Considering that I'm currently in the profession of inspecting Occupational Health/Safety, I wanted to hire the best certified inspector possible. Some great highlight about Bob Knowles that convinced me he was the best inspector to hire:
-PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE: He was the only inspector I could find in the area who had both (i) a PE license (most home inspectors do not possess an engineering license and a (ii) background in structural engineering. Because of this, he was able to inspect the framing during the pre-drywall process to find several locations where the builder failed to install enough blocks and braces (made me wonder if the builder was being cheap on lumber).
- LARGE INSPECTION TEAMS: Most inspectors only offered to look at ~ 2800 square foot home by themselves in under no more than 60 to 90 minutes. Bob stated he would send a team of 3 inspectors to spend approximately ~ 4 to 4.5 hours on it.
- REPUTATION: Being an inspector myself, I realize that some of the best inspectors are not well liked by builders. As soon as he shared with me he was not well-liked by certain builders because since his rigorous home inspections keeps them honest, I immediately knew he was my guy. In fact, I discovered that some homeowners have nicknamed him as Bob "Pulte-Crusher" Knowles.
- TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE: Most home inspectors I talk to give you a deer-in-headlights look when I ask them to reference code. Bob was the only one who could cite code verbatim as well as appliance manuals!
- LEVEL OF DETAIL: He takes great pride in providing detailed inspection reports. His inspection reports on average were about ~130+ pages vice inspection reports for my neighbors were typically between ~30-50 pages. This huge difference with his competitors convinced me I was getting a far superior product.
-REPEAT CUSTOMER: I was so impressed by his detailed inspections, I hired him a total of 5 times for 1 home build to put pressure on the builder and ensure they were constructing my home to code.
From years of experience, I've developed a mistrust of contractors and builders. Bob however, was the silver-lining in my home-building process, this was an inspector willing to fight for his clients to ensure they received the best built home possible. I recommend hiring him if you are having a home built, don't be surprised if he turns out to be the best part or the homebuilding process. read more