The Triangle · Durham County
Licensed home inspections for Durham buyers and sellers, from early 1900s houses near downtown to new construction in the south of the county.
Durham grew up around its tobacco and textile industries, and many of the houses from that era are still lived in today, often after one or more renovations. At the same time, the south end of the county near Research Triangle Park keeps adding new subdivisions and townhomes. A Durham buyer can easily be choosing between a 100-year-old house with a brand-new kitchen and a house that was finished last month.
We inspect both the same way: carefully, and without rushing. Every residential inspection takes 3 to 4 hours, uses thermal imaging and moisture meters, and comes with a detailed, photo-rich report within 24 hours plus a FREE 30-day home warranty from Guard Home Warranty, a third-party provider. We encourage you to join us so you can see the findings in person.
In Durham, the questions change with the age of the house and with how much of it has been redone.
Neighborhoods such as Trinity Park, Old North Durham and Watts-Hillandale have homes from the late 1800s through the 1940s. Original systems in these houses can include older wiring, galvanized or cast-iron piping, and framing and foundations that have had a century to settle. Crawlspaces and basements get a careful look for moisture, wood decay and earlier repairs.
Many of Durham’s older mill houses and bungalows have been updated. New finishes can make a house look new while the wiring, plumbing and structure behind them are still old, or were changed in ways that were not done well. We look at where new work meets old: circuits added to an older panel, kitchen and bathroom plumbing and venting, removed walls, and whether a moisture problem was solved or simply covered up.
New homes and townhomes keep going up in south Durham and around Research Triangle Park. A new house still needs an independent look, because framing, flashing, grading and attic insulation are where builder oversights tend to show up. A pre-drywall inspection while the walls are open, a new construction inspection before closing and an 11-month warranty inspection before the builder’s one-year warranty ends cover each stage.
Much of Durham sits on the dense clay soils of the Piedmont, and parts of southern Durham County lie in the Triassic basin, known for heavy clays that swell when wet and shrink as they dry. These soils drain slowly, so grading, gutters and downspout discharge make a real difference. When water stays against a house, it shows up as damp crawlspaces, cracks in block foundations and doors that start to stick.
Long, humid summers add moisture of their own. In older homes it collects in crawlspaces and basements; in newer, tighter homes it can show up around poorly sealed ducts and bathroom fans. We check with moisture meters, and if a home has a musty smell or a history of water problems, mold and air quality testing gives you lab results instead of a guess.
Every service we offer is available in Durham. See all services.
A 3 to 4 hour inspection for Durham resale homes, including older houses with crawlspaces and basements.
An independent review of a newly built Durham home before closing, with a report you can hand to the builder.
For owners about a year into a new home, timed before the builder’s one-year warranty runs out.
Parts of the Triangle sit on bedrock with elevated radon potential. We test with continuous electronic monitors for 48 hours.
From our blog: Top red flags for Triangle area home buyers · How Triangle NC realtors get faster inspections · Hidden humidity damage in Central NC homes
Durham ZIP codes: 27701, 27703, 27704, 27705, 27707, 27713
We find them before you sign — on your side, not the deal's.