Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

This review may seem long, but if you are purchasing a home, I strongly recommend that you read it because a home is an expensive investment.

Our real estate agent recommended this company to us and said that they only hire structural engineers. After purchasing and living in our house, we regret using this company for our home inspection.

The home inspector did not bring a ladder that was tall enough to get to the roof so it was never inspected properly. Also, knowing what I know now, he should have also brought a moisture meter or an infra-red camera to check for leaks and/or wiring problems .

He addressed and included items in the report that were cosmetic, such as the fact that there was poor workmanship for the tiles on the shower wall, which were slightly different lengths. However, he omitted and downplayed everything that I inquired about that posed more serious problems, such as a sunken patio stone at the corner of the house or some fairly long hairline cracks in the foundation. These items signified potential foundation movement and/or other problems, such as a break in a sewage pipe near the sunken patio stone that I later discovered. Repairing this cost $2500.

There are many other things that he missed or downplayed, which, when combined, indicated that there were problems with the house that were more than cosmetic. These included sloping in the floor at the main entrance, walls that had been removed, a beam that had been installed, a large sliding door that had been installed in the kitchen, another door that had been removed, sloping in the upstairs ceiling, doors that didn't sit in the frames properly or brushed against the floor, and other issues. While these might sound like obvious concerns, I didn't know much at the time, asked about these problems, and trusted the home inspector's responses. For example, he said that the sloping in the ceiling may be due to too much insulation above it, and the doors weren't hung properly because a new floor had been installed. He stated that the slope near the front door was due to bad flooring, however, he had previously discovered an area where there was a leak near the front door, which, most likely, would have been the cause of the sloping. I'd also asked if previous owners removed a supporting post in the basement a quarter of the way in, because there were posts half way in and three quarters of the way in. He stated that this wasn't the case. I later went to the city archives, found the blueprint for my house, and determined that there should have been a post there. Later, I found it behind my garden shed.

There is much more that I can write, however, I will end this review by stating that I've learned a lot since purchasing my house five years ago, and other people, including another structural engineer, have looked at my house, briefly, and noticed problems, as well as, potential problems that the inspector should have noticed or mentioned. I expected more from this company.