The Wolfe Way: What Goes Into a Home Inspection
While the world of construction admittedly seems to attract more males than females, the times they are a-changin’. More and more women are finding a fulfilling and challenging career in the industry like Dee Watson, sales rep and customer service engineer with Wolfe Construction Group. Dee’s 19 years of experience include mission work in disaster areas and several Habitat for Humanity home builds. In this special guest blog, Dee takes us behind-the-scenes at Wolfe and shares some helpful tips to protect your home.
After returning from an overseas deployment with the Army, my family asked me not to return to my position in law enforcement because it caused them too much stress. So I decided I would join my husband, Joe, in the structural business. In addition to my sales and customer service roles, I get to test my artistic skills in the masonry tuckpointing area, repairing broken or cracked bricks and making them look new again. It’s my favorite part of the job, along with doing some of the structural work.
Building rapport and trusting relationships with our customers is a top priority. When on-site, I take the time to listen to the homeowner's concerns and then personally inspect the home’s visible problem areas. Customers usually get an unexpected surprise when I jump into my “Superman suit” – okay, it’s just a crawl suit – and then take a look under the home to analyze what may be causing these areas to change. Then we discuss the best solutions and options.
When doing a home inspection, I check for any movement in the walls, floors, and foundation to determine any lacking supports and where to look once inside the crawl space. This is where I evaluate the moisture levels, main wood structures, support members for damage, and the overall span of the wood members to ensure they are properly supported. I also look into factors like the home’s age and weight of the floor finishes and furniture. That’s when the real fun starts, and I get to problem-solve and devise an appropriate solution to support the home. I believe in giving the customer as much knowledge as possible and helping them fully understand the situation. I then send over a proposal for the scope of work for the homeowner for review.
Once people find out what I do, they always ask the same question: What are the most important things I can do to maintain my home and avoid major issues?
First, pay attention to your home. Look at it often and when things don’t seem right, explore and try to find out why.
Second, remember that a home’s No. 1 enemy is water! Get that water away as it will destroy your house faster than anything else. Moist wood attracts termites, which is even worse. Keep the gutters clean, and watch where the water goes when it’s raining. Take a peek in the crawl space a few times a year and make sure you don’t see any water.
Finally, stop and think before adding heavy furniture or finishes like granite countertops, slate tile, or rock flooring. Your home wasn't really built to sustain those things, and if they’re not supported properly, you will soon start to see uneven floors and sagging walls.
The very best advice I can give a homeowner is probably a bit of wisdom I learned a long time ago and something that has become something of a personal mantra for me: “Hit the shim – not your finger!”