The BrickKicker

Michael conducted a home inspection for us in Ames last week. Alison was able to schedule this quickly (within a week of the request). The inspection was thorough. I had conducted my own walk through beforehand, but missed many things that he was able to find, and then clearly explain to me. I appreciated his candor and thoughts on the seriousness of the issue as well as contractors who might be able to complete the repair. His report was completed the SAME day! This is now my reference document on items that I'll address over the next year. The inspection gave my wife and I the confidence to move ahead with the purchase. I highly recommend The Brickkicker!

Michael came on time. He made a THOROUGH inspection and a radon test. He opened every window, used thermal infrared camera to check the HVAC system and water damage, check the all electric outlet,... He found a leak in the furnace. He immediately knew the leak was a chronic problem. I have used three home inspectors and Michael was the best. I would hire him again. If you are working with a real estate agent, do not just follow the agent's recommendation. Pick your own home inspector.

From making the appointment, to receiving the final report was such a professional and efficient process. Michael at The Brickkicker took the necessary time to perform a highly detailed and informative inspection. As we moved through the house, he taught me about what he observed, and answered all of my many questions in detail. He continued to re-check things that didn't seem to be working properly to make accurate conclusions. The total experience, including the same-day professional report (with pictures) left me with the comfort and knowledge I needed to do the upcoming builder walk-through. His final report included great home maintenance recommendations that I can refer to in the future.

Michael was punctual, polite and informative. He sent over the inspection the same day with thorough information. He found a number of items we missed that were right in front of us. He has a tool to check everything you would need from electrical, gas, and insulation. He was even able to show us how well the house was insulated with thermal imaging which was very nice!

Excellent. Helped us discover a few costly problems.

Discovered a 10k repair that needed to be completed so I was able to avoid a purchase that would've required substantial additional costs in the near term. Showed up punctually and was able to guide my representative through the home and show issues.

They were very professional and prompt. The inspection was thorough and detailed. The gentleman that came out and did the inspection was very informative and helpful.

Much better than I thought possible! This guy is so open and congenial, informative and a face paced wiz at what he does! He seems like he really enjoys his work and it is his calling rather than a job.

unknown

I was very pleased with the service that I received from the BrickKickers. I was very pleased with how knowledgeable and friendly both owners were. They responded right away to my quote request and let us schedule our inspection during the weekend since I was under a time crunch. I felt confident and informed appropriately that we were making a sound investment. Furthermore, when issues did arise I appreciate you explaining thoroughly how to address those issues with the current home owner and how those issue could impact us when we go to sell our home. I would recommend this company to anyone interested in a quality inspection!!

unknown

They were awesome. He was very thorough. He had a thermal imager, a detector for cold areas, which was impressive. He took a look at electrical box to check the wiring in the electric vault. He was early. He was sitting in the driveway before I got there.

unknown

I'm sorry to give a bad review for this guy, because he was a nice enough guy, but I'll explain why I did so.
Purchased a new home in August 2013 and wanted a home inspection.  I probably wouldn't recommend a home inspection for new construction, however, was talked into it by my brother.  Plus I wanted to be certain there weren't any problems the builder missed.  He did find some discrepancies, however, not anything worth the money that was paid.  I realize this is probably common in new construction, as the homes are inspected by city inspectors...
I contacted the Brickkicker from AngiesList recommendation, and they were professional and able to schedule him promptly.
He met me at my new place and began the inspection.  He found some minor problems, such as dings in the walls, painting issues, a microwave that wasn't seated correctly, and missing caulk surrounding a pipe that led to the outside of the home from the basement.  As he went along, he explained how a lot of things worked, which was good to hear.
He primarly checked for common issues - going down a checklist, which included problems with electrical outlets and burnt out light bulbs...  A lot of things I could have probably done myself.
Here are the problems I had with the company...
In his final report, which was submitted to me the next day, he left out several of the issues he discovered during the inspection.  I contacted him via e-mail - the e-mail address he sent the report from - and asked him to amend his report to include the problems he found the following day.  I considered this important, as I was going to submit his report to my builder as problems to rectify prior to moving in.  I heard nothing.  No reply, no corrections to the report.  I felt as if he got paid and moved on.  I only had a couple days before the final inspection so I let it go.  I was very disappointed.
In additiion, since I've lived there for the past 8 months, I've found several problems a professional home inspector SHOULD have noticed; such as a cracked window frame, sheet rock molding in two locations that bowed out, and a non-operational vent hood fan.  This is what I paid for, and did not get.
After hearing from another contractor that a home inspector should get in the attic and on the roof to complete the inspection, I asked this home inspector, who said it wasn't necessary and never attempted to look in the attic nor on the roof.
Either way, I was mostly dissappointed by this businesse's disregard of my attempt to get an updated inspection report.  I would not recommond this company nor would I use them in the future.

unknown

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I used them over a year ago. They did a home inspection and it took about 45 minutes to an hour. I remember they were thorough.

