My name is Thomas Herbst I am a Home inspector in Dedham Ma area. I started Clayton Home Inspections back in 1994 with the purpose of providing a thorough home inspection in Dedham 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. Also, I’m not just talking about having a Home Inspection license. I’m also talking about having the genuine experience as a Contractor. Anybody can get a Home improvement license.
If you want to find some of the best home inspectors near me in Dedham 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. Check for complaints and read any reviews that may be posted.
Don’t go for the inexpensive 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.
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. Making sure the attic is appropriately vented and insulated. Examination support system and for signs of water infiltration. 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.).
Inspect plus operate all plumbing fixtures. Also Observing for leaks in supply and drainage pipes everywhere and 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. Inspecting all electrical panels. Ensuring proper grounding of an electrical system. Inspecting all visible wiring throughout the building for loose and/or exposed wires. The State regulations only require us to check one outlet per room. I go way beyond that.
I am actually looking for any kind of insect damage (ie: carpenter ant, termite, etc.) 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 Dedham, Massachusetts
Introduction to Dedham, Massachusetts
The history of Dedham, Massachusetts, began with the first settlers’ arrival in 1635. The Puritans who built the village on what the Indians called Tiot incorporated the plantation in 1636. They devised a form of government in which almost every freeman could participate and eventually chose selectmen to run the affairs of the town. They then formed a church and nearly every family had at least one member.
The early residents of town built the first American canal, the first tax supported public school, run by Ralph Wheelock, and Jonathan Fairbanks built what is today the oldest wood-frame house in North America.
Dedham one of the few towns founded during the colonial era preserved extensive records of its earliest years.
In 1635 there were rumors in the Massachusetts Bay Colony that a war with the local Indians also impending and a fear arose that the few, small, coastal communities that existed were in danger of attack. This, in addition to the belief that the few towns that did exist were too close together, prompted the Massachusetts General Court to establish two new inland communities. The towns of Dedham and Concord, Massachusetts thus established to relieve the growing population pressure and to place communities between the larger, more established coastal towns and the Indians further west.[1]
Dedham was settled in the summer of 1636 by “about thirty families excised from the broad ranks of the English middle classes”[2] traveling up the Charles River from Roxbury and Watertown traveling in rough canoes carved from felled trees.[3] These original settlers, including Edward Alleyne, John Everard, John Gay and John Ellis “paddled up the narrow, deeply flowing stream impatiently turning curve after curve around Nonantum until, emerging from the tall forest into the open, they saw in the sunset glow a golden river twisting back and forth through broad, rich meadows.”[3] In search of the best land available to them they continued on but
The river took many turns, so that it was a burden the continual turning about…. West, east, and north we turned on that same meadow and progressed none, so that I, rising in the boat, saw the river flowing just across a bit of grass, in a place where I knew we had passed through nigh an hour before. “Moore,” said Miles then to me, “the river is like its Master, our good King Charles, of sainted memory, it promises overmuch, but gets you nowhere.”[3]
They first landed where the river makes its ‘great bend,’[3] also near what is today Ames Street, and close by the Dedham Community House and the Allin Congregational Church in Dedham Square. The site “the Keye,” and in 1927 a stone bench and memorial plaque installed on the site.[4]
The Algonquians living in the area called the place Tiot.[5] Tiot, which means “land surrounded by water,” was later used to describe the village of South Dedham, today the separate town of Norwood.[6] In “its first years, the town was more than a place to live; it was a spiritual community.”[7]
Many of the other yeomen settling the new Dedham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony came from Suffolk, in eastern England. This group also included elders Nathan Aldis, George Barber, Henry Brock, Eleazor Lusher, Samuel Morse, Robert Ware, John Thurston, Francis and Henry Chickering and Anthony, Corneileus and Joshua Fisher.[8]
Of towns founded during the colonial era, Dedham is one of the few towns “that has preserved extensive records of its earliest years.”[7] They have been described as “very full and perfect.”[5]