Oregon Standards of Practice
In Oregon, home inspection businesses are required to have a CCB license and inspectors must be certified. Click here to read the Oregon Home Inspector Consumer Notice.
CCB License Check
Click on the link to the Oregon Construction Contractor’s Board to see if your Home Inspector is licensed.
FAQ
Why Get A Home Inspection ?
You have looked and looked at property, and now you have found the home that fits. Our “looking” is complementary to yours. While you look for livability, we look for function. We have the training and knowledge to do a thorough survey of the home’s various components and major systems, and we will do an impartial in-depth review that typically takes at least two hours to complete.
A home can be the most expensive investment of your life. A COAREI Home Inspector can help assure that your purchase is grounded in a solid understanding of the home’s condition, and not just faith, hopes and dreams. COAREI members have the certification, the knowledge, the experience, and the network support of fellow members necessary to provide you with the best possible inspection available.
What Do You Do With Your Inspection Report?
No home either passes or fails. A home inspection report simply describes the condition of the home and provides you with in-depth information to make a more informed purchase decision.
COAREI members recommend that you carefully review your report with your Realtor. They can help you decide what, if any action needs to be taken prior to your purchase.
HELPFUL LINKS
Pressure tanks
Indoor Air Quality – Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Indoor Air Quality – Asbestos
Indoor Air Quality – Formaldehyde
Indoor Air Quality - Radon
Thermal Expansion Tanks
Polybutylene Plumbing
Roofing Pro Ice Damming
SMOKE ALARMS
At the time of sale, smoke alarms must:
a. Have hush buttons and a back up battery.
b. Be located at every level of the home and outside of all sleeping areas.
c. Have battery powered smoke alarms with a 10 year rated lithium battery Only If the home was not originally wired for hardwired smoke alarms.
Smoke alarm replacements must be like for like. This means that if a hard wired smoke alarm does not meet the current standards it must be replaced with a hard wired smoke alarm with a hush button feature and not just a battery operated one.
Most homes in Central Oregon have hard-wired alarms and do not need 10 year batteries. (Rule of thumb: Newer than 1972, the home has hardwired alarms outside the bedrooms)
In the document addressing these changes, the State Fire marshal strongly recommends adding smoke alarms inside each bedroom for additional protection. However, this is not required on homes that were not originally equipped with alarms in the bedrooms. (Rule of thumb: Newer than 1996, the home has hard-wired alarms in each bedroom).
Be sure you CALL A COAREI MEMBER for your next inspection… all full home inspections completed by COAREI members include checking for proper type, placement and operation of smoke alarms.
Click Here to read more from the Oregon State Fire Marshall.
CARBON MONOXIDE
The 2009 Oregon Legislature passed HB 3450, the Lofgren and Zander Memorial Act, requiring the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in specific residential applications with a carbon monoxide source. The purpose of the bill is to reduce deaths and poisonings from carbon monoxide. Click here for EPA info on Carbon Monoxide.
Click Here to read more about Carbon Monoxide rules and requirements from the Oregon State Fire Marshall.
“Are CO alarms required when selling a home?
If a home has a CO source, CO alarms are required before it can be sold. Effective April 1, 2011, sellers of one- and two-family dwellings, manufactured dwellings, or multifamily housing containing a CO source must have one or more properly functioning CO alarms before conveying fee title or transferring possession of a dwelling. Homes built during or after 2011 require a CO alarm regardless of the presence of a CO source. (OAR 837-047-0120)
Are CO alarms required in new home construction or remodels?
Yes. The CO alarm requirements for new construction, reconstruction, alteration, and repair are applicable regardless of the presence of a CO source. (Oregon Residential Specialty Code, Carbon Monoxide Alarms).
Can I have battery-operated CO alarms in new construction?
Yes. Section R315.4.1 of the 2011 ORSC states “Single station CO alarms shall be battery operated, or may receive their primary power from the building wiring system.” If a homeowner chooses to install the electrical plug-in type, those CO alarms need to have a battery backup feature.
What is a CO source?
• A heater, fireplace, furnace, appliance, or cooking source that uses coal, wood, petroleum products, or other fuels that emit CO as a by-product of combustion. – Includes wood stoves, pellet stoves, and gas water heaters. – Petroleum products include, but are not limited to, kerosene, natural gas, or propane. • An attached garage with a door, ductwork, or ventilation shaft that communicates directly with a living space.
