyer can make.

Ran a sewer scope inspection at a home in Bend, Oregon, sending a camera through the lateral sewer line to document the condition of the pipe from the home to the city connection. What you can see above ground tells you very little about what is happening below it, and a sewer scope is one of the most valuable add-ons a buyer can include with their home inspection. Line condition, root intrusion, pipe material, and drainage flow are all things that can carry significant repair costs if left undiscovered before closing. Know what is underground before you sign on the dotted line.

Completed a home inspection in southeast Bend just steps from the new Bend Public Library, in one of the city’s well established neighborhoods that is seeing some exciting growth and new amenities nearby. The property was a larger home with mature landscaping, the kind of setting that takes years to develop and is hard to find in newer construction. The inspection turned up some interesting finds along the way, as most homes of this era do, but nothing that overshadowed the solid bones and real value this property brings to the table. For a family putting down roots in Bend, this part of town offers a great combination of established neighborhood character and the energy of a rapidly growing corridor.

Completed a home inspection on a stunning log home in Tumalo, Oregon, set on a legacy property with views that made it hard to stay focused on the job. The home was beautifully built and well maintained, but log homes come with their own inspection vocabulary, and checking is at the top of the list. Checking refers to the natural longitudinal cracking that occurs as logs dry and shrink over time, and while surface checking is normal and expected, deeper or structurally compromising checks require a closer look to ensure the integrity of the log wall system remains sound. This is the kind of property that reminds you why knowing what you are looking at matters as much as knowing what to look for.

Inspected a century-old home near the Old Mill District in Bend, Oregon and found that while the house has survived 100 years of Central Oregon winters, the foundation had a few thoughts of its own. The living room floor showed a noticeable slope with roughly two inches of drop corner to corner, the result of settlement in a foundation that was likely replaced sometime after the original rock and mortar construction common to homes of that era. In the crawlspace, mid-span floor support had been cobbled together with stacked wood shims, lumber sections, and CMU blocks, which gets points for creativity but not for engineering. A home this old has earned its quirks, but settlement and improvised structural support are the kind of findings that warrant a qualified structural professional before a buyer signs on the dotted line.

Completed a Home Energy Score assessment in southeast Bend today, our sixth of the week and it is only Wednesday. The City of Bend requires a Home Energy Score prior to listing a home for sale, and Porch Light Inspection has become a go-to resource for sellers who need to meet that requirement efficiently. We frequently bundle the Home Energy Score with a pre-listing inspection, giving sellers a complete picture of their home before it hits the market, from energy performance to any conditions a buyer’s inspector might flag. Meeting the city requirement and knowing the full condition of your home before listing is one of the best advantages a seller can have.

WTF Friday | Attic Edition 🤦‍♂️❄️

Our inspector opened the attic hatch and immediately got introduced to… the entire insulation pile.

Turns out there was no insulation dam or barrier installed at the attic entry, so the loose fill insulation decided to make a break for freedom the second the hatch opened.

A simple wood curb or insulation barrier would have kept everything where it belonged and prevented the surprise avalanche.

Not exactly the kind of “blown insulation” we like to see.

Happy WTF Friday.

Completed a home inspection at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, Oregon and it was a solid visit from start to finish. Well built homes in resort communities like Eagle Crest tend to reflect quality construction standards and this one was no exception, with no significant concerns identified during the inspection. It is always satisfying to walk through a well maintained property and deliver a clean report to a buyer who can move forward with confidence. Porch Light Inspection serves buyers and sellers across Central Oregon from Bend to Redmond and beyond.

Inspected a 1940s home in Bend, Oregon today and found some standout original features worth appreciating. The home retained wood plank ceiling panels, fir hardwood floors, and lava rock columns with hand-tooled raised rope mortar joints, a mid-century Central Oregon masonry technique where mortar is extruded slightly above the stone face to create a raised linear profile that gives the stonework a sculptural quality you simply do not see in modern construction. Details like these trace back to the Brook Scanlon mill era when local craftsmen built with materials pulled straight from this landscape, and after inspecting and remodeling many of these homes over the years it is always worth stopping to appreciate what survived. If you own a mid-century Bend home, it deserves an inspector who recognizes what it is and knows what to look for.