What will a home inspection reveal?  Home inspections reveal many things, some very minor, some major.  I have found issues across the entire  spectrum of a home inspection. But not all at  once of course.  The most common one’s I find are in the electrical  portion of the home, sometimes it’s as simple as an open ground at an outlet to  problems at the service panel.  The common items found are mostly relatively simple. But there are serious findings as well.  Windows / doors:  The common thing here is caulking / sealing and weather stripping.  Then there is operation of the window itself.  On many older homes the windows are painted shut – this is a problem.  Windows are great for letting light in, seeing outside, etc. but the primary purpose of a window is a form of escape in the event of an emergency and if a child cannot open the window, I write it up.  Brick Veneer exterior walls:  Yes they get cracks, most of the time it’s from typical settlement of the structure.  Thin hair line cracks are always noted, but the concern of seriousness depends on length and width of the crack and if there is any related cracks on the inside of the home.  Grade:  Which way is the ground sloped and how high up is the vegetation on the slab wall?  If I can’t see at least four inches of slab around the home, I will write it  up as a potential grade issue.  Why? Because water has the potential of  entering under the sill plate.  Thus creating another situation of rot and decay at the interior of the wall system.  You won’t notice this until significant damage is already taking place.  Plumbing:  That little leak, the one we seem to ignore for some unknown reason.  Here is the fun part, it will go away, no kidding, but to be replaced by a larger one.  And if it just remains small and depending on what it is  leaking on a lot more unwanted and unnecessary damage can occur.  I report on all  leaks.  Then there is the roofing, it’s funny, on one home I inspected, from the ground at the front it appeared to be a  relatively new roof.  When I got up there and seen the other side, it was a completely different story, you guessed it, it wasn’t new and had damage.  But there are other details on a roof and that is those penetrations,  vent stacks, the flashings around them and skylights and chimney’s as well as other details.  More than I want to  list here.  And then there is the Electrical, This is where I find most issues.  Outlets with open grounds or reverse polarity  are the most common. Then there is double tapping at the breakers, meaning two wires on one breaker that is designed for only one wire.  Uncovered / open / overcrowded junction boxes,  find broken bare wire in attics and under homes (pier and beams). This list can go on for a while. There is a plethora of items and details in a home inspection.  Some inspections don’t take as long as others,  one reason is the size of home, another would be the layout / floor plan of the home being its complexity.