My name is Thomas Herbst I am a Home inspector in Brookline Ma area. I started Clayton Home Inspections in 1994 with the purpose of delivering a thorough home inspection in Brookline 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 not just talking about having a Home Inspection license. I’m speaking 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 Brookline 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. Next, check the inspector out at the Better Business Bureau. 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.
I’m 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.
In addition Confirming fundamental reliability of the roof and making sure the attic is appropriately vented and insulated. Also Examinating support system and for signs of water infiltration and Inspecting chimney (if present) and making sure there is a sufficient amount of insulation.
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.
Home Inspection State regulations do not require us to inspect appliances. I do not inspect and operate dishwashers, ranges, microwaves and trash compactors.
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.
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.
Inspect and operate all cooling systems in-season (ie: condensers, compressors, evaporator coils, heat pumps, etc.).
In addition Inspect plus operate all plumbing fixtures. Observing for leaks in supply and drainage pipes everywhere. Inspecting there are no clogged pipes (backups). Water heaters are inspected.
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 and 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.) and 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
Introduction to Brookline, Massachusetts
Home Inspection
Introduction to Brookline, Massachusetts
Once part of Algonquian territory, Brookline was first settled by European colonists in the early 17th century. Also The area was an outlying part of the colonial settlement of Boston and known as the hamlet of Muddy River. In 1705, incorporated as the independent town of Brookline. The northern and southern borders of the town marked by two small rivers or brooks, hence the name. The northern border with Brighton (which itself part of Cambridge until 1807) Smelt Brook. (That name appears on maps starting at least as early as 1852, but sometime between 1888 and 1925 the brook was covered over.[2]) The southern boundary, abutting Boston, was the Muddy River.
The Town of Brighton merged with Boston in 1874, and the Boston-Brookline border redrawn to connect the new Back Bay neighborhood with Allston-Brighton. This also created a narrow strip of land along the Charles River belonging to Boston, cutting Brookline off from the shoreline. It also put certain lands north of the Muddy River on the Boston side, including what are now Kenmore Square and Packard’s Corner. The current northern border follows Commonwealth Avenue, and on the northeast, St. Mary’s Street. When the Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways designed for Boston by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s, the Muddy River integrated into the Riverway and Olmsted Park, creating parkland accessible by both Boston and Brookline residents.
Throughout its history, Brookline resisted being annexed by Boston, in particular during the Boston–Brookline annexation debate of 1873. The neighboring towns of West Roxbury and Hyde Park connected Brookline to the rest of Norfolk County until they annexed by Boston in 1874 and 1912, respectively, putting them in Suffolk County. Brookline is now separated from the remainder of Norfolk County.
Home Inspection
Brookline’s long regarded as a pleasant and verdant environment. In 1841 edition of the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Andrew Jackson Downing described the area this way:
The whole of this neighborhood of Brookline is a kind of landscape garden, and there is nothing in America of the sort, so inexpressibly charming as the lanes which lead from one cottage, or villa, to another. In addition No animals allowed to run at large, and the open gates, with tempting vistas and glimpses under the pendent boughs, give it quite an Arcadian air of rural freedom and enjoyment. These lanes clothed a profusion of trees and wild shrubbery, almost to the carriage tracks, and curve and wind about, in a manner quite bewildering to the stranger who attempts to thread them alone; and there are more hints here for the lover of the picturesque in lanes than we ever saw assembled together in so small a compass.[3]
Brookline residents were among the first in the country to propose extending the vote to women. Benjamin F. Butler, in his 1882 campaign for Governor, advocated the idea.[4]