My name is Thomas Herbst I am a Home inspector in Northbridge Ma area. I started Clayton Home Inspections in 1994 with the purpose of providing a thorough home inspection in Northbridge Ma also, 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 Northbridge 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 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.
Attic Inspection
Confirming fundamental reliability of the roof. Making sure the attic is appropriately vented and insulted. 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.
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 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.).
Additionally Inspect plus operate all plumbing fixtures. Observing for leaks in supply and drainage pipes everywhere. Inspecting there are no clogged pipes (backups). Water heaters inspected.
Electrical System Inspection
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 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 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 Northbridge, Massachusetts
Introduction to Northbridge, Massachusetts
Northbridge is a growing suburban town made up of several villages, including Linwood, Northbridge, Riverdale, Rockdale, and Whitinsville. It is located in the Blackstone River Valley of south central Massachusetts. The area played a major role in early American industrial development, due to its natural resources and strategic location to Worcester and Providence. Situated between Interstates 90, 146, 395, and 495, today the Blackstone Valley has good highway and rail access to the ports, airports, and intermodal facilities of Worcester, Providence, and Boston.
Three rivers flow through Northbridge: the Blackstone River, running north to south, and two of its major tributaries – the West River which runs through the southeast corner of town, and the Mumford River, which originates in Sutton and cuts eastward across Northbridge to join the Blackstone in Uxbridge. The Blackstone and Mumford valley are wide, in places as much as a mile and a half across, and lie at about 300’ above sea level; the historic Northbridge Center is located on a ridge between these two river valleys. Soils in the valleys are good for cultivation, while the stonier hillsides are better suited to pasture, hay and orchards, with occasional granite outcrops that have been quarried in the past. Northbridge is bounded clockwise, beginning in the north, by Upton, Hopedale, Mendon, Uxbridge, Douglas, Sutton and Grafton.
The presence of rich water resources attracted precontact Native American groups to the Northbridge area, especially for seasonal hunting and fishing along the broad Blackstone River valley. Small Late Archaic and Woodland campsites have been located in the eastern part of town, as well as evidence of possible quartz quarrying activity. The Blackstone corridor also provided main routes north/south, with secondary trails along the Mumford River and on the highlands west of the Blackstone, which would later become the center of colonial settlement.
The Northbridge area was part of the colonial Mendon grant of 1667, and was first used by settlers as pasture and, along the rivers, haying meadow. Northbridge and Uxbridge together broke off from Mendon in 1727, and Northbridge became a separate town in 1775. Although Northbridge was primarily a dispersed agricultural community during the Colonial Period, an iron works was established in present-day Whitinsville by 1729. The earliest grist and saw mills were built in Riverdale before 1740.
Northbridge Center and its surrounding agricultural lands remained the focus of town during the Federal Period (1775-1830), with a secondary center around the Friends meetinghouse on the east side of the Blackstone River. In fact, during the pre-Civil War years, more acreage in Northbridge was under cultivation to hay, potatoes, corn and grain than at any other time. In 1814, however, a mill village began to grow where Rockdale is today, and that industrial area subsequently became an important transportation hub: the junction of the Providence Road, the Central Turnpike and the Blackstone Canal (replaced by the Providence and Worcester Railroad in 1847). By far the greatest industrial growth took place at Mumford River Falls (now Whitinsville), south of Northbridge Center. An early cotton manufactory was built near the iron foundry in 1809, with workers’ housing and two more cotton mills built by 1830.
Forty years later, Northbridge’s population had tripled. Northbridge Center had lost much of its importance, supplanted by growing mill villages along the Blackstone and Mumford Rivers: Rockdale, Riverdale, Linwood, and Whitinsville. The town’s main focus shifted to Whitinsville, as the Whitin family, inspired by matriarch Betsy Fletcher Whitin, expanded their two related businesses: manufacturing cotton yard goods and state-of-the-art textile machinery. By the beginning of the Civil War, the Whitins were among the leading manufacturers in the Blackstone Valley. Between 1864 and 1869, John Whitin consolidated all his machine shop operations in Whitinsville, leading to extensive construction activity including worker cottages and tenements, a distinct residential area for management, and numerous large proprietors’ estates. In addition, a library (1844), a high school (1865) and the Whitinsville National Bank (1865) were established.
Whitinsville and the Whitin family’s industrial operations continued to dominate Northbridge in the Late Industrial Period (1870-1915). By the beginning of the 20th century, Northbridge a thorough industrial town with parts of it densely populated, where 78% of the men employed in the factories. Farm acreage had decreased by a third from its mid-19th century high, this had less to do with the rise in population than with a shift in farming from mixed agriculture to dairying – a change that echoed throughout the Blackstone Valley including at the Whitins’ scientifically managed model dairy farm on Castle Hill.
The construction of a streetcar line from Northbridge to Worcester in the 1890s gave residents access to the larger stores of the city, putting an end to Northbridge Center as a commercial focus, although Church Street in Whitinsville began to develop as a local commercial district. Streetcar service was replaced by improved roadways for automotive traffic during the 1920s. The Whitin family’s factories continued to prosper until a depression hit the textile industry in 1923.
This economic downturn forced the closure of cotton mills throughout the region, including the Whitinsville Cotton Company, the Linwood Cotton Company, and mills in Rockdale and Riverdale. The Whitin Machine Works put most of the buildings to use for some part of their continuing operation, and carried the business through to a brief spike in activity during World War II, when the company manufactured magnetos for American aircraft. Labor unrest and worker strikes in the late 1940s discouraged the Whitins from further involvement in industry.
Over the next decade they sold their business interests in Northbridge, as well as the company housing and farm. Today Northbridge is no longer a company town, but memories of that long era remain, kept alive in many of the buildings and structures that define its heritage landscape.