Pillar To Post® Professional Home Inspections
About us
We have served the Charlotte and surrounding areas with home inspection services since the fall of 2000. In that time, we have inspected thousands of homes, ranging from the luxury homes of Lake Norman and Ballantyne to the older historic neighborhoods of Concord, and everything in between. With our professionalism and customer service focus, we have grown to be one of the largest and most respected full service home inspection companies in the region, offering a wide variety of related services in addition to home inspections.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Home inspections including well water testing, mold testing, radon testing, swimming pool & spa inspections.
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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| 91% | ||
| 6% | ||
| 3% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% |
Upon completion of his examination (approx. 2.5 hours), he printed out a report on site, complete with pictures for me to review. He then led me around to the items he detected and explained very well, each item and the consequences of what he was seeing.
Brandon Carter arrived right on time and completed a very thorough inspection. He was professional and friendly. At the end of his visit, he prepared a booklet of issues that included pictures of what was found. He took the time to go over each and every one of them.
I would not hesitate to recommend Brandon and Pillar to Post to family, friends and neighbors.
The company was set up by our realtor. The cost was a little higher than the going rate for home inspections, but we were told by our realtor that they were really good. The guy came out on time and spent about 4 1/2-5 hours going over the house. We felt with him going over everywhere we were getting our money's worth. He printed a booklet on sight and went over his findings. He said there was a little mold under the house in one area and suggested we do a DNA test on the mold to find out what it was. this was at an additional $150.00. With my husband's allergies, we decided to get them to test it. We were told later that it wasn't the bad mold. At the time, we were in a summer long drought. We closed on the house and then the rain came. Our house was so humid and my husband was getting sick. We called a company to come and put down a vapor barrier. When he did his inspection and the pictures he showed us, the mold was in 90% of the crawl space. I asked if it happened when we had all the rain and he said this was about 2 year old mold and a common mold for our area. PTP scared us into paying the extra $150 to have the mold tested. Other pictures he showed us were the gaps in the duct boots coming to the house connecting to the inside vents. There were large gaps to the crawlspace. One picture he took a picture from under the house into our den through the vent. There was white marks on the brick in the crawlspace which he called salt marks. This is where water had been seeping for some time through the bricks. He said in 2014, the previous owners had the same problem and called for him to inspect. they decided not to do the work, but sell the house instead, without disclosing the moisture problem. So this was a problem before this last rain after the drought.
Another thing that wasn't brought to our attention or put in the PTP inspection report, was that there was no 220 outlet for the dryer. We found this out the day we moved in and had to get an electrician come run the line before we could put our dryer in. The previous owners had a gas dryer.
The exhaust vent in the hall bathroom was vented to the attic, we were not told this.
We are now having to pay 10,000.00 to have the crawl space moisture sealed and all cracks and vents properly sealed. Bathroom vent properly vented to the outside. We have lived in the house for less than 4 months and having to have all this work done to keep the house from being damaged and our health. We thought we were doing right by getting a professional home inspector to come in and inspect everything that we could address with the owners before we closed on the house.
My husband and I are beside ourselves over this issue and the money we are going to have to pay out to correct a problem that has been a problem for quite some time. We are scheduled in for the work to be done the week of Dec. 21st, but we are having to deal with the bad allergy effect for another couple of weeks. The company doing the work told us we should have called them before we closed on the house and they would have inspected the crawl space free.
"We welcome all feedback regarding our inspections as an opportunity to improve our services. We conducted an inspection of this 43 year old home in August. The inspection was thorough and comprehensive in accordance with our standards of practice. Numerous deficiencies and areas of concern were identified in the home for the clients. A complete report was provided on site at the end of the inspection, both verbally and in writing. The client seems to be most concerned about mold on the floor structure of the home. Both the verbal and written report accurately described the mold condition in the crawl space. We also provided a recommendation that the mold be remediated by a qualified specialist and that a moisture barrier be installed to prevent recurrence. A sample was also sent to a lab for analysis. The lab report was provided to the client within a few days clearly describing the molds as being allergenic, and describing the potential health effects. This was accompanied by an email, again stating that the molds were identified as allergens, with a repeated recommendation to have the mold remediated by a qualified specialist. All inspections are conducted with consideration for construction standards at the time they were built. In the early 1970's, when this home was built, homes were not sealed tightly for energy efficiency as they are now. Gaps around floor registers, plumbing and electrical penetrations and other areas are very common. They are considered normal and typical for the age of the home. The salt marks mentioned are termed "efflorescence" and are typical of any masonry foundation that is in contact with or buried in the earth. It is due to the blocks or bricks absorbing moisture from the earth and then evaporating above ground, and is not in itself a problem. Lack of a gas hook-up for a dryer is not considered a defect in a home inspection, and as such is not a reportable issue. Homes may have either gas or electrical connections, or both. Either is considered normal and acceptable. Had this been expressed as a question or concern, I would gladly have checked and made note of what was present. At the time of construction, bath vents were commonly allowed to be discharged into the attic, if they were installed at all. These cannot be reported as improper unless damage, deterioration, moisture issues or other associated problems are observed. There were none observed. We strive to do our very best with every inspection to inform the clients of the condition of the home and identify any areas of concern that should be addressed, within the scope and limitations of our standard of practice. Our reports are provided promptly to our clients for their information. Any follow-up on areas of concern is entirely the choice of the client."
