Advanced Equipment for Home Inspectors

This high end moisture meter lasts longer and will be less of a hassle to work with than cheaper moisture meters. It’s great if you can afford it. The cheaper one mentioned in the Essential Home Inspector Tools page works fine too, but requires more work to get accurate readings.

If you are planning on doing sewer scopes, you should get what all our inspectors use – a Ridgid Seesnake Mini. This model has a professional self leveling head and 200 feet of rod for long sewer lines. This top of the line equipment gives professional results that can’t be matched by cheap imitation brands.

This is the monitor we use to connect to the Ridgid Seesnake Mini. This is nice because it is battery powered and portable, meaning you can take it up onto a roof or into a crawlspace as necessary.

If you want to locate defects with your Rdigid Seesnake Mini, you’ll need a locator like this one. With training, you can find the location and depth of the Seesnake camera head and “sonde” with a locator like this one. This can be helpful in determining what may need to be dug up in order to fix a failing sewer line.

A battery powered screw driver is a great addition for quickly removing screws from a dead front / electrical panel cover. This small gyroscopic screwdriver changes direction with the flip of your wrist.

A professional grade drone like the DJI Phantom 4 Pro can help you document defects on roofs that are not safe to walk on because they are icy, too steep, too high, etc. In order to legally use a drone for inspections, you’ll need to get a license from the FAA. The test is relatively straight forward and may be worth it for the experienced inspector.

Thermal imaging cameras can help you identify moisture intrusion problems, overheating electrical components and missing insulation (among many other defects). We use thermal imaging cameras on every inspection and assign a Flir E8 to every inspector. While they are expensive, good training and the use of thermal imaging can help separate you from the competition.

Radon testing is another valuable service you can offer your clients. We use professional grade Sun Nuclear 1028 models. These are the original, and in our opinion, the best continuous radon monitor for professionals.