licensed vt home inspector – Internachi Certified – serving ludlow & chester
I spent over 20 years building homes. Now I inspect them.
Comprehensive home inspections in Chester, Ludlow, and the surrounding Okemo region.
Call / Text: (802) 289-0025
Radon & Water Testing – Thermal Imaging – Reports in 24 Hours
Why My Background Makes Me More Useful as a Home Inspector
I owned and ran a design-build contracting business for more than two decades, and that business is still active today. That’s not a background detail — it’s the thing that makes the inspection different.
It means I managed bids, hired and oversaw the other trades, dealt with building officials, and watched what happens when work is done right and when it isn’t. And because the business is still running, my knowledge of current materials, methods, and building science isn’t frozen in the past.
Here’s why that matters in a house. Buildings rarely hand you a problem in isolation. A wet cellar frequently starts with the grading outside. A crack might be either meaningless shrinkage or one piece of a larger pattern of movement, and knowing which requires understanding what the building was doing before the crack appeared. A beautiful renovation can be wrapped around old systems nobody dealt with while everything around them was being replaced. I spent my career on the other side of that — opening buildings up, fixing what failed, and finding out which repairs actually last.
So I’m after more than a list of defects. I want to know why something is happening, how serious it appears to be, and what a realistic response to it looks like.
We also don’t perform contracting work on homes we inspect for at least 12 months after the inspection. No repair pitch, no conflict of interest, and no reason to shade a finding in either direction.
Two Licensed Inspectors, One Appointment
Most of our inspections are done by two licensed inspectors. My wife and business partner Kayla has been building alongside me full time for years and we inspect together on most jobs. She’s meticulous and thorough, and two people never quite see the same house — every inspection we do together is better for it.
Every house is different, sometimes wildly so. A condo near the mountain and a Chester farmhouse that’s been added onto three times are not the same job, and neither one tells you much about the next place down the road. What stays constant is the patience available. Past a certain point, everybody standing around a house starts wondering when the inspector will be done, and a solo inspector who walks into a property needing more time than that has two options: run long, or quietly stop looking at things.
Two of us covers roughly twice the ground in the same appointment. The house gets the attention it actually needs, and nobody’s afternoon gets wrecked.
The One Person in the Deal Who Works Only for You
It’s worth being plain about how a real estate transaction is arranged. Your agent is paid when the sale closes. Your lender is paid when the loan funds. The contractor writing your repair estimate has an interest in the size of the repair. None of that makes those people dishonest — most of them will deal with you straight — but nearly everyone in the transaction does better when the deal happens.
The inspector is the exception.
My fee is the same whether you buy the house or walk away from it. I have nothing to sell you afterward and no stake in which way you decide. What I owe you is a hard look at the building and an honest account of it in writing, so the decision is yours to make with real information.
Chester and Ludlow Are Twenty Minutes Apart and Not Much Alike
Chester is an old Vermont town that still feels like one — the green, the village, the road out past the farms toward Andover and Grafton. It also has the Stone Village, two rows of houses built out of quarried stone by masons who evidently decided wood was for people who planned on moving. There’s very little else like it in the country.
Much of what’s for sale around Chester is old. A property here might have started as a farmhouse, picked up a kitchen wing a half century later, gained indoor plumbing after that, been rewired twice, had part of the cellar dug out by hand, and acquired another addition in about 1978. None of that makes a house a problem. Plenty of these places are more durable than anything built in the last thirty years. But you have to be able to read them, and the reading happens at the transitions: old foundation meeting new foundation, timber frame meeting dimensional lumber, original roof meeting addition roof, abandoned wiring alongside the wiring that replaced it. That’s where the findings cluster, and it’s the part a checklist can’t help you with.
Ludlow has plenty of that same old construction — village houses, capes, places along the Black River — but Okemo changes the equation. Alongside the year-round homes there are chalets, condos, short-term rentals, and second homes that have been remodeled specifically around vacation use, and the mix shifts again as you head out toward Plymouth, Mount Holly, and Cavendish.
A house that sits empty most of the month doesn’t age the way a house someone lives in does. Plumbing gets winterized over and over, sometimes well. Heating equipment runs for months with nobody there to notice it isn’t running right. A small leak gets a long time to work. And a house closed up tight through a Vermont August is essentially a very large terrarium, which the finishes and the framing both eventually have something to say about. None of this makes a ski property a bad buy. It means a ski property should be inspected as a ski property.
Water in Ludlow Is An Important Subject
The Black River and the brooks running through this area have flooded seriously and more than once. Tropical Storm Irene did significant damage in 2011, and the July 2023 flooding hit Ludlow hard.
That does not mean every property in town carries meaningful flood risk — most don’t. It does mean that on a property where the setting raises the question, site elevation, drainage, foundation history, lower-level construction, and evidence of previous water entry deserve careful attention rather than a glance.
Flood maps are a starting point, not the whole picture. Water follows terrain, roads, culverts, ditches, failed gutters, disturbed soil, and whatever the neighbors have changed about their land. I look at the site as part of the building rather than treating the house as an object that happened to land on a lot, and I’ll tell you what the building itself shows about water that has been there before. What I can’t determine is flood zone designation or insurance requirements — that comes from the mapping, your insurance agent, and your lender, and it’s worth starting those conversations early rather than at the closing table.
On steep sites near the mountain, drainage matters for a different reason. A great deal of water moves downhill fast during heavy rain or spring melt, and driveways, culverts, retaining walls, roof runoff, and foundation drainage can matter as much as anything happening inside the house.
What I Look For in a Chester or Ludlow Inspection
Foundations, and the transitions between them. Stone, brick, block, early poured concrete, and often several of those in one building. Settlement, movement, deterioration at mortar joints, and water entry each look different depending on what you’re standing in front of. I’m also looking at sills, posts, beams, and framing where they meet the masonry, which is where old buildings usually give out first.
