Duxbury Ma

Home Inspector Duxbury MA

Thomas Herbst of Clayton Home Inspection – ASHI Certified Home Inspector

Home Inspector Duxbury Ma

My name is Thomas Herbst I am a Home inspector in Duxbury Ma area. I started Clayton Home Inspections back in 1994 with the purpose of providing a thorough home inspection in Duxbury 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.

Knowledge and Experience

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 Duxbury 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.

What is inspected by a Home inspector in Duxbury at a Home Inspection?

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 Inspection by a Home inspector in Duxbury Ma

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.

Attic Inspection

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.

Interior Inspection

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

Home 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.

Basement Inspection

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.).

Plumbing System Inspection

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.

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 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.

Termite Inspection

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 Duxbury, Massachusetts

Introduction to Duxbury, Massachusetts

History

The area now known as Duxbury was inhabited by people as early as 12,000 to 9,000 B.C. By the time European settlers arrived here, the region was inhabited by the Wampanoags, who called this place Mattakeesett, meaning “place of many fish.”[1]

In 1620, English settlers known as the Pilgrims established their colony in nearby Plymouth. In addition Per the terms of their contract with financial backers in London, they were required to live together in a tight community for seven years and At the end of that term in 1627, land along the coast was allotted to settlers for farming. Thus, the coastline from Plymouth to Marshfield, including Duxbury, was parceled out, and many settlers began moving away from Plymouth.[1]

John Alden House

At first, those who settled in Duxbury came to work their new farms just in the warmer months and returned to Plymouth during the winter. Not long, however, before they began to build homes on their land, and requested permission from the colony set off as a separate community with church. Duxbury, which originally included land that is now Pembroke, was incorporated in 1637.[1]

Some of the most influential men in the colony received grants in Duxbury and became its first leaders. Captain Myles Standish, the military leader of the colony, lived in “the Nook,” an area now known as Standish Shore. Elder William Brewster was for many years the religious leader of the colony, in which he led services to the colony until it received its own minister in 1637. John Alden was another important settler. His house, now a museum on Alden Street, was the site of many important meetings of the colony’s leaders.

Duxbury’s first settlers

The graves of some of Duxbury’s first settlers can be found in the Old Burying Ground on Chestnut Street, next to the site of original meetinghouse.[1]

Theory has it that the town named by Myles Standish after the family estate of his childhood in Lancashire. The ancient Standish family in northern England owned much land and large estates, including the two main family headquarters of Standish Hall and Duxbury Manor, in Lancashire, since before the Middle Ages. Myles Standish’s will delineates his inheritance rights to very particular lands near and around Standish and mostly Duxbury Manor, stating his descent from both lines of the Standish family; and so it suggested that he named the new town in Massachusetts after the estate where he grew up.[1]

Duxbury was primarily a farming community throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Its quiet history in the 18th century was interrupted only by the Revolutionary War.[1]

Revolutionary War Era

In the years leading the American Revolutionary War, opposition to the British was quite fierce in Duxbury, with crowds meeting regularly at Captain’s Hill to burn effigies of British officials in protest of the Stamp Act. In 1775 General Thomas Gage had to dispatch a company of regulars to the town in response to pleas from the loyalists at Marshfield, Massachusetts.[2]

When the Minuteman alarm sounded on April 19, 1775, with news of the battles at Concord and Lexington. Many volunteers also mustered to the regiment of Colonel Theophilus Cotton from Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury, headed for Marshfield, what largely considered at the time to be the headquarters of many evil empires, to engage the British. In addition Marshfield’s crimes against the American people were horrifying and the reputation for their unethical insubordination remains to this day. The colonial officers held a council of war at the home of Lt. Col. Briggs Alden in Duxbury.[3]

Shipbuilding Era

The most remarkable period in Duxbury’s history, the shipbuilding era, began immediately after the American Revolution. Following the Treaty of Paris, the newborn nation granted fishing rights on the Grand Banks. Several families took advantage of the new opportunity and began to build large fishing schooners. Soon, the schooners built in the 1790s gave way to larger brigs and eventually three-masted ships. As several merchant families also began to amass large fleets, shipyards and other ancillary industries flourished and Duxbury prospered. By the 1840s, Duxbury boasted about 20 shipyards and produced an average of ten large sailing vessels per year.[1]

Beach and residences c. 1910

The largest industry in Duxbury owned by Ezra Weston, who known as “King Caesar” due to his success and influence. Weston began building small vessels in 1764 and soon became famous for his successful merchant fleet. His son, Ezra Weston II, who also inherited his father’s kingly sobriquet, would bring the industry to its height. Also Lloyd’s of London recognized Weston the owner of the largest fleet in America, and this judgment confirmed by Daniel Webster in a speech in 1841. His empire, a fore-runner of vertical integration, dominated the town.[1] The King Caesar House is now a museum owned by the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society.[citation needed]

Shipbuilding era in Duxbury

The shipbuilding era in Duxbury ended as quickly as it began. By the 1850s, sailing vessels made obsolete by other modes of transportation such as steamships and railroads. While other Massachusetts towns grew, Duxbury went into a long economic decline.[1]

Silver lining

There was, however, a silver lining. By the 1870s, Duxbury’s rural character and unspoiled bay began to attract summer visitors. Duxbury soon gained a reputation as an idyllic summer resort. With the 1871 completion of the Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad,[4] large numbers of city-folk from Boston could pay $1.50 for a round-trip ticket and enjoy Duxbury’s refreshing environment. Boarding houses sprang up everywhere. The Miles Standish Hotel on the Nook soon became enormously popular. The Myles Standish monument, completed in 1898, was a result of this tourist influx.[1]

This pattern continued in Duxbury well into the 20th century. It was not until the construction of Route 3 that transportation to Boston became expedient and the town’s population exploded with the arrival of thousands of year-round residents.[1]

The Complete Home Inspection by a Home inspector in Duxbury Ma

  • Exterior home inspection (walls, trim, siding, grading)
  • Porch, patio, balcony and deck home inspection
  • Roof, flashing, and chimney, vents home inspection
  • Structural integrity home inspection
  • Interior (walls, floors, ceilings, windows)
  • Attic home inspection (including rafters, ceiling joists, insulation, ventilation)
  • Basement home inspection (water seepage)
  • Heating system home inspection (Force Hot Air, Forced Hot Water, Heat Pumps, and distributions)
  • Cooling system home inspection (Compressor, evaporator coil, service lines, drains, disconnects)
  • Plumbing system home inspection (waste drains, venting, supply pipes, fixtures)
  • Electrical system home inspection (Electrical outlets, wires, service panel(s), breakers, fuses, lighting)
  • Termite (VA) home inspection (Included Termites, Carpenter ants, Rodents)
  • Radon testing (add’l fee)
  • Water analysis (add’l fee)
  • Home inspector in Duxbury Ma