For home buyers and home sellers. Here is the first how-to that addresses the needs of both buyers and sellers, making it the perfect companion to the bestselling The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Buying and Selling a Home. The buyer will depend on this guide to determine whether a house is worth buying. The seller will need it to determine which repairs are necessary before listing or signing anything. Readers will learn to troubleshoot all areas of a home, including its structure and foundation, windows and doors, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, insulation, electrical systems, and the roof, just to name a few. In this Pocket Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • What to look for when inspecting the electrical system, the roof, and other parts of the home. • Simple advice on what to do if the results of your inspections aren’t good. • Expert explanation of what you can expect during and after the inspection. • Easy ways to tell if a home is worth buying—or if it will need extensive repairs before you put it on the market.

A guide to home inspection for buyers and sellers, homeowners, and professional inspectors covers all areas of the home, with information on determining hidden trouble spots, avoiding hazardous materials, and improving energy efficiency.

This introductory overview of the major home systems gives students a solid foundation for beginning a career in home inspection. This comprehensive text gets students out into the field quickly while serving as a springboard for the 13 advanced electives in the Principles line. Systems & Standards focuses on system and component problems, their practical implications, and inspections strategies for finding them. No other single volume offers both the breadth and depth of this introduction.

Here is a comprehensive instruction manual covering every aspect of exterior, interior, and electromechanical home inspection--basic enough for a layperson and detailed enough to be a working tool for professional home inspectors. Revealing techniques and methods used by experts, this heavily-illustrated reference details how to evaluate the condition of a home or condominium apartment. Precise step-by-step procedures enable the reader to inspect a home as though accompanied by an inspector with many years' experience. Written by a professional home inspector, COMPLETE BOOK OF HOME INSPECTION, 3rd Ed. is packed with photographs, dozens of checklists and worksheets, and a valuable summary which appears at the end of each chapter.

THE HOME INSPECTION BOOK is designed to serve as a learning tool as well as a reference guide. This professional guide is a comprehensive yet self-paced handbook covering both the practice and the business of home inspection addressing all the key areas associated with the business of home inspection in this rapidly growing profession. In addition, this handbook also takes you step-by-step through the entire process of home inspection following the most current guidelines established by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) and the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI).

This easy-to-understand, straight-forward, approachable book, which is based upon important engineering concepts is intended to advance knowledge on the subject of shelter, one of man's basic needs. The reader can glean standardized information about the field of pre-purchase home inspections. This information will assist people in determining the condition of a home and in living a safer and happier life. The book includes a multitude of house plumbing, electrical, roofing, heating, foundation, and structural problems commonly encountered when scouring a home for potential purchase. Some building code and safety items have been presented as well. Many illustrations assist the reader to understand home inspection concepts. Additionally, it is THE guidebook for both professionals and novices alike, which serves to integrate the sound, relevant context of the issues oftentimes identified when purchasing a home. Practical Guide to Home Inspection will act as an invaluable resource to utilize when in the midst of the often challenging home buying process.

Will Your New House Deserve a Penalty Flag? Moving into a new house is exciting. For once, everything seems to be in perfect condition-you're ready to relax and enjoy it. But is it just a facade? Under the surface may lurk mold, termites, or gas leaks. Time to throw the penalty flag! And that's the specialty of professional home inspector Chris Perry. Also a high school football referee, Chris has written this book to educate you about home inspections-so that your next move will be unaccompanied by nasty surprises. Within these pages you will discover: Why a home inspection is essential, both for buyers and sellers How to pick a home inspector who's actually worth the money What types of inspections exist, and which you need How to maximize your benefit from the inspection report And much more! Reading this book won't make you a home inspector-just like reading a football rulebook won't make you a referee. But you will be equipped to make the right decision as you approach the significant step of buying a house. It's game time!

Fundamentals of Building Construction Materials and Methods Second Edition Edward Allen This remarkably complete introduction to the art of building sets the materials and building systems in an historical context. This unique evolutionary approach to building construction includes a description of how materials are obtained and processed, an outline of the people and organizations who work with each material, their tools and working methods, and the role of one building system in relation to others. Chapters include a listing of key terms and concepts useful in enlarging a technical vocabulary, review questions that underscore key concepts, and exercises that apply lessons to real-life situations. 1990 (0 471-50911-6) 803 pp. Understanding Infrastructure A Guide for Architects and Planners George Rainer This landmark reference--written for concerned professionals--describes the basic mechanisms essential to city function. Each element of infrastructure is discussed--from water supply, sewers and storm drainage, solid and hazardous wastes, energy, telecommunication, streets, bridges, to water-front infrastructure, rail/transit and aviation, buses, and parks--and set in a context familiar to the design professional. Includes an extensive discussion of standard and innovative solutions as well as relevant environmental, legal, and economic considerations. 1990 (0 471-50546-3) 278 pp. Construction Specifications Writing Principles and Procedures Third Edition Harold J. Rosen and Tom Heineman The classic guide to the principles and practice of specifications writing has been fully updated to reflect the latest AIA and CSI standards, the newest computer applications to spec writing, and the linkage of key databases to specifications. Retaining the format of its successful predecessors, this Third Edition outlines the basic principles, concepts and uses of specifications, showing how they relate to contract documents developed by the architect and engineer. Specific guidelines include methods for establishing the scope and general requirements of the project specification, evaluating and specifying building materials, and writing specifications that conform to industry standards in style and format. 1990 (0 471-61892-6) 286 pp.