Home Inspections in Portland, OR
One word to describe Portland is unique. It makes our city a wonderful place to live. Home Inspections in Portland are just as unique as this great city. Some might say, a house is a house wherever you go but that’s just not true in Portland.
I’ve been inspecting homes in this area for nearly 20 years. During that time, I’ve had the chance to train dozens of inspectors. Most people beginning a career as a Home Inspector receive their education from industry standard training materials available in the US or Canada. These courses are generally a good starting point. However, I’m always surprised at what recent graduates of a “Home Inspector School” don’t know about homes in our local area. Our weather is unique and different. The ages of houses vary greatly. Thus, the way an inspector approaches a house must be different in Portland than in other areas.
The biggest thing that MUST be considered when inspecting in Portland is the weather and the impact it has on our houses. I remember once getting a call from a buyer’s concerned father. The father lived in Colorado. He couldn’t understand what the “green lumps of stuff all over the roof were.” I had to laugh when I explained to him that is moss and we get it on everything around here. While moss itself is generally not a huge problem, when allowed to collect, it can certainly damage roofs, siding, decks, and other things.
Here in Portland, we have a considerable amount of rain and moisture. The impact of the rain is immense. Rotted siding and trim boards, flooded basements, excess moisture in attics and crawl spaces, are only a few of the issues caused by the Portland rain. I’m comfortable saying that every major problem with a house is caused or made worse by rain. Excessive moisture in crawl spaces leads to wood boring insect and rot damage. Saturated soil causes foundation settlement. Obviously, water leakage inside a house causes countless problems.
When the rain stops, it isn’t always good news. During the winter time, it is very common for our wet and rainy periods to be closely followed by subfreezing temperatures. All the water that worked its way into the cracks of chimneys, foundations, and concrete patios freezes. The ice expands and blows the materials apart. This phenomenon is called “frost heaving” and is very common in Portland.
There is another factor to consider when performing home inspections in Portland. The wide range of the age of homes across the city is truly unique. In some of the very oldest parts of town, it is common to find homes built in the late 1800s. Now almost two decades into the 21st century we regularly inspect homes at all points along a 150-year timeline.
It’s amazing to stop and think about what the city of Portland would have looked like 150 years ago. It’s even more remarkable to consider there are houses that have stood the entire time. The very oldest houses in our area often have red clay brick foundations, carriage houses (for you youngsters that was a place to keep a cart the horses pulled people around on before automobiles were invented), knob and tube wiring, septic sanitary systems, oil tanks, and other antiquated technology. The newest houses in Portland have state of the art wiring and plumbing systems, thermal pane windows, Wi-Fi enabled thermostats, tank-less water heaters, and solar panels. Being able to identify and evaluate the various systems in a house old or new is a critical element in conducting a thorough home inspection in Portland.
Crawford Inspection Services has been performing inspections in Portland for over 30 years. We are the oldest and most experienced company in the area. We are locally owned and operated and have performed tens of thousands of inspections on the houses in our city. Our years of experience make us your best resource for Portland home inspections. Let us help with your next prospective home purchase.