My name is Thomas Herbst I am a Home inspector in Dracut Ma area. I started Clayton Home Inspections back in 1994 with the purpose of providing a thorough home inspection in Dracut 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 the best home inspector near me in Dracut 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.
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.
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. 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. 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 also 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.
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
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 Dracut, Massachusetts
Before Europeans arrived in the mid-17th century, Dracut and the surrounding area known as “Augumtoocooke“. Important Pennacook Indian settlements served by fishing at Pawtucket Falls on the Merrimack River and abundant game in the surrounding marsh areas.[1] From the late 16th to mid-17th centuries, the powerful sachemPassaconaway and his family spent much of their lives on this land.
Europeans began to settle in the area around 1653, and established the town of Chelmsford, incorporated in 1655, on the opposite side of the Merrimack River from modern Dracut. In October 1665, Bess, wife of Nobb How and daughter of Passaconaway, sold the Augumtoocooke land to Captain John Evered, also known as Webb of Draucutt of Norfolk County (the Webb family is associated closely with the town of Dreycott Folliott in Wiltshire, England[2]) for four yards of Duffill and one pound of tobacco.[1]
Webb had months earlier sold 11,000 acres (45 km2) of the land — which he did not then own — to Samuel Varnum for 400 four hundred pounds; the deed for “Drawcutt upon Mirrimack” dated 1664.[3] Webb also sold land to Richard Shatswell, who traded it to Edward Colburn (also spelled “Coburn” or “Colborne”) for his home and land in Ipswich, Massachusetts. In addition Colburn and his family were probably the first settlers in Dracut who owned land with the intention of permanently living on it. (Samuel Varnum lived on the Chelmsford side of the Merrimack River.)[4][5][6]
Even though this area, now known to the new settlers as Dracut (Draucutt), was across the Merrimack River from the Chelmsford town center, they agreed to pay taxes and relied on Chelmsford for protection, according to 1667 Middlesex Court documents.[7] By summer 1669, however, protection became too costly and difficult, so the Chelmsford Mayor Henchman declared:
Honorable and Worshipful
Wherefore, Honorable and Worshipful, I judge it highly needful and necessary that we have relief, and that speedily of about twenty men or more for the repulsing of the enemy and guarding some outplaces, which are considerable on each side of the Merrimac, as Messrs. Howard, Varnum, Coburn & company who must otherwise come in to us, and leave to the enemy, or be exposed to the merciless cruelty of bloody and barbarous men.
On the morning of March 18, 1676, the Wamesit Indians burned down four of Edward Colburne’s buildings, then attacked Samuel Varnum and family as they crossed the river to milk the cows grazing in the Dracut pastures. In addition the Indians fired upon their boat, killing Samuel’s two sons, and one died in his daughter’s arms as she sat behind him. The accompanying soldiers and Samuel fired back, but the Indians fled.[3]
By the late 17th century the Varnum, Coburn, Richardson, and other families of the Dracut section of Chelmsford, dissatisfied with the protection provided, began to petition to the General Court to lay out their own township.
Council & Representatives
To the Hon. Council & Representatives of his Majesty’s Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England in General Court assembled February 1701. Also The petition of Samuel Sewall Esq., Benjamin Walker, John Hunt & Jonathan Belcher, proprietors of part of the Tract of Land called Dracut beyond Chelmsford in the County of Middlesex on the North Side of Merrimack River and of Samuel Varnum, …, Thomas Colburne, …, James Richardson, …, Ezra Colburn,…
Inhabitants and Proprietors
Inhabitants and Proprietors of the said Tract of Land called Dracut, … lyes very commodious for a Township & hath about twenty families already settled thereupon in which are about Eighty Souls & Forasmuch as the making said place a Township will not only be a great Encouragement to the Inhabitants
thereof & be the means for a settlement of the Ministry them (for the benefit of which they now obliged to go to Chelmsford, a great difficulty & eamiot be attended by their children & several others by reason of the distance thereof) but will also considerable benefit to the Publick, and be a great strengthening of the Frontier parts by reason of the people desirous to settle at said place when made a Township because of the convenient positionship thereof.
Petitioners humbly pray
Your Petitioners humbly pray by the grant of this Honorable Court, the Tract of land aforesaid made a Township, and that the Inhabitants, shall settle thereupon, enjoy all Libertys, Privileges & Immunities as the Inhabitants of other Towns within this Province have & do enjoy. And … the Tract of Land therein described Township & called by the name of Dracut, … Sent up by concurrence Nehemiah Jewett, Speaker.
Dracut granted separation from Chelmsford, and officially incorporated as a town on February 26, 1701.
However Parts of the community were part of the Wamiset Praying Town, one of the preserves set aside by the colonists for Christianized Indians. Also The town has several large ponds, bogs and swamps, and numerous brooks (most notably Beaver Brook). In addition Dracut’s early economy relied on fishing, lumbering and milling, which led in turn to the 19th century industries of paper making and cotton textile manufacturing, including the Beaver Brook Mill. These mills attracted Irish and French-Canadian immigrants.
In addition There has been intense modern development in Dracut with suburban residential pressures from Lowell. Twice in the 19th century, Lowell annexed large sections of Dracut into its borders. However, some rural landscapes remain intact, as do some handsome historic houses.
Also One of the better known is the 290-year-old Colburn/Cutter House, with its massive beams, huge center chimney and fireplaces. In addition The building, dating back from about 1717, has served as the site of the annual Dracut Craft Fair. In addition Dracut holds an annual Old Home Day every September starting in 2001 [1]. As of 2010, it is also the only town in the world with the name “Dracut”.[citation needed]