a CLOSER look home inspections

I have been inspecting homes for five years in the Springfield, Missouri area (and Branson, Missouri too . As you might guess, I have heard a lot of questions from my customers about what we look for in a water heater inspection.

“Did you inspect the water heater?”

“My water heater has a leak, didn’t you see it during the inspection?”

“How do you know the water heater was working during the inspection?”

These are all questions that I have been asked through the years (more than once). This post is designed to allow anyone to look at how a CLOSER look, inc performs a water heater inspection from a procedural perspective.

Sections on this page

1. Exterior, flooring, and age
2. Water, gas and exhaust connections
3. Combustion chamber
4. Temperature output

Exterior, flooring, and age

We start the inspection of a water heater by first looking at the outside of the tank itself. We are looking for signs of physical damage (dents or crush marks), and rust. Rust on the exterior can be a sign of a past or current water leak that may have affected the structural integrity of the tank. These same water leaks can, if left unrepaired, damage the flooring under the tank. Remember that a water heater may only be around 80 pounds empty, but a 50 gallon water heater is about 500 pounds when it is full of water. The flooring under it has be strong enough to support the weight. We also note the age of the water heater and size so that we can add this to the inspection report.

• We report any anomalies that, in our opinion, would require replacement of the water heater
• We report the make, age and size of the water heater
• We report any anomalies with the floor structure under the water heater

Water, gas and exhaust connections

Next we inspect all water supply line connections for signs of current or past leaking. We then visually inspect all gas supply lines and then “sniff” each connection that is physically accessible with a gas leak detector to ensure there are no small gas leaks. Finally, we physically try to move the exhaust pipe at the top of the tank to ensure that it is secure and has no holes or back drafts. Of course the gas and exhaust does not apply to an electric water heater.

• We report on any active water leaks and note any past leak evidence
• We report on any gas supply leaks or anomalies
• We report any unsecured exhaust pipes or other anomalies we consider to be dangerous

Combustion chamber

We visually inspect the inside of the gas combustion chamber (only on gas water heaters) for signs of rust or leaking. We then turn on the gas burner and inspect the flame to determine if it is burning with the correct color and not pulsing or weak. Then we listen for any “hissing” that might indicate water dripping into the flame.

• We report any anomalies with the flame or combustion chamber that would, in our opinion, necessitate a water heater replacement.

Temperature output

On all water heaters, the final determining factor that it was functional during the inspection is that it produces hot water. We look for a water temperature at the kitchen sink of over 100 degrees.

• We report any water heater that can not produce a temperature of at least 100 degrees.