DIY Home Inspections: The Tale of the Toilet

A few weeks ago, we told you about how to save money by doing your own “First Pass” inspection before calling us for a full Home Inspection. So you might think you can save even more money by doing your own full home inspection once you have a contract. There are a lot of books available on do-it-yourself home inspections. Sure, it’s tempting to save a few hundred dollars by doing your own home inspection before plunking down a ton of money on a house; the closing process can feel like you’re constantly writing checks. Still, it’s worth it to take a few moments and think through the decision.

The DIY Home Inspection

Doing your own home inspections means looking everywhere -- and knowing what you're looking for.

There’s absolutely no law that says you have to get a home inspection. The only law (at least, in Maryland) is that if you do hire a home inspector, he or she needs to be licensed by the state, and a seller is not obligated to accept the findings of a non-licensed inspector. But to do one yourself, you don’t need any particular license or permit.

Let’s say you decide to do your own home inspection. First, you’ll probably want to buy a book on the topic so you feel educated on what you might find. Do a search on Amazon.com on “home inspection” and you’ll come up with 487 books to choose from. Which one of those is going to cover your particular need? We have links to some recommended books in our e-store. You’ll probably spend an hour choosing the right book, and then pay for it. That’s time taken away from your work, your family life, or your leisure time. When the book arrives, you have to read it. Set aside a few hours for that.

Now you’re going through the house, book in hand. You may want to even get  one of the check list books Bob uses for his inspections as a guide. You’ll be constantly flipping pages, checking to see if you missed anything. You might even see things that are perfectly normal and spend lots of time looking them up, only to find they are perfectly normal and acceptable (Home Inspectors call these items “serviceable”).

You finish your home inspection and show your findings to the seller. Chances are they will ask you, “Were these items flagged by a certified, licensed home inspector?” You’ll have to admit that they weren’t, and the seller might very well toss the entire list and refuse to fix any of the issues. Unless the inspection was performed by a certified, licensed professional, the seller is legally under no obligation to address any of the issues you may have found. You’re back to square one. Whats more, you could actually lose the opportunity to purchase the property, because you may have run out of time for the inspection contingency clause.

Consider the Humble Toilet

A normal toilet. Would you know how to inspect it?

When you think of a toilet, how would you inspect it? Most likely, you will press down the handle and see that it flushes. You’ll probably notice if there’s a crack on the seat. You might lift the tank lid and peer inside, but that will likely be the extent of your inspection.

A Home Inspector sees a toilet differently. When Bob approaches the toilet, he will first note if there are any stains on the floor around the toilet. Then he will gently place his knees on either side of the seat and check to see if the toilet rocks. Why use his knees? That way he’s not touching the toilet with his hands.

Then he’ll lift the lid and look inside the tank. In many older toilets, he will often find bricks. This was a common method of saving water, but the bricks tend to deteriorate over time and damage the tank, the pipes and the connections within the toilet.

He’ll look to determine the type of flapper and fill valve is installed in the toilet. Did you know that some fill systems are outlawed as unsafe? Would you be able to recognize one? What about the fill pipe: is it going to the right place? Is it long enough, or too long?  What about the water level: is it too low (won’t flush right) or too high (wastes water or runs by itself)?

Discoloration on the interior of the tank can also tell an inspector about the condition of the pipes, so he’ll be looking at the stains on the inside of the tank. Then he’ll flush the toilet and observe how long it takes, and that all the components are working as they should. Then he’ll repeat all the same steps for every toilet in the house.

False Economy

A Home Inspection will probably cost between $375 and $800 (or more), depending upon the size of the house and its location. Trying to perform your own inspection will doubtless cost more in the long run, when you factor in the time you must expend researching and preparing. You may also need to buy a few tools to do the inspection. Have you really saved anything?

Sometimes Experts Don’t Know Best

Bob has had several long-time contractors (general, electrical, finish carpentry and plumbing) as clients. He has asked a few of them, “Since you have been contracting longer than I have been inspecting, why did you hire me?” The answer is always the same: ”I know my portion of the house really well, and will be looking over your shoulder when you look at it, but I don’t know about the rest of the house. Maybe I know how I would do it, which I know is NOT the right way.” In many case when Bob is going over the report with the client, they will say something like, “You know, I looked right at that and didn’t see it.” Or, “I didn’t know this house had one of those.”

One Thing We Never Hear

Sometimes when we quote a price for a home inspection to a client, we will hear, “Wow, that’s a lot of money! Other companies do cheaper inspections.” We don’t claim to be the cheapest, but we do strive to provide the best home inspections. It’s very satisfying that we have never once had a client turn to Bob after the inspection and say, “Well, that was a waste of money.”