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April 1994
"New Association hopes to establish Alberta standards” By Herald Writer Being a home inspector is a little like conducting an orchestra – you need to know at least a little bit about everything. “A good inspector will have knowledge of all phases and aspects of a home,” says Peter Salmon of Home-Alyze. “He know all the shortcuts in home construction, and all the potential problems.” To achieve this, it’s usually necessary to spend time in the residential construction industry. For example, Home-Alyze inspector Darcy McGregor began as a carpenter, worked his way through virtually every level of construction (right up to being a home builder) and finished off by taking several home inspection seminars. “Think of an inspector as a family doctor for you house,” says Salmon. “If we find a really serious problem that’s beyond the building code, we’d recommend bringing in a specialist like a structural engineer.” Not all inspectors have the same credentials, though. There area no provincial standards, so Salmon says “anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves an inspector. That’s been our Achilles heel.” And that’s why a prairie association of inspectors is being set up. Salmon is the first president, and there are 18 founding members – eight from Calgary. Membership is not compulsory, but Salmon hopes the organization can slowly force everybody in the industry to at least adopt certain minimum qualifications. “To become an inspector, association members will have to go through a six-month educational process and pass some fairly stringent exams,” he says.
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