My name is Thomas Herbst I am a Home inspector in Brookfield Ma area. I started Clayton Home Inspections in 1994 with the purpose of delivering a thorough home inspection in Brookfield Ma so, homebuyers can feel good about moving into their new home. Prior to that, I was in construction since 1979. I started from the ground up and have a Pest Certification License over many years and Certified Wood destroying certification for many years now and retained my pest license and Home inspector License ever since.
This knowledge and Experience is useful when inspecting the structure also electrical system, plumbing system, heating system and looking for signs of active insect or damage, as insects can cause significant damage to a house. It is highly unlikely that you will find another home inspector with that much experience in House construction and pest damage Identification, along with that much experience in home inspections. Now, I’m also not just talking about having a Home Inspection license. I’m also talking about having the genuine experience as a Contractor who has overseen multi-million dollar house constructions. Anybody can get a Home improvement license.
If you want to find some of the best home inspectors near me in Brookfield Ma, you certainly need to do some research. There’s nothing worse than moving into a house and then recognizing that you need to drop $10,000-50K into it immediately, all because of an unskilled home inspector.
First, go to the State’s Board of Home Inspectors’ website and make certain the inspector’s license is still effective. Also, check the inspector out at the Better Business Bureau and Check for complaints and read any reviews that may be posted.
Don’t go for the inexpensive home adviser home inspector. In this industry, oftentimes you usually get what you pay for. Whatever you’re spending for that house, it’s a lot of money and searching for a home inspector with a “bargain-basement hunter’s” mentality is certainly not the right method. Hope to hear from you soon.
Water damage
This is a significant part of a home inspection, as water is a home’s “worst adversary”. I am additionally inspecting the gutters and downspouts to safeguard they are taking the water far enough away from the structure.
Exterior
I’m also examining the walls/siding, fascia’s, rake boards, soffits, and windows. I’m also checking the structural integrity of the building. Inspecting for structural integrity and safety. Inspecting underside, as well (if possible). Examining the condition of the roofing material (ie: shingles, etc.). Also inspecting vent pipes, exhaust vents, and skylights.
Attic Inspection
Also Confirming fundamental reliability of the roof and Making sure the attic is appropriately vented and insulated and Examination support system and for signs of water infiltration. Inspecting chimney (if present) and making sure there is a sufficient amount of insulation.
Interior
Walls, Floors, Ceilings, Doors & Windows Inspection. The State regulations only require that we operate one door and window per room. I go well beyond that.
Kitchen Inspection
State regulations do not require us to inspect appliances. I do not inspect and operate dishwashers, ranges, microwaves and trash compactors.
Bathroom Inspection
Inspect plus operate all toilets, sinks, tubs, and showers, checking for leaks and proper functionality. Also, inspect any exhaust fans.
Ensuring structural integrity, looking for signs of water penetration and also inspecting bulkheads.
Heating System Inspection (Temperature Permitting)
Inspect and operate all boilers, furnaces and air handlers. Making sure each room has a heat source. Inspection of oil tanks is not mandated by the State but they are certainly included in my home inspection.
Cooling System Inspection (Temperature-permitting)
Inspect and operate all cooling systems in-season (ie: condensers, compressors, evaporator coils, heat pumps, etc.).
In addition Inspect plus operate all plumbing fixtures and observing for leaks in supply and drainage pipes everywhere. also Inspecting there are no clogged pipes (backups). Water heaters are inspected.
Electrical System Inspection
Extremely important part of a home inspection from a cost standpoint, as well as safety. Also Inspecting all electrical panels and ensuring proper grounding of an electrical system. Also Inspecting all visible wiring throughout the building for loose and/or exposed wires. The Home Inspection State regulations only require us to check one outlet per room. I go way beyond that.
I am also looking for any kind of insect damage (ie: carpenter ant, termite, etc.) In addition my 15 years (previous) experience as a contractor along with my 24 years experience as a home inspector simply cannot be matched. If you or someone you know has more experience than me in each of these two fields (and can prove it) then I will gladly remove this claim.
Well water test
This test is highly recommended for any house with Well water. I can test for up to 26 items in the water (ie: bacteria, lead, iron, VOC’s etc.).
Radon Testing (add’l fee)
Radon
If there is a finished basement or if you plan on finishing it, then this test is highly recommended. There are also other situations that would constitute performing a radon test.
Any Questions?
Call Today (978) 793-1346
Brookfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660 and officially incorporated in 1718. The town settled by men from Ipswich as part of the Quaboag Plantation lands.
In August 1675, King Philip’s War reached central Massachusetts. Brookfield, one of the isolated settlements in the colony, attacked by Nipmuck forces. After an ambush the town was besieged. For two days the townsfolk, consisting of 80 people, sought shelter in the garrison house while the rest of the town completely destroyed. The settlement lay abandoned for twelve years.[2]
During the winter of 1776, General Henry Knox passed through the town with cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to end the Siege of Boston. A marker along Route 9 commemorates his route.[3]
In March 1778, Joshua Spooner, a wealthy farmer in Brookfield, beaten to death and his body stuffed down a well. Four people hanged for the crime: two British soldiers, a young Continental soldier, and Spooner’s wife, Bathsheba, who charged with instigating the murder. She was 32 years old and five months pregnant when executed. Newspapers described the case as “the most extraordinary crime ever perpetrated in New England.”
Bathsheba the mother of three young children, and in her own words felt “an utter aversion” for her husband, who was known to be an abusive drunk.
A year before the murder, she took in and nursed a sixteen-year-old Continental soldier who was returning from a year’s enlistment under George Washington. The two became lovers and conceived a child.
Divorces were all but impossible for women at that time, and adulteresses were stripped to the waist and publicly whipped. Bathsheba’s pregnancy occasioned a series of desperate plots to murder her husband, finally brought to fruition with the aid of two British deserters from General John Burgoyne‘s defeated army.
As the daughter of the state’s most prominent and despised Loyalist, Bathsheba bore the brunt of the political, cultural, and gender prejudices of her day. When she sought a stay of execution to deliver her baby, the Massachusetts Council rejected her petition, and she was promptly hanged before a crowd of 5,000 spectators.[4]
Across from the former Brookfield Inn on West Main Street (Route 9) is a memorial that designates this part of the road as the George Washington Memorial Highway. In 1789, the first president of the United States traveled through five of the New England states. This tour has become the basis for all of the “George Washington slept here” claims—and although Washington watered his horses here, he never slept in Brookfield. It seems his party would have spent the night in Brookfield except that the innkeeper, Mrs. Bannister, was in bed with a terrible headache. When awakened, she mistook him for a college president and sent him on to the neighboring town of Spencer. On learning of her mistake, she supposedly said: “Bless me! One look at that good man would have cured my aching head.”[citation needed]
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