How to Perform Exterior Inspections course
Welcome to InterNACHI's free, online How to Perform Exterior Inspections course. The purpose of this course is to provide accurate and useful
information for performing an inspection of the exterior at a
residential property. This course covers the components and materials
of the exterior that may be present during a residential inspection
including siding types, site drainage, moisture intrusion, windows and
doors, flashing, exterior structures, garage, and other exterior
systems and components.
This course is free to all InterNACHI members and can be taken again
and again, without limit.
This course has been approved by:
The Exterior Inspection course includes:
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43 sections;
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54,286 words;
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135 photos, graphics, and diagrams;
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3 tables;
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18 quizzes;
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a 60-question final exam (drawn from a larger pool);
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instant grading;
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a downloadable, printable Certificate of Completion; and
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accreditations and state approvals.
The course covers the following categories:
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Learning Objectives
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Table of Contents
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Inspection Tools
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Inspection Procedure
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Residential Standards of Practice
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Identification
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Doors
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Windows
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Siding
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Siding Types
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Wood Siding
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Solid Wood and Lumber Siding
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Plywood Siding
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Shingles and Shakes
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Hardboard
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OSB Siding
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Particleboard Siding
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Considerations
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Finish Problems
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Chalking
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Rot
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Aluminum or Steel Siding?
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Aluminum
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Steel
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Grounding Metal Siding
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Vinyl Siding
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SIPs
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Brick
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Stone
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Stucco and EIFS
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Asbestos Cement-Based Siding
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Clay and Slate Shingles
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Asphalt Shingles
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Insulation Value of Siding
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Siding Materials Chart
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Masonry Exterior Wall Covering
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Concrete Blocks
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Manufactured Stone
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Load-Bearing or Veneer?
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Common Problems with Masonry Exterior
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Foundation Cracks and Water
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Inspecting the Visible Masonry and Foundation
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Checking the Masonry
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Masonry Foundation and Piers
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Shrinkage Cracking
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Sweeping or Horizontal Cracking?
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Above-Ground Masonry Walls
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Eaves, Soffit and Fascia
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Wall Assembly
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Housewrap
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Waterproofing and Damp-proofing
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Permanent Wood Foundations
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Common Problems with Walls
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Inadequate Clearance from the Roof Cover
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Dense Vegetation
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Wood and Soil Contact
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Water Intrusion
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Flashing of Wall Components and Moisture Problems
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Understanding and Inspecting Flashing
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Flashing
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Flashing and Caulking
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Sealants for Through-Wall Penetrations
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Kickout Flashing
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Exterior Drainage Systems
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Site Surface Drainage
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Foundation Drainage
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Roof and Surface Drainage
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Roof Overhangs and Projections
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Roof Drainage, Gutters and Downspouts
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Checking the Site and Foundation
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Inspection of Drainage Slope
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Property Drainage
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Sump Pumps
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Landscaping
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Fences
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Windows and Doors
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Common Problems
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Windowsills and Door Sills
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Window Sill Height
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Putty
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Weather Stripping
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Shutters
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Awnings
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Fogged Windows
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Egress Doors
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Ramps
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Stairways
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Risers and Treads
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Guards
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The Spheres
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The Handgrip
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Attachment
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Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings
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Window Wells
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Basement Walkouts
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Exterior Decks
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Inspecting a Garage
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Garage Door Opener Inspection
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Other Systems
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Chimneys
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Defensible Space
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Retaining Walls
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Driveway, Walkways and Pavements
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Buried Oil Tanks
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Other Exterior Considerations
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Additional Exterior Structures
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Yards and Courts
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Flood Zones
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Exterior Water
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GFCI-Protection for Exterior
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Clothes Dryer Exhaust
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Private Wells
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Septic Systems
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Other Exterior Factors
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Guide for Homeowners: Water Management and Water Damage Prevention
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and more
Upon completion of this course and passing of the 60-question final exam, the student can download and print their own Certificate of Completion which is auto-generated in their own name.
The student's (InterNACHI member's) information is recorded on
InterNACHI's servers for membership compliance verification, and
automatically logs completion into InterNACHI's online Continuing
Education log. It counts as 16 InterNACHI Continuing Education hours.
Non-members may view only the first page of the course.
InterNACHI... #1 in inspection education.
Some features which make InterNACHI's courses superior to existing continuing education options:
- The course is free for all InterNACHI members.
- The course is written in pure XHTML code for quick
loading. The course loads fine on old computers and loads fast, even
with dial-up.
- The course is designed using a hierarchal menu
coupled with a sequential page navigation. This provides the student
with the option to easily repeat areas of weakness.
- The course permits the student to start, stop and restart any part of the course as often as desired.
- There are a variety of images within the course, including diagrams, illustrations and photos.
- The illustrations can be enlarged for clearer viewing by clicking on them.
- The text is integrated into InterNACHI's Inspector Glossary. Rolling over blue-colored terms provides their definition.
- The final exam uses multiple-choice questions that reference the images.
- The course's quizzes and final exam have numerous advantages over traditional exam systems:
- The course, quizzes and final exam incorporate
built-in intelligence which identifies and strengthens each student's
unique subject weaknesses.
- Not only is each question weighted with regard to
score, but each answer is weighted, as well as the correctness of each
answer being weighted.
- Answers to easy questions are weighted such that the
student is penalized, in terms of score, for answering incorrectly, but
rewarded modestly for answering correctly.
- Answers to difficult questions are weighted such
that the student is rewarded, in terms of score, for answering
correctly, but not penalized for answering incorrectly.
- Answers to questions regarding basic safety, or
questions every inspector should know the answer to, are weighted such
that the student is severely penalized, in terms of score, for
answering incorrectly.
- Upon passing the final exam, the student can print out a Certificate of Completion which is auto-generated in their own name.
The student's (InterNACHI member's) information is
recorded on InterNACHI's servers for membership compliance
verification, and automatically logs completion into InterNACHI's
online Continuing Education log.