Home Inspector in Grosse Pointe, MI

The Grosse Pointes are unlike anywhere else I inspect. Early 1900s through 1930s architecture, genuine craftsmanship, slate and tile roofs, plaster walls, leaded glass, and mechanical systems that have been layered over one another for a hundred years. These are extraordinary homes, and they require an inspector who understands what he is looking at rather than one who flags every deviation from modern construction as a defect.

Slate and clay tile roofing is the clearest example. A slate roof can last a century, but it fails at the flashings, the valleys, and the fasteners long before the slate itself gives out — and walking one causes damage. This is precisely where drone documentation is not a luxury. I photograph the roof slopes, valleys, and chimney flashing from the air where conditions allow, without ever setting foot on a roof that would be damaged by the weight.

Mechanically, these homes commonly run steam or hot-water boiler systems with radiators, sometimes original and often expertly maintained. Boilers are a different evaluation than a forced-air furnace and I inspect them as such. Add multiple generations of electrical work in the same house, original galvanized supply lines, and century-old sewer laterals under enormous mature trees, and you have a home that rewards a careful inspection and punishes a fast one.

1900s–1930s neo-Georgians, Tudors, Dutch Colonials, and Arts and Crafts homes (60% of the city)

These are the houses on the dense streets between Mack and Jefferson and the estates along Lake Shore near Neff Park. Beyond the roofs, boilers, and wiring I describe above, homes from this era commonly have stone, brick, or early block foundations, asbestos wrap on boiler piping, vermiculite in attic bays, lead paint on original wood windows and trim, and multiple chimney flues that were never lined. The basement tells me the most, so I start there: I photograph every foundation wall, look for step cracking and bowing versus ordinary shrinkage in the plaster above, and run the thermal camera across plaster ceilings under bathrooms and valleys where a slow leak can hide for years. A house in the 6,000 to 12,000 square foot range gets more hours, not a faster walk.

1940s–1950s brick colonials and ranches on the remaining lots (about 23%)

The city was mostly built out before the war, so the postwar houses filled in the gaps, often on smaller lots and often at a lower price than their older neighbors. Homes from this era commonly have 60-amp fuse panels or the first generation of breaker panels, galvanized supply lines at the end of their service life, block foundations, and forced-air ductwork sized for a furnace that was replaced two or three times over. Asbestos floor tile and duct tape are possible. I open the panel and check for double-tapped breakers and scorched conductors, test water pressure and flow at the top-floor fixtures, and put the thermal camera on the registers to see which rooms the system actually reaches.

1960s–1990s: the small middle (roughly 12%), including the condos near the Village

There are not many of these, which is why buyers here overlook what they carry. Homes built roughly 1965 to 1973 commonly have aluminum branch-circuit wiring, which I identify at the panel and at receptacles and document by circuit. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels turn up in this era, along with single-pane aluminum windows and the first central air systems. Anything built 1978 to 1995 gets checked for gray polybutylene supply piping at the water heater and under the sinks. For the condos near the Village, the inspection covers your unit and what serves it; I will tell you plainly what belongs to the association and what you should ask the association for in writing.

2000s to today: teardowns, rebuilds, and gut renovations (under 5%)

New construction here is infill: a 1920s house comes down and a much larger one goes up on the same lot, or a house is renovated to the studs. Homes from this era commonly have large, complex roofs, multiple HVAC zones, high-efficiency furnaces with condensate and venting mistakes, and grading that slopes the wrong way on a tight lot. The bigger issue is what was kept. A new house sits on the original water service and sewer lateral unless someone paid to replace them, and a renovation can put fresh drywall over sixty-year-old wiring. I pull the permit history before I arrive and compare it to what I find behind the panel cover and above the basement drop ceiling.

Wayne County is in EPA Radon Zone 3, the lowest predicted-potential category, and EGLE’s test-result map still shows 17 percent of Wayne County tests at or above the 4.0 pCi/L action level. Roughly one in six is not a number I would bet a finished basement on without testing. The old stone and brick foundations here have more entry points than a poured wall, and a boiler room with a floor drain and a coal-chute patch is not sealed. A 48-hour continuous-monitor test placed in the lowest livable level costs $175, runs during your inspection window, and gives you a written result you can negotiate with.