Tile Roof Underlayment: The Hidden Bill on 20-Year-Old Arizona Roofs
Why the underlayment under an Arizona tile roof wears out before the tile does, the signs I look for, and what to ask before you close.
From the field
Real inspections from real Arizona homes, plus practical advice for buyers, sellers and agents. Many posts include the full inspection video, and every one comes from what Dan sees in the field.
Why the underlayment under an Arizona tile roof wears out before the tile does, the signs I look for, and what to ask before you close.
How the Arizona BINSR works: what to put on it, the seller’s five-day response, and when a credit beats seller repairs.
A 1986 Mesa flip looked beautiful but had 49 action items. See what the inspection found and the small fixes I made after living in it.
A compilation of real findings from Arizona home inspections: hidden leaks, a drain dripping on live wiring, roof leaks behind stucco, termite damage and a lot of pool problems.
A 1971 home a family is taking over and remodeling: a Federal Pacific panel a rat nested in, two roofs stacked on each other, cut support beams, galvanized pipe and no central air.
A 1924 Victorian in Prescott, split into three rental units. Settlement on a pier-and-block foundation, a bowing wall, a roof leak above a window and no sewer cleanouts.
Arizona has written standards for what a home inspector must look at, and what they do not have to. Here is the plain-English version, and where I go beyond it.
Sellers agree to fix things, and then the work is not done, or not done right. Three reinspections show why you should check before closing.
On the drive home from a home inspector event, a hit-and-run driver turned out to be a contractor on the state’s most wanted list. Here is how to check a contractor yourself.
Four Gilbert homes, four sewer scans: one clean line, one water softener drain dumping into a cleanout, tree roots 17 feet out and buried cleanouts I had to find with a locator.
No cleanouts, so we went in from the roof. The camera found corroded pipe, cockroaches, a flattened section that looks like Orangeburg pipe and a break about 67 feet out.
A Gilbert sewer scan from the front cleanouts: one was buried under rock and landscape fabric, the ABS line was clean to the city connection and a tight bend stopped the camera.
One year after closing, this home had cracked tiles around new solar panels, rust bleeding through the stucco, stucco-filled window weep holes and a foundation cover that can hide termites.
New builds are not perfect. This two-story home had extra roof tiles in the worst spot, a tilted water heater, no washer pan and a shower with unfinished tile.
A brand-new home out in Tonopah with incredible views, and a list: a roof vent with no flashing, a lot of foundation cracks, thin attic ventilation and gaps in the insulation.
A brand-new home in Tolleson for first-time buyers. Even new houses have a list, and this one had a gas smell, a leaking faucet and an unsupported gas line.
A 6,500 square foot home just south of downtown Gilbert, with a full basement, four AC systems and a backyard pizza oven. Here is what a big house still hides.
A 1987 manufactured home with a great workshop garage, and termite tubes everywhere under the carpeted front deck.
Brown water, a wet crawl space and a patio cover eaten by termites. How moisture set up a termite infestation in this Sun City home.
Termite tubes around the front door, a leak behind a toilet and no CO detectors in a gas home. What this El Mirage inspection turned up.