Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

Great experience. The inspector not only allowed me to tag along, but recommended that I do so. The review was very interactive - I felt like the inspector was going above and beyond but based on the word of mouth referrals I got before booking, I guess that's their standard! The Report format was so easy to understand. We based our decision to buy on the report and we couldn't be happier.

I purchased a property and needed a home inspection to be done ASAP to close the deal and glad that they were able to provide a 24 hour inspection! Quality of professionalism is stellar from the phone representative to the inspector.

Took the time to explain in detail the findings during the inspection.

Good report as well and available online after the inspection is done.

I have used Carson Dunlop for home inspections twice, and have been very satisfied both times. Their home inspector took several hours to do a very thorough inspection of the home, providing general feedback, advise and answering questions along the way. They provide an excellent report and home owners maintenance manual at the end of the inspection. I found their inspectors to be very professional, courteous and on time. I will definitely use Carson Dunlop in the future and highly recommend them.

We had hired Carson Dunlop to complete a home inspection on a property we were planning to purchase. The inspector, Gordon, came out to meet us at the property. He arrived on-time and was in good spirits. He surveyed the outside of the home first and told us to wait inside in the warmth and he’d report back to us once finished. When he came back inside, he walked around the home, inspecting each room, testing toilets, faucets, windows, and basic electrical work. During the in-home inspection he would provide a commentary as to what he suspected could be issues and what he recommended be fixed. As we walked around the home he also took photos of specific areas or interest and concern – which was a nice touch. Following the home inspection, he provided a PDF version of a ‘home manual’ which contained the photos he took, along with a written commentary. The PDF document proved to be invaluable.

My one concern with the service provided, however, was the fact that Gordon missed a substantial issue in one of the bathrooms. Shortly after we took possession of the home, we noticed a long time water damage issue in the 2nd floor bathroom which required us to gut the entire bathroom and rebuild. Mold and constant water damage over several years ate away at the inside wall of the shower/tub. The rebuild cost us over $5K. After several back-and-forth discussions with their head office, Carlson and Dunlop concluded they were not at fault, but offered to refund the inspection fee ($586).

Although Gordon was very friendly, extremely pleasant to speak with, and had a vast amount of knowledge, I would exercise caution when selecting Carlson & Dunlop as a home inspection agency. After speaking with an insurance company and several other home inspection agencies, I was told the inspector should have caught this water damage issue.

Story behind damage: I started to clean the tile when we first moved in and the tiles moved inward into the wall by 1/2 inch. I was able to push an entire tile into the wall and soon after several tiles fell out. The wall had disintegrated behind the tile due to the water damage. Everything had to be gutted. Photos below show some of the work being done on the bathroom, with a finished product after the remodel.

Carson Dunlop did a home inspection for us in September of 2011 (3 months ago as if this writing). Since then, we have discovered two separate water leaks in the home. Both of these were found on visual inspection long after the home inspection. The biggest (a $12000 repair so far) was an unsealed shower that leaked into the garage. The home inspector commented that there was water on the garage floor - probably from the small cracks in the floor and were nothing to worry about. That find did not make it into the official report and remained a conversation between the Realtor and Inspector until recently. The inspector was not carrying any technology to help identify issues throughout the home. An infrared camera would have saved us a pretty big headache.

Until Carson Dunlop equips their inspector with the adequate tools, I cannot recommend them to anyone. In fact, this particular inspection did more harm than good since he did point out asinine issues that made it seem like he had done his job.

The inspection conducted by Carson Dunlop was very thorough and informative. The consultant took his time to walk me through everything he was looking at, the severity of the issues, and what recommendations he had in order to remedy them, if applicable. It definitely saved me a lot of money at the end of the day and more importantly, gave me peace of mind when purchasing my home.

I have had 2 homes inspected by Carson Dunlop, and both times, they provided very good inspections. Both inspectors shared a lot of knowledge throughout the inspection, and provided very good advice about long-term upkeep and maintenance. The written report could be a bit more descriptive, but the overall service is very good and entirely reliable.

Easy to schedule an appointment. Steven was very thorough. They have a binder (which you get to keep after) which has a very extensive list of everything they nned to check. Steven went above and beyond the suggested inspections and even checked the different grades of the land around the house to ensure proper water drainage.

I contacted Carson Dunlop to provide us with a Home Energy Evaulation for the Energy Retrofit Program. The inspector was knowledgable and took the time to explain everything to us. The detailed report contained all the information required in order to proceed with making our home more energy efficient. Thank you.

I booked an appointment online over the weekend, and had a confirmation call back first thing Monday morning. Mike did the inspection, and was very thorough, and took the time to explain what he was doing and why, and then talked at length about what might make sense to do or not do to the house, based on the initial test results. We planned on improving insulation in the basement walls and attic, but found that the real problem was with air leakage around windows, doors, and receptacles, much of which could be improved with caulking and gaskets for thousands less than the insulation. All in all, I was very impressed with the whole process, and especially with Mike. We would use Carson Dunlop again without hesitation.