Inspecting a House: A Guide for Buyers, Owners and Renovators

Ray Covell was a librarian in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Alan Carson and Robert Dunlop are professional home inspectors who have their own company in Toronto and are thus well qualified to write on this subject. They offer practical advice on every aspect of home inspection from climbing up the chimney to crawling under the floor. Each system of the house is given a separate chapter, and no stone is left unturned. There is a checklist at the end of each chapter.

The second part of the book deals with home renovation, including a useful breakdown of percentage costs of materials and labor in a typical renovation project. A sample construction contract is also included. The book concludes with a glossary and index.

As the authors say in their introduction, “a house is the largest single purchase most of us will ever make. It is not only an investment, but for about twelve hours every day it is also our environment... Most people have their mechanic check out a used automobile before they will spend $2,500 on it. Doesn’t it make sense to check out a house worth many times that?” Anyone who is considering spending tens of thousands of dollars on a house, new or old, would be well advised to spend ten dollars on this well-written book.