You have looked and looked at property, and now you have found the home that fits. Our “looking” is complementary to yours. While you look for livability, we look for function. We have the training and knowledge to do a thorough survey of the home’s various components and major systems, and we will do an impartial in-depth review that typically takes at least two hours to complete.
A home can be the most expensive investment of your life. A COAREI Home Inspector can help assure that your purchase is grounded in a solid understanding of the home’s condition, and not just faith, hopes and dreams. COAREI members have the certification, the knowledge, the experience, and the network support of fellow members necessary to provide you with the best possible inspection available.
What Do You Do With Your Inspection Report?
No home either passes or fails. A home inspection report simply describes the condition of the home and provides you with in-depth information to make a more informed purchase decision.
COAREI members recommend that you carefully review your report with your Realtor. They can help you decide what, if any action needs to be taken prior to your purchase.
HELPFUL LINKS
Pressure tanks
Indoor Air Quality – Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Indoor Air Quality – Asbestos
Indoor Air Quality – Formaldehyde
Indoor Air Quality - Radon
Thermal Expansion Tanks
Polybutylene Plumbing
Roofing Pro Ice Damming
SMOKE ALARMS
At the time of sale, smoke alarms must:
a. Have hush buttons and a back up battery.
b. Be located at every level of the home and outside of all sleeping areas.
c. Have battery powered smoke alarms with a 10 year rated lithium battery Only If the home was not originally wired for hardwired smoke alarms.
Smoke alarm replacements must be like for like. This means that if a hard wired smoke alarm does not meet the current standards it must be replaced with a hard wired smoke alarm with a hush button feature and not just a battery operated one.
Most homes in Central Oregon have hard-wired alarms and do not need 10 year batteries. (Rule of thumb: Newer than 1972, the home has hardwired alarms outside the bedrooms)
In the document addressing these changes, the State Fire marshal strongly recommends adding smoke alarms inside each bedroom for additional protection. However, this is not required on homes that were not originally equipped with alarms in the bedrooms. (Rule of thumb: Newer than 1996, the home has hard-wired alarms in each bedroom).
Be sure you CALL A COAREI MEMBER for your next inspection… all full home inspections completed by COAREI members include checking for proper type, placement and operation of smoke alarms.
Click Here to read more from the Oregon State Fire Marshall.
CARBON MONOXIDE
The 2009 Oregon Legislature passed HB 3450, the Lofgren and Zander Memorial Act, requiring the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in specific residential applications with a carbon monoxide source. The purpose of the bill is to reduce deaths and poisonings from carbon monoxide. Click here for EPA info on Carbon Monoxide.
Click Here to read more about Carbon Monoxide rules and requirements from the Oregon State Fire Marshall.
“Are CO alarms required when selling a home?
If a home has a CO source, CO alarms are required before it can be sold. Effective April 1, 2011, sellers of one- and two-family dwellings, manufactured dwellings, or multifamily housing containing a CO source must have one or more properly functioning CO alarms before conveying fee title or transferring possession of a dwelling. Homes built during or after 2011 require a CO alarm regardless of the presence of a CO source. (OAR 837-047-0120)
Are CO alarms required in new home construction or remodels?
Yes. The CO alarm requirements for new construction, reconstruction, alteration, and repair are applicable regardless of the presence of a CO source. (Oregon Residential Specialty Code, Carbon Monoxide Alarms).
Can I have battery-operated CO alarms in new construction?
Yes. Section R315.4.1 of the 2011 ORSC states “Single station CO alarms shall be battery operated, or may receive their primary power from the building wiring system.” If a homeowner chooses to install the electrical plug-in type, those CO alarms need to have a battery backup feature.
What is a CO source?
• A heater, fireplace, furnace, appliance, or cooking source that uses coal, wood, petroleum products, or other fuels that emit CO as a by-product of combustion. – Includes wood stoves, pellet stoves, and gas water heaters. – Petroleum products include, but are not limited to, kerosene, natural gas, or propane. • An attached garage with a door, ductwork, or ventilation shaft that communicates directly with a living space.