For Canadian and other French-speaking members, post this InterNACHI article on your website, which has been newly translated into French and takes you through deck inspections, providing specific measurements and informative, original illustrations:  Inspection d’une Terrasse, Article Illustré (Inspecting a Deck, Illustrated).

Home inspectors are required to juggle a ton of facts, a lot of guidelines, some rules, and even a few laws, along with all their training and experience.  One of our goals at InterNACHI is to help with all of it, including clarifying some potentially confusing gray areas, especially when asked.  We hope we’ve succeeded in our latest new inspection article:  Material Defects Defined for Home Inspectors.

One of the riskier areas of the average home inspection is arguably the crawlspace.  Not only is it considered a confined space and, therefore, more difficult to access and inspect, but it may house many potential hidden dangers, including weakened structural elements, metal projections that can poke and injure, and pests and critters that can sting and bite. 

For Canadian and other French-speaking members, post this InterNACHI article on your website, which has been newly translated into French and is a great refresher on the hazards and safe inspection of crawlspaces:  L’Inspection du Vide Sanitaire et les Dangers liés au Vide Sanitaire.

For inspectors who have Spanish-speaking clients and colleagues, post this InterNACHI article on your website, which has been newly translated into Spanish and explains the purpose, operation, potential hazards and proper inspection of commercial baghouses:  La inspección de la cámara de filtros.

Deep fryers are common in commercial kitchens, but an accident involving hot grease can not only be painful, but lethal.  Understanding how they work and why certain common hazards should be avoided can help InterNACHI inspectors look for defects and potential problems at commercial kitchens.  Many of the same tips can apply to residential clients who can’t resist taking their barbecue fun to a dangerous new level.  Read our new commercial inspection article on Deep Fryer Inspection.

InterNACHI is proud to announce its latest educational partnership with the Bellman Group, Inc., headed by inspection industry leader Charles (Chuck) Bellefontaine.  Read about it here.

This second article in our series about concrete discusses the purposes, properties and characteristics of various constituent materials used in the manufacture of concrete:  Constituent Materials of Concrete.

As homeowners seek greener or more unconventional types of housing, inspectors should be prepared to encounter unusual homes and consider expanding and adapting their inspection services and techniques to meet this growing need.  Floating homes have been around for decades, and inspecting them presents many unique challenges and opportunities.  Read more about them in our new article:  Inspecting Floating Homes.

There’s something satisfying about building with adobe, be it the simplicity and the antiquity of its design, the lack of expense or advanced skills it requires, or the knowledge that earthen structures are a totally local and sustainable resource. Adobe houses are among the oldest on the planet and they continue to be constructed all over the world.  Learn about their history, design and inspection tips in our new article on Adobe Inspection.

Home heating oil isn’t more flammable than other combustible oils, but when it leaks from its storage tank, it can easily destroy building materials and require hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of cleanup.  Inspectors and homeowners can learn more about how to detect hidden oil leaks and the dangers of accidental oil spills in our new article on Home Heating Oil Tanks.

You’ve probably never heard of a baghouse, but you’ve likely seen them while passing power plants, food production facilities, and a wide range of other industrial and commercial plants. They may look big and ugly, but they’re actually used to ensure a clean, dust-free environment for workers and any consumers that may be on site. They also reduce the exhaust of airborne contaminants that would otherwise create harmful air pollution. To find out more about how they work, check out our new article on Baghouse Inspection.

For Canadian and other French-speaking members, post this InterNACHI article on your website, which has been newly translated into French, and explains the telltale signs of an ant infestation:  Effectuer Une Inspection de Fourmis.

Did you know that cork comes from a species of oak tree found almost exclusively in Spain and Portugal?  The bark can be peeled off many times throughout the tree’s lifetime without causing any harm to the tree.  From there, much of it is used as sustainable building materials, especially flooring. Learn more about it in our new article on Cork Floor Inspection.

Savvy inspectors know that how they present their inspection reports makes all the difference in their clients’ consumer confidence.  Read about the do’s and don’ts to discover how to make the most of your thermal imaging inspections in our latest article titled Thermal Imaging Reports.

Brownfields, which are post-industrial sites that have been reclaimed for commercial and residential redevelopment, are often the only available land that may be used for new housing and business in congested neighborhoods, while serious concerns surround the reliability of adequate brownfield cleanup.  Learn more about these potential hazards in our new article titled Brownfields and Redevelopment.