Day in the life of
Building Inspector – Aaron Shishilla
My Typical Day
The typical day of a construction/building inspector can differ depending on the type of construction and the client. For example, most of our clients are for home buyers buying their first home (or having one built) or for businesses looking to purchase a building for their business. Most days, we are waking up early to drive to our first inspection. We typically can spend an hour to three hours on-site, but it can be as much as all-day if it is a large building. From there, we have a process for inspecting and the process order can depend on the inspector’s preference. My personal preference is to walk the interior (to familiarize myself where everything is), inspect the exterior, inspect the roof, inspect the attic, then finally the interior of the building working right to left the entire way through. When I find something worth noting in the report, I take a picture with a camera.
At the end of the inspection, I work on my digital report using a report writing software. The software asks me general questions about the property and construction type, then, I fill in my pictures under each section of the home (i.e. exterior, roof, or attic), along with my comments for each picture. The client or real estate agent usually comes on-site nearing the end of the inspection and I can show them all of my pictures and explain my findings.
Finally, I can eat lunch (sometimes I am still working on the report at lunch), and then head to my second inspection to repeat the process in the afternoon. Depending on the inspector you speak with, they may answer their own phone calls and emails, but multi-inspector firms have an office that does all of their scheduling and call-backs.
My day typically ends at 5 or 6 pm. If a house is really bad, it could take a lot longer to write a report, but if the house does not have many defects, I can finish early. Reports are always reviewed before being sent out to the client and agent at the end of the day.
Lots of the pros and cons and this can depend on the type of business you are running (i.e. being an employee for a multi-inspector firm versus running your own inspection business). In a general sense though for just the inspector position.
Pros
- The feeling of being able to educate others about building construction. (Fulfilling)
- Ability to work by yourself if you want or work in a team.
- Working in the field/outside and getting out of an office.
- A new place everyday.
- Good pay.
- Not too labor intensive compared to other construction positions like being a roofer or framer.
- My favorite: We just say what’s wrong, we don’t have to fix it.
Cons
- Being in cold/hot environments during the summer/winter.
- Climbing through small spaces like the attic and crawl spaces of homes.
- Walking on roofs where you could possibly fall.
- Dealing with agents and clients that are troublesome and following you around.
- Dealing with home sellers or tenants of homes/construction.
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Construction and Building Inspectors
inspect structures using engineering skills to determine structural soundness and compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations. Inspections may be general in nature or may be limited to a specific area, such as electrical systems or plumbing.
The Builder