Home Inspections

Home Inspection is at the very core of BONSAI Inspection Company’s principles. You won’t find any sales pitches, price schemes, ‘how long my report is’, or knocks on ‘why you shouldn’t choose the other guy’ here. Why, you say? Read on….

A truly great Home inspection is one where You, the Client, feel comfortable – not rushed – have all of your questions addressed in a manner that you understand, and leave your prospective new home feeling secure in knowing you are well informed. What that means is at the heart of every great Home Inspection is the relationship between Inspector and Client.

Your Home Inspection is a BIG deal to both you AND me. I will work to gain your trust from the get-go, help you feel as comfortable as possible, and get the lines of communication open! That’s what sets BONSAI Inspection Company apart from the rest!

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Let’s face it – trustworthiness, honesty, and thoroughness don’t grow on trees. Isn’t that what you really want and need during something this important?
All I ask you to do is give me a call!

What’s Included in Your Home Inspection

All Massachusetts Home Inspections are required to meet the Massachusetts “Standards of Practice” for Home Inspectors. You’ll receive a copy of these Standards at your inspection.

The following list is just some of the many items that are included in a BONSAI Home Inspection:

Structural Components: Foundation, floor slab, sills, joists, beams, support columns, retaining walls, crawl areas
Exterior Components: Siding, windows, trim, decks and porches, gutters and downspouts, driveways, walkways, window wells, faucets, showers, electrical receptacles and lighting, general landscape condition.
Roofing: Roofing types, flashings, and chimneys.
Plumbing: Piping materials, fixtures, faucets, water heating systems, ejector pumps, laundry
Electrical: Wiring, main service and subpanels, exterior service, lighting, switches, receptacles, GFCIs, AFCIs, grounding
Heating: Equipment operation, distribution systems, normal operating controls, filters, flues, gas piping
Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps: Cooling and air-handling equipment, controls and ducting
Interior: Ceilings, floors, railings, doors and windows, stairs, bulkheads, fireplaces, wood stoves
Bathrooms: Toilets, sinks, exhaust fans, tubs, showers
Insulation and Ventilation: Attic, basement, insulation types, roofing ventilation systems
Garage: Vehicle doors, floors, windows, roofing and drainage (detached garages)

In addition to what’s required by the standards, a BONSAI home inspection also includes additional items such as: Kitchen appliance operation, laundry operation, ceiling fans, doorbells, skylights, jacuzzi tubs, and steam units!
If there is a specific item you don’t see here that you would like inspected/tested, just ask!

Most Services can be added to any Home Inspection!

Radon Gas Testing
Mold Assessment
Termite/Wood Boring Insect Inspection
Water Quality Testing

Why not take advantage of my extensive services menu and get it all done at once! Pricing discounts available for multiple services!

How Long Does it Take?

A typical single-family home usually takes around 2 hours to complete. That’s the actual inspecting part.

After I’m done inspecting, we’ll sit down and go over everything in the report in detail. During that time, you can ask as many questions as you like, take additional notes, or get up, go back, and look at an item in the report in question again. I call this extremely important part, the summary phase. I consider this phase to be the most important part of the entire home inspection. The summary phase lasts as long as You need it to. I will continue to answer questions and address your concerns until you feel completely satisfied that you understand the results of your inspection.

At the conclusion of the summary phase you will be handed two copies of your Inspection Report. No waiting! You will be armed and ready to enter the next phase of your home purchase immediately!

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Condominium Inspection

BONSAI Inspection Company is your Condo Inspection Specialist!!

Condominium owners hold title to their units and share ownership and responsibility of and for the operating costs of the balance of the property (common elements such as lobbies, hallways, recreation areas, etc.).

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The most common type of condominiums in this area include:


High-rise	Low-rise	Row Townhouse


Stacked Townhouse	Duplex	Triple-Decker

Special note about MA Condo Inspections: According to the Massachusetts “Standards of Practice” for Home Inspectors (aka “the Standards), Section 6.05 states: “…the Standards are applicable only to Residential Buildings with four or less Dwelling units under one roof.”

So what does that mean? It means that most High-rise, Low-rise, and Stacked Townhouse condo inpsections fall outside of the Standards and could be considered a form of commercial property.

Duplex, Triple-Decker, and most Row Townhouse condo units fall under the jurisdiction of the Standards and are therefore inspected the same as single-family homes. That includes (among other things) inspection of the entire roof, the entire exterior, and the entire basement (if it’s accessible), and excludes the interior of the other living unit(s). Many times, Row Townhouse exterior inspections might be limited to the areas that “make up” the unit being inspected only.

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Radon Gas Testing

FACT: Radon gas causes an estimated 21,000 cancer deaths per year in the US, and is the number two cause of lung cancer – second only to smoking cigarettes, according to the US EPA.

FACT: Radon in drinking water is a significant health hazard (though a lesser hazard than radon gas in indoor air) – even when bathing or showering radon gas can be released from water. People with well water are typically more at risk then public water supplies.

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FACT: The US EPA recommends ALL properties be tested for Radon gas!

Available Radon gas testing services

Accurate determinations require accurate testing. Yes, the average handyman can easily purchase the $30 hardware store kit. The truly difficult part comes with correctly following the placement protocols and the interpretation of the results. The average hardware store kit instructions at best fill up a few paragraphs on a single page – the USEPA’s Protocol for ‘vial kits’ takes up an entire page and half just for device placement! A lot of this critical information simply isn’t on the average hardware store kit instructions! I’ve stumbled across many an incorrectly setup hardware kit over the past 10 years – and in almost all of those cases, those placement mistakes were almost certain to induce false negatives. Why risk it for another handful of dollars? Have a professional place your radon test kit.
BONSAI Inspection Company Offers:

Short-term (48-96hrs sampling time) Radon gas in Air testing using:

radon_air_kit