If you’ve ever bought a home, you understand how stressful the entire process can be. One of the most stressful parts of buying a home is the 
inspection and the negotiations after it. A vital step, home inspections give buyers a picture of the overall condition of the home they are potentially buying. One question you may ask yourself is are underground ducts checked during an inspection?
A home inspector inspects all major systems of the home, including:
- Heating equipment permanently installed in the home, vent systems, flues, chimneys and distribution systems.
- Cooling equipment permanently installed in the home and distribution systems
- Plumbing components such as fixtures and faucets, drain, waste and vent systems, water heating equipment and sump and ejector pumps.
- Electrical components such as the service drop, conductors, cables, disconnects, grounding, panels, over-current protection devices and installed fixtures and switches.
- Structural components including the foundation and framing of the home
- Exterior components such as flashing, trim, doors, decks, balconies, stoops, steps, porches and railings, eaves, soffits and fascias, vegetation, grading, drainage, retaining walls, walkways, patios and driveways.
- Roof system including materials, drainage, flashing, skylights, chimneys and penetrations.
- Insulation and Ventilation equipment such as insulation, ventilation systems, kitchen, bathroom and laundry exhaust systems.
- Interior materials such as walls, ceilings and floors, steps, stairways and railings, counter tops and cabinets, doors and windows, garage doors and installed appliances.
- Fuel burning appliances such as fireplaces or stoves, fuel burning accessories installed inside fireplaces and chimneys and their vent systems.
What about unseen areas of a home?
The American Society of Home Inspectors Standard of Practice states that inspectors are not required to inspect unseen or inaccessible areas in a home. These are areas that cannot be inspected with the naked eye. In general, if an inspector sees an area of concern, he or she will usually point it out. However, home inspectors are there not to solve the problems, but to find them and communicate them to the buyer.
When it comes to the underground air ducts, an inspector examines all visible components of the heating system. But since the ducts are underground, there’s no way for an inspector to fully know what lies below the surface. Many times, the plenum (the metal distribution box below your furnace) can be deteriorated but the inspector cannot see it. If the plenum is deteriorated, there’s a good chance the air ducts below are in the same condition. So to answer the question, in general, underground ducts are generally not checked during a home inspection.
So what’s a buyer to do?
Here at Trenchless Innovations, we specialize in both air duct repair and sewer restoration. The commonality with both of them? They’re underground and unseen but very vital to your health and safety within your home. If you’re buying a home and have concerns about the condition of the underground ducts, it is wise to hire an outside company for an evaluation. At Trenchless Innovations, our team of experts can perform a televising of your air ducts, pinpointing where issues lie. You receive a copy of your video, along with a detailed report of the issues and the recommended steps (and costs involved) to remedy them. The same goes for the sewer line as well.
Although you will be paying for the televising out-of-pocket, you are potentially saving yourself time and money. And the best part? Entering negotiations knowing you have all of the information you need to gain your dream home at a fair price.