Home Inspections in Rancho Mission Viejo

A house sits on one of two things: a slab, or a raised foundation with a crawl space under the floor. They are inspected differently, because one of them can be got under and the other cannot, and the difference is worth knowing before the inspection rather than in the report.

Ingraffia Home Inspections has been inspecting in Orange County since 2003. To book in Rancho Mission Viejo, call (714) 371-8422 or request an inspection.

What a slab shows

Very little, directly. A slab is inspected from its edges and from what sits on it: cracking in the finishes above, doors that have gone out of square, moisture at the base of walls. Those are real signals and an experienced inspector reads them, but they are signals. The concrete itself is under the floor and stays there.

What a raised foundation shows

Everything, if someone goes and looks. A crawl space puts the structure on display: the floor framing, the posts and piers carrying it, the ventilation that keeps it dry, and the underside of the plumbing and ductwork that runs through it. It is also where the earliest signs of trouble tend to be: moisture, wood-destroying insects, undersized or shifted supports, and repairs that were made from above and never finished from below.

That is why it is a priced addition on the rate card rather than part of the base inspection. It takes time, it takes getting in there, and what it finds is worth the fee on almost every house that has one.

What you need to do

Make the access reachable. Crawl space openings are often in a closet floor or an exterior vent well, and the preparation checklist asks for them to be clear. If the access cannot be reached, the space is reported as not accessed, which is an honest statement and an unsatisfying one.

Booking in Rancho Mission Viejo

Say when you book whether the house is on a slab or a raised foundation, if you know. If you do not, Mark can usually tell from the address and the age of the house and will confirm on the call. The inspection covers grounds, exterior, utilities, interior, kitchen and bathrooms either way.