Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about the state of the doors and windows we use each day, but licensed home inspectors don’t have that luxury. Their mission is to focus their eyes beyond the obvious and the ordinary and see with eyes honed by home inspection training.

 

One truism of evaluating doors is that they often give licensed home inspectors a good indication of the overall condition of the house. If a door isn’t fitting properly into its frame, it could point to a settling foundation causing the doorframe to shift. A quality home inspection job involves taking the time to check the condition of each door in the house.

 

These days a licensed home inspector will evaluate doors made of wood, metal or vinyl, with some of them featuring glass panes mounted into the structure of the doors. Reportable deficiencies include items such as damaged weather stripping, air and water leaks or deteriorating trim, flashings or stills. Other issues to look for are doors that don’t lock correctly or close without being touched.

 

If the eyes are the windows of the soul, then it’s fair to say that windows are the eyes of the house. Whereas doors differ somewhat in their material construction, windows are primarily categorized by their use and movement. Becoming a home inspector means you’ll identify single-hung, double-hung, casement (open outward like a door), awning and hopper windows, to name the most common.

 

Real estate inspectors should also understand that many windows have a safety glazing coating the glass. Safety glazing is any substance applied to the glass that reduces the chance of injury if it is broken. It’s normally found in places where children, or the elderly, might fall against glass and hurt themselves.

 

You’ll find glazing on sliding glass doors, shower doors and storm windows. Licensed home inspectors may also find security bars (burglar bars) built over the exterior side of the window. All security bars must have a quick-release mechanism that allows residents to exit through the window in case of a fire.  A real estate inspection of house windows should note broken glass, damaged window sills or deficient safety glazing, for example.

 

For home inspectors, windows and doors aren’t just something to walk through or look through, but a significant area of the house where their expertise, training and experience is critically applied. When choosing an online home inspector course, make sure the school is accredited, affiliated with industry trade groups and offers live student support.