Mike showed up on time and we got right to work. I really like the fact that this was more of a learning inspection in that Mike provided a lot more insight into the items we were looking at than simply just stating the obvious. I'm a very handy guy, and Mike was easily able to communicate all phases of the inspection to both myself and my wife who is not so technical.
Every outlet was checked and those having problems were marked with a little sticker so I would remember exactly which one to address at a later point. He looked into the attic and also walked the roof detailing any problem he found along the way. He also gave us a bunch of detail on the in-ground pool at the home even though it technically wasn't part of the actual inspection. Mike brought all of the right tools to check each item properly including an outlet receptacle tester, a homemade sump-pump checker, a thermal-imaging camera, and a gas leak detector which happened to find a good-sized leak which we subsequently turned off. The entire inspection is digitally recorded so nothing it missed when drafting his final report.
That being said, his final report turned up in my inbox a few hours later and was very thorough and detailed. I'd highly recommend Mike to anyone in the local area and will use him again if and when we decide to purchase another home.

The inspection went really well.  He took pictures and documented everything.  We were sent the report later that day!  Very quick and knowledgeable.

The whole process was fast and easy.  I called on a Monday morning to schedule the home inspection on a house we were in the process of buying.  They were quick and thorough in collecting the information they needed and told me about how the inspection works and what they do.  She got my email address and made sure I got her email before I got off the phone.  She had a sample inspection and the contract to me right away.  The sample inspection was very informative to know what to expect, and the format is very easy to read and includes a lot of details.
I was not able to be at the inspection, which was too bad, as Michael does a "teaching inspection", but the report included lots of informational notes, and things I should check on my final walk-through.  We received the report by email that afternoon, and it was easy to read through, and we were very happy.  We'd certainly work with The BrickKicker again.

UPDATE:
Now we've moved in, and our opinion has changed.  We were happy with the report, as it was easy to read, and we assumed it was all true.  There were some issues in the report that had me concerned, like non-freezeless faucets on the outside, and no GFCI outlets in the bathroom or kitchen.  It turns out, the faucets on the outside are clearly marked as freezeless, and there are GFCI outlets in the bathroom and kitchen.  Most of the house had been upgraded to have ground wires, particularly the bathroom and kitchen, but he said the entire upstairs didn't have a ground.  He also mentioned a "water stain" which couldn't be found by the seller when asked (we still can't find it), but totally missed a section of the drywall ceiling in the basement that had been cut out to reach a pipe.  He showed that one closet door was missing, but didn't show it was missing in another room as well.

When you are buying a home in another state, you rely on your home inspector to find problems that are there, and not tell you things that are misleading.  As it is, the inspection report only served to complicate and confuse the process of dealing with the sellers.  Since he didn't bother to read "freezeless" on the faucets before marking them as a problem, I have little confidence that he would find a real problem if it exists.

I would certainly not recommend this vendor to anyone else.

He did a good job, professional and was thorough. He was prompt, courteous and responsive. I would definitely use him again. I did think he was a little pricey and I wished though we would have gotten a little bit more information in specific details.

Mike arrived right on time and got started after  introductions.  He did a thorough job inspecting both buildings for a very reasonable price.  He climbed up on the roofs of both inspected gutter chimneys, then around both foundations. Then inside checking both furnaces and AC units. Windows, fit, molding etc. Pointed out problems as we went and things to change that would help save us money in heating or cooling.  Finished with the lower level really crawling into areas to note any problems.  He was very knowledgeable and helpful explaining what he saw and what needed changing and why.  We were very satisfied.

The home inspection went very well.  I wasn't expecting many issues with the house, but was more concerned with foundation issues.  The inspector drove up prior to appointment time.  I walked over to introduce myself.  We got started soon after.  We walked around the outside of the house and property.  He noticed newer shingles on roof.  He recommended to ask why they were replaced (and I did later.  It was wind storm damage.)  We went inside.  He opened up the electrical panel. I have wired houses before and have never been impressed with home inspectors knowledge, but I was with this one.  He removed the panel and looked carefully.  The wiring and labeling were in very good shape.  He also test all ground fault interruption breakers.  He check every window by opening and looking for binding or bad seals..   He checked every faucet/toilet/shower/tub for operation and water damage.  He found one faucet that leak quite a bit (and it became one of my issues needing corrective action).  He looked attics and took thermal imaging photos for cold spot and/or water.   We went to basement and he explained how the foundations were constructed.  My concerned for foundation issues was mitigated by his explaination.  He explained how the sump pump worked and gave me recommendations to do.  He found the flexible natural gas lines were not grounded. Note: some lightening strikes have cause the ungrounded flexible lines to breakdown and leak gas/cause fire.  It was my second and last issue for the owner to correct.  After inspection was over, I received a very nice walkthru checklist to use prior to closing and I did use it.  Later that evening, I received an email with the details of the inspection.  I have bought 5 houses in last 20 years and this was the best home inspector by far.  I highly recommend.

He is very thorough, professional, knowledgeable, and seems to love what he does. I didn't meet him during this inspection, he went through the property with my agent.

I showed up to the home 20 minutes early for the inspection to find Michael already there and ready to go. We started with a visual examination of the exterior during which he pointed out some siding issues of which I was already aware while also pointing out new issues that I had not seen before. Described the options available for addressing these issues and suggested how soon these should be addressed. He then unloaded a toolbox and ladder and we proceeded to walk through the home.Throughout the tour Michael was discussing what he was inspecting, issues he looks for and providing suggestions regarding items that needed attention.
Great Job Overall.