Welcome to Winter 2020

I was hoping that we could hold off on the cold, blowy white stuff for a while, but . . . Mother Nature, as is her wont, had other ideas. So, yesterday’s home inspection had 4” of snow on the roof. Snow covered roofs introduce all kinds of spectacular opportunities for inspectors to land in the rhododendrons just before they get carted off to the emergency room. Inspectors are NOT required to traverse a roof if, in their opinion, it is unsafe to do so. Mind you, some inspectors think that getting on any roof is dangerous so they never, ever do such a thing. I had a lawyer (I do expert testimony as a home inspector in cases where there has been a major dereliction on the part of the inspector) who I explained this to as he questioned the inspector not traversing. Yes, I explained, it is a cop-out but inspector gets the final word on safety.

This all came to mind because I had an agent recently tell me that winter is rough when you can’t do any inspection on the roof. I gave a little chuckle - there’s always a way to get a job done. It might not be perfect like we’d have on a pretty spring day, but usually we can get pretty good information - and find some surprising things that otherwise get missed. After 15 years in the business, I have a few tricks up my sleeve on how to get on and off a roof safely even with snow. (I also have stories about pushing my margin of safety to the point of thinking “This was dumb!” )

Real-Life Examples of What Can Be Missed on a Home Inspection in Winter

Case in point, yesterday. The chimney could not be seen from ground level because trees and the ground slope angle blocked the view. If I didn’t get on the roof, I would have missed this::

Chimneys are not supposed to come apart at the seams. This one was, it was leaking into the attic, and the crown needs to be replaced. In all, there is at least $2,000.00 worth of work to bring this chimney back to satisfactory condition.

This picture is another, less dramatic example of an easy miss, especially if the inspector does not traverse the attic. Hint, if the inspector does not like walking roofs, it is unlikely that he feels any more comfortable walking attics.

As I said, there’s always a way - IF the inspector wants to fully complete his inspection and protect his client.

Don't Make Excuses

I am loathe to make excuses for why I couldn’t accomplish my job though it does happen. The 2016-2017 winter was so brutal that I didn’t climb a roof for two months. This year’s more mild winter has been much easier to deal with - but there are still occasions where your inspector has to extend some effort.