InterNACHI

InterNACHI House of Horrors, An Overwhelming Educational Experience


When I first heard about this place called the "House of Horrors", I immediately started thinking about one of those haunted house attractions you happen to come across when vacationing in Niagara Falls. Places like Screamers, or Nightmares automatically came to mind. Visions of ghastly ghouls, zombies from a thousand year old crypts, and blood sucking vampires, are just a few of the things I had imagined, that would be just waiting to jump out at me, if I were to venture to the wicked establishment. Automatically, the feeling of being chicken to enter the place came over me. I instantly decided that I did not want to make the trip through the door.

Well, to my relief, the House of Horrors is not a haunted house at all. It is a 100 year old farm house which provides home inspectors with the opportunity to study real defects and home maintenance issues. This is a first for the home inspection industry. And if you're a member of The National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, InterNACHI, you are one of the lucky 8200 active members in North America that have access to real hands on training! Whether you are new to the home inspection industry, or a seasoned inspector with 35 years under your belt, the InterNACHI House of Horrors provides real education in defect recognition, and is worth the trip to the site to check it out.

The property is located in Bowmanville, Ontario Canada, home of the InterNACHI Durham-Kawartha Chapter. It is situated on roughly 4 acres of farm land, just North of hwy #401, West of Courtice Rd. The project began as an excellent idea and was turned into a reality by InterNACHI Executive Director, Robert Brown, and Certified Adult Training Services (C.A.T.S.). It took just over 8 months to roll out, and with the group efforts of InterNACHI, InterNACHI Canada, as well as various corporate sponsors such as Porter Valley Software, it made the process that much smoother.
 
Larry Ewens, Executive Director of A.C.I.S.S. Home Inspections, had this to say about the House of Horrors. "I was privileged to be one of the first to see this project come to fruition. I attended the first inspection of the House of Horrors as it was my class that did the inspection for their final exam. That it took them 2 1/2 hours to inspect and then by all accounts another 2 to 3 hours to write up the report says alot about the condition of the house in general. If it is a defect in a property it can be found here. The furnace is on its last legs and there are no plans to upgrade. The air conditioning consists of a window mounted Sears ac unit that looks as if it will kack at the very moment it is turned on and it realizes it has to go to work one last time. The plumbing system is a well and septic. The well is covered by a couple of 2x8's that have seen better days and only the good lord knows what kind of shape the septic system is in. The last time it was emptied and documented was in 1992. There is evidence of animal infestation, to wit, raccoons have seen fit to inhabit the building. They have since been evicted. And the list goes on and on. Knowing Bob the way I do, you may be sure that all these things will be upgraded to their fullest extent in the future by making sure the next time you come to the house it will be all different and worse than the first time you went through it. It is truly a learning experience." Personally for me, I was so blown away by the experience of the visit, and the mock inspection that I performed, I was just too overwhelmed to even think about writing a report on all of the defects, and different materials that exist here. I started thinking back to that haunted house, and the feeling of being to chicken to enter it. The InterNACHI House of Horrors surely isn't haunted, but as a home inspector, I did feel like a chicken at first! But I had my trustee tools to help me caquire the courage to brave the event that was about to take place.  My first inspection of a real "House of Horrors!"

The House has a sound structure, and has a long list of defects. So many that you would probably be reading this article for the next hour if I were to list them all. But here are a few just to get you salivating at the thought of seeing them. The roof and windows are leaking, doors don't shut properly, the gutters are shot (and I mean shot!), the foundation leaks, the oil furnace is outdated with an oil tank that needs replacing, too many electrical issues to list, old cast waste lines with some plumbing updates, which operate on a well and septic system, and a sump pump that pumps the water out against the foundation! And as Larry said, the list goes on and on.

The project thus far has been very exciting! Not just for me writing about it, but for everyone who has been involved, from all aspects. This is only the beginning though. "There are many plans on the table for the property. The depth and variety of these plans depend on the response of the Membership and the amount of sponsorship we receive.", says Bob Brown. The first of many projects to happen at the House of Horrors will begin in March, with the construction of a log home on the same site. The InterNACHI Canadian Summerfest, running from August 3-6, will be held at the site also. Visiting inspectors can bring their families, get education, network with vendors of all sorts, and even pitch a tent and camp at the site.  There are also plans to construct various styles and pitches of roofs, built low to the ground, so you can leave your ladders at home, and inspect them a foot off the ground.

The InterNACHI House of Horrors really is a see for yourself adventure. It is just another one of the many benefits of being a InterNACHI member. I highly recommend taking the time out of your busy schedule to come and take a peek at this little gem. If you have the time, and a hunger for real education in the home inspection industry, visit the House of Horrors this summer. You'll be glad that you did.

Written by

Dale Noble R.I.C.
InterNACHI Canada
Durham-Kawartha Chapter
President
 

A.C.I.S.S. Home Inspections
(905)697-1500
1-866-373-1113
www.aciss.biz


 
http://www.nachi.org/houseofhorrors12006.htm

Popular Sections

:

All Sections

Inspection News

InterNACHI Membership

Inspection Standards

Inspection Education

InterNACHI Inspectors

Inspection Links

 

 

 

NACHI.ORG Statistics