Plain-English guides from a working Front Range inspector — what we check, what goes wrong in Colorado homes, and what you can stay ahead of yourself.
23 guides · Updated September 2026
The Front Range sits in the heart of “hail alley,” and along it hail makes up roughly half of a homeowner’s insurance premium. Here’s how hail damage actually looks on a roof, what an inspector can and can’t tell you, and how to buy a house whose roof has already been through a few storms.
Photo: James St. John · CC BY 2.0
Showing 23 of 23 guides.
A spring-through-winter checklist tuned for Front Range homes — gutters, HVAC, wildfire defensible space, ice dams, and radon.
Roughly half of Colorado homes test above the EPA action level. What radon is, county-by-county numbers, what mitigation costs in the Denver metro, and what state law requires — with sources.
Plumbing issues are some of the most common — and most expensive — problems we find. Here’s what we actually look at during an inspection, what tends to go wrong, and what you can stay ahead of yourself.
Electrical problems are among the most safety-critical things we find — and often the least visible. Here’s what we check, the red flags we look for, and what you can safely keep an eye on yourself.
Your roof and gutters are your home’s first defense against water — and on the Front Range, against hail and snow load too. Here’s what we look at, what commonly fails, and what you can stay ahead of.
Heating and cooling is the system you notice only when it fails — usually at the worst time, and at altitude it works harder. Here’s what we check, what tends to go wrong, and the upkeep that keeps it running.
The outside of your home is more than curb appeal — decks, grading, trees, and defensible space are real safety and maintenance concerns, especially in the mountains. Here’s what we look at and what you can manage.
A comfortable, efficient home comes down to insulation, air sealing, and keeping the sun’s heat out — and at altitude the sun is intense. Here’s what we note, where homes lose energy, and what you can improve.
The foundation and frame hold everything else up, so structural concerns are among the most consequential we report. Here’s what we check, the warning signs we look for, and what you can monitor between inspections.
Most mold problems are really moisture problems. Here’s what we look for, where water sneaks in, and how to keep your indoor air healthy.
What’s under your home tells a big part of its story. Crawlspaces and basements are where we catch moisture, structural, and pest issues early. Here’s what we check and how to keep them dry.
Pests do more than annoy — wood-destroying insects and rodents can quietly cause real structural and health problems. Here’s the evidence we look for and how to keep critters out.
Older Front Range homes have real charm — and a few era-specific surprises. Here’s what we pay special attention to in mature homes, and what owners should know.
Owning a home in the Colorado foothills is a different kind of homeownership — wells and septic, wood heat, snow load, wildfire, and the occasional bear on the deck. Here’s what we pay attention to in mountain homes around Evergreen and the Front Range, and what living up here actually takes.
The sewer lateral is the most expensive part of a home nobody can see — and a standard inspection can’t see it either. Here’s what a camera scope finds, which homes need one most, and what the repairs actually run.
The water heater is the hardest-working appliance in the house and the one most people ignore until a cold shower — or a flooded utility room. Here’s what we check, how our hard water shortens their lives, and the small maintenance that adds years.
Around Evergreen, Conifer, and the foothills, wildfire isn’t an abstraction — it’s a homeownership discipline. Most homes lost to wildfire ignite from embers, not the flame front, which means the work within 100 feet of your walls is what decides the outcome. Here’s the honest version.
The Front Range sits in the heart of “hail alley,” and along it hail makes up roughly half of a homeowner’s insurance premium. Here’s how hail damage actually looks on a roof, what an inspector can and can’t tell you, and how to buy a house whose roof has already been through a few storms.
Much of the Denver metro is built on clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry — hard enough to lift a slab and crack a basement wall. Here’s where the problem lives (and why the Evergreen foothills mostly escape it), what we look for during an inspection, and why a downspout extension is the cheapest foundation repair you’ll ever make.
Most homes around Evergreen and the foothills treat their own wastewater on site. Here’s how a septic system — an OWTS, in Colorado terms — actually works, what the county requires when the house changes hands, what a real septic inspection covers versus a home inspection, and the warning signs that mean trouble.
Most homes around Evergreen draw their water from a private well drilled into fractured granite — and nobody regulates what comes out of it but you. Here’s how Colorado well permits work, what a yield test actually measures, which lab tests matter in Front Range bedrock, how the pump and pressure tank work, and where a home inspection ends and a well contractor begins.
Colorado’s purchase contract gives buyers a short window to inspect, object and negotiate — and the dates are unforgiving. Here’s how the three inspection deadlines work, how to schedule around Denver-metro and foothills lead times so the report arrives with room to think, and what happens when a deadline passes. Always confirm the dates in your own contract with your agent.
New homes turn up defects about as often as old ones — they’re just different defects, hidden behind fresh paint. Here’s how phase inspections work from foundation to final, what the builder’s one-year warranty does and doesn’t cover, why the 11-month inspection matters, and what we find most often in new homes across the Denver metro and foothills.
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Three things that change more deals — and more repair bills — than anything else in the report.
About half of Colorado homes test above the EPA action level. Test during the inspection window and mitigation becomes a negotiable line item, not a surprise.
A standard inspection can’t see the main line. A camera can — and a failed line is the priciest surprise a Front Range buyer can inherit.
In the foothills, insurers and embers both start with the first five feet around the house. Know what they’ll find before you own it.
Whether you’re buying, selling, or just staying ahead of upkeep, we’ll give the house a thorough, plain-English look.