Mid-Century Home Inspection Checklist
Post-and-beam houses from the 1950s and 1960s were built with systems many buyers have never owned: heating pipes cast into the concrete slab, low-slope roofs, walls of single-pane glass and wood that stays exposed to the weather. Use this list during your contingency period and tick each item as you cover it with your inspectors.
Ask for the paperwork
Before you inspect.
The seller's disclosures, past inspection and pest reports, and roof and heating service records.
The permit history, so you can match each permit to what you see.
How to check permit history
A search of the Structural Pest Control Board's online records for an inspection in the last two years, with copies requested.
Order the right inspections
A California general home inspection is noninvasive: the inspector won't open the slab, cut into walls or pull roofing. The general report is a starting point that tells you where to look harder.
A general home inspection, with a request to describe the heating system, the electrical panel and any visible roof drains.
A wood-destroying pest and organism inspection by a licensed Branch 3 field representative or operator.Post-and-beam homes put a lot of wood outdoors, so this report matters.
Reading Section 1 and Section 2 on the pest report
A roof inspection by a licensed roofing contractor.The pest report must state in bold whether the roof's exterior was inspected. If it wasn't, the report tells you to call a licensed roofer.
Specialist follow-ups where the general report points: a plumber or radiant heating specialist, a licensed electrician and a sewer lateral camera inspection.
Lead and asbestos testing if you plan to remodel.For a home built before 1978, federal rules give buyers a 10-day period for a lead paint inspection or risk assessment, which the parties can lengthen, shorten or waive in writing.
Lead paint disclosure and asbestos testing
Structure, eaves and roof
Walk the perimeter with the inspector. The exposed wood is part of the look and part of the upkeep.
Beam ends where they pass through glass walls or extend past the roof line: checking, gray weathered wood, soft spots and old patches.
Rafter tails and the wide fascia boards: decay tends to start at the ends and along the top edge.
Posts at grade: wood that meets soil or a damp planter is a pest-report item.
The roof surface: ask about ponding, the age of the membrane and where water leaves the roof.Palo Alto's Eichler guidelines list flat roofs that can be prone to leaks among common owner complaints.
The roofing type, whether tar and gravel, single-ply, foam or composite shingles, and whether insulation was added above the deck.
Eichler roofs: foam, membranes and above-deck insulation
Skylights and roof penetrations: flashing, cracked lenses and stains on the ceiling boards below.
Ceiling boards: water stains on exposed decking often trace back to a roof leak that was fixed, or wasn't.
The slab: radiant heat and buried plumbing
With no crawl space, the inspector can't look under the house, so the questions shift to the systems in the slab.
Is the radiant system working, abandoned, or replaced by forced air or a heat pump? Ask the seller for service records.
Radiant heat: repair, replace or retire
Where is the boiler or heat source, how old is it, and does it heat every zone on a test run?
Has the radiant loop been pressure-tested? Look for warm spots, damp spots or cracked flooring that could point to a leak.
Slab leaks: signs, tests and repair choices
Are the water supply lines rerouted overhead or through walls, or still under the slab?
Is the water heater braced, anchored or strapped?California's Transfer Disclosure Statement asks the seller to certify that it is.
Do the toilets, showerheads and faucets meet current flow limits?For homes built on or before January 1, 1994, state law required noncompliant fixtures to be replaced by January 1, 2017, and the seller must disclose whether any remain.
A sewer lateral camera inspection: the line from the house to the street is usually as old as the house.
Electrical panel and wiring
Ask the inspector to open the panel cover.
The panel brand, its capacity, the breakers, grounding and any signs of overheating.
Older panels and wiring: what to check
Aluminum branch wiring.The CPSC says homes built before 1965 are unlikely to have it, but cables installed from 1965 to the mid-1970s, in new homes, additions and rewired circuits, may contain it. A later addition needs its own check.
Warning signs: switch or outlet plates that are hot to the touch, flickering lights, circuits that don't work, or a burning-plastic smell.If you see any, the CPSC says to have a qualified electrician find the cause and not to attempt the work yourself.
Glass, walls and original materials
Palo Alto's guidelines describe original houses with little insulation, no attic spaces, single-pane windows and large expanses of glass.
Sliding doors: do they glide, lock and seal? Worn rollers and bent tracks are common repair items.
Dual-pane replacements: fogging between the panes means a failed seal.
Siding, typically vertical tongue-and-groove redwood boards or scored redwood plywood: check the bottom edges and any spot where sprinklers hit the wall.
Possible asbestos: vinyl floor tiles and sheet-flooring backing, roofing and siding shingles, textured paint and patching compounds, and coated hot water pipes.You can't tell by looking unless the material is labeled. The EPA says a trained and accredited professional should take samples.
Painted surfaces in a home built before 1978: the seller's EPA lead pamphlet, known lead-based paint information and any available reports.
Checked of 30
Count the boxes you ticked to see how far you've come.
Every box ticked? Take the open questions to your licensed inspectors and contractors while you're still in your contingency period.
