My wife and I recently have had the opportunity to spend a few weeks in warmer weather. It’s always fascinating to see the difference in homes in the Southwest. It’s a construction hazard – no matter where I go yes, I go over everything in the homes we’re staying with a fine tooth comb! My wife has to remind me I’m there to vacation, not to critique. I also find myself imagining what it would be like to be a home inspector in the South (of course. I imagine it even more when you’re sitting in the sun on a 75 degree day while my team of inspectors is traipsing through the snow and subzero temps back in Iowa)!

At any rate, our colder climates in the north do create some cold temp home issues unique to us compared to home owners in the South; and we learned recently the horrible situations the people in Texas faced when they experienced the snowfall amounts that seldom happen in their great state. There are a lot of standards performed for every home inspection, whether in the north, south, east or west. We perform every home inspection according to ASHI standards.

For us Midwest home inspectors, cold temp home issues we’ve seen are:

• Frost – the constant freezing and thawing during the winter that causes foundation issues
• Movement of exterior concrete which causes uneven slabs and cracking of the concrete that could lead to possible trip hazards
• Frozen exterior hose bibs especially when bibs are left attached (if you’ve ever forgotten to detach hose bibs you know the damage that can happen here!)
• Ice dams which cause possible moisture issues

There’s no perfect home; and certainly in the weather extremes we face in the Midwest we encounter unique problems. While I may not miss the cold weather these few weeks of being in the South; I do miss the changing seasons. Til then, I think I’ll go take another walk in the sun and look forward to our time returning back to Iowa!

CHUCK