We were able to get a quick and timely appointment for our inspection. Brandon Carter was the inspector. He was thorough, and professional. After the inspection, he sat down and discussed his findings and we had a written report in a 3-ring binder, plus an online report before the end of the business day.
We highly recommend Pillar to Post. Thank you for the great service.
Bob was very punctual, efficient, and courteous. A through review of our homes inside and out was conducted. Bob pointed out items of interest and concern. When the inspection was completed, Bob went over the report and pointed out areas of concern that should be addressed.
Overall, the Inspection went well and I would recommend Pillar to Post as a reliable and accurate Inspection Company.
Mr. Still investigated every system in the house. He noticed many problems and alerted me to each one. For example, he noticed a loud noise in one of the furnaces -- not something I would have caught. He also noticed many issues with the electrical systems, including lack of a cover on electrical components in another furnace. I also failed to notice this.
One very nice aspect of working with Mr. Still was that he documented each issue in his report, in real time, as he completed each phase of the inspection. And he delivered a hard copy of the report on the spot, walking me through each aspect. I've read this is standard procedure for Pillar to Post franchisees, which I appreciated. He of course also sent me a link to the electronic version of the report, which I was then able to circulate to family and friends, who then opined in great detail. Apparently, foundation issues are a deal-breaker for most people :-) Mr. Still also told me that he would be happy to answer any questions I might have later. I actually did have some questions (related to a sump), and he answered them promptly.
Mr. Still's fee was not the cheapest and not the most expensive, and given the amount of effort he expended, I feel I received good value for the money.
I am new to North Carolina. I relied upon the reviews from Angie's List to help me determine whom to call for a home inspection. I was "very pleased" with my choice. Robert Still was my inspector.
I have purchased several homes during my lifetime and in doing so, many inspections have taken place. Robert Still with Pillar to Post, Harrisburg, NC was undoubtedly the Finest at his trade. I'm not always easy to please and Roberts impressed me beyond my expectations. I was able to use a $25.00 discount coupon from Angie's List which brought my final bill to $375.00. The report binder they leave is very helpful and will be of use in years to come.
The office staff was very formative/polite and followed up in a timely manner. I will add, many of the home inspectors I left a message with .... Never returned my call.
Dave Badger was the one who came to the home. He was a top notch professional who did a very comprehensive evaluation of the home. I believe he said he was evaluating 1300-1600 items. He was thorough and the inspection took approximately 2.5 hours from start to finish for an 1800 square foot home. Dave made sure to walk us through the areas of the home that would be recommended for repair in the inspection report and recommended which areas to be most concerned about.
We would definitely use Pillar to Post again in the future and will certainly recommend them to others in the home buying process. Our own decision to hire Pillar to Post was through Angie's List and they are certainly a reputable company that I would endorse.
I actually had another appointment scheduled with Inspector Paul, but that turned out to be a nightmare just scheduling time around his family, medical issues (couldn't climb a ladder), too much rain for him, timely responses (days would pass where he said he'd follow up with a date/time), horrible web site that didn't contain email or a contact us (which he said was because he would receive spam), etc., etc. The price he finally quoted was much higher than everyone else. He was one of the most unfriendly contractors I've ever worked with, whereas Pillars to Post was a breath of fresh air!
The inspector, Lance, was on time, thorough as well, and caught several items that would have been costly for us. After he inspected the house, he reviewed his findings and then forwarded us the details including pictures within a day.
Working with Pillar to Post was a good experience -- easy and straight forward.
Licensing
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