Roofs and everything winter does to them. Coverings, flashing, valleys, penetrations, chimneys, and evidence of ice damming from both the outside and the attic. Where a later roof was laid over earlier work, that history is worth understanding.
Attics, insulation, and ventilation. Ice dams are usually a heat and airflow problem before they’re a roofing problem. I’m looking at insulation coverage, air sealing, venting, and any staining, frost, or rot on the underside of the sheathing — and in old houses that have been tightened up over the years, whether the retrofit solved a heating bill and created a moisture problem.
Heating, and often several systems at once. Boilers, furnaces, heat pumps, mini-splits, propane and oil equipment, wood and pellet stoves, and the distribution that goes with them. In an old house that’s been added onto repeatedly, the heat can change character depending on which room you’re standing in, and I’m interested in whether all of it actually works and whether the venting and clearances are right.
Plumbing, with freezing front of mind. Supply, drains, water heating, fixtures, and visible leaks — plus where the pipes run, whether they’re in unconditioned space, how the house is set up to be drained, and whether anything shows signs of having frozen and been repaired.
Electrical. Panels, service, grounding, visible wiring, outlets, and fixtures. Houses here often carry several generations of wiring, some of it partly abandoned when the service was upgraded. I’m sorting what’s unsafe from what an electrician should evaluate from what’s simply old and working.
Cellars, crawlspaces, and finished lower levels. Staining, efflorescence, rot, sump systems, and the signs that water has come in repeatedly. A fieldstone foundation can perform well and still be damp seasonally — that’s a different situation from chronic bulk water entry or a finished basement hiding a foundation that was never meant to stay dry.
The exterior and the site. Siding, trim, windows, doors, decks, stairs, railings, grading, and where the water goes after it comes off the roof. On ski properties, decks and stairs get particular scrutiny given snow load and the number of people who use them.
Garages, barns, and outbuildings. An attached garage is part of a standard inspection. Barns, detached garages, workshops, and sheds are optional add-ons, quoted based on what’s there — and out here the barn is often older than the house, the garage sometimes has its own electrical service, and the room over the shop occasionally turns out to have plumbing and heat that nobody mentioned.
Radon Testing
Radon can’t be evaluated by looking. A cellar can be dry, clean, and beautifully finished and still test high, while a house a few hundred yards away tests low. The only useful answer is a measurement taken in the house you’re actually buying.
We offer radon testing as an add-on to the inspection or as a standalone service, using continuous electronic monitors that record readings across the whole test period rather than producing one number with no context. Elevated levels can almost always be mitigated. The point is knowing before you own it.
Water Testing
Most properties outside the village centers of Chester and Ludlow are on private wells, and a home inspection tells you nothing about what’s in the water.
We offer laboratory testing covering bacteria, arsenic, lead, nitrates and nitrites, hardness, pH, and the other standard parameters. If you want something beyond that — radon in water, PFAS, or anything specific to the property or your lender’s requirements — we can arrange it at additional cost. Tell us what you want covered and we’ll price it before we book.
Water can look clear, smell fine, and taste normal while still containing something worth knowing about before you buy the house.
Water and radon testing can be bundled with the inspection for a $100 savings.
Who Is Buying in Chester and Ludlow
For buyers. Whether you’re buying a year-round house in Chester or something near the mountain, you’re making a large decision inside a short due diligence window. My job is to turn as many of your assumptions as possible into information. I’ll ask you to join me near the end for the walkthrough, where we can stand in front of the actual foundation, boiler, panel, or repair and talk about what it means — a report documents a house well, but a conversation gives it context. Afterward you’ll get a detailed digital report with photographs and written explanations of what we found. If you can’t attend, that’s fine; the report is written to stand on its own and I’m glad to go through it with you by phone.
For sellers. A pre-listing inspection tells you what a buyer’s inspector is going to find while you still control what happens next. You can repair it, service it, document it, disclose it, or price with clear information — all better than learning about it mid-negotiation with a narrower set of options and a shorter clock.
For investors and short-term rental buyers. Ludlow has a lot of rental property, and one in rental rotation gets used harder and by people who don’t know the building. I focus on major systems, structure, moisture, safety and insurability issues, and the conditions that change the scope of future work. I won’t produce a renovation budget from a visual inspection, but twenty years of running construction projects gives me a useful sense of what’s a nuisance and what would materially change your plans. See more about that here.
For realtors. The inspection support page for agents covers scheduling, turnaround, communication, and what our reports look like inside a transaction.
What Does It Cost?
Pricing follows the size of the home. Condos and homes under 1,000 square feet are generally $500, and 1,000 to 1,500 square feet is $600, stepping up by $100 per size tier from there. Homes over 3,500 square feet are quoted individually, as are multi-family buildings, estate properties, and anything with unusually extensive systems.
Homes built before 1950 carry an additional fee for the added time involved, and around Chester that’s not a technicality. A house with a fieldstone foundation, several additions, more than one heating system, old wiring, and a barn takes real time to do properly.
Radon and water testing can be added to any inspection, and bundling both saves $100 off the combined total. Barns, detached garages, workshops, and other outbuildings are quoted based on what’s there, so tell us what’s on the property when you reach out.
For a firm number, use the online scheduler or send us the address, square footage, year built, and any add-ons you want included. We’ll confirm pricing before anything goes on the calendar.
A Practical Inspection Report
After the inspection you get a digital report with photographs, clear explanations, and findings organized so you can tell what’s significant from what’s routine. You shouldn’t have to guess whether every item in a long report deserves equal weight.
When something needs further evaluation — a structural engineer, an electrician, a plumber, a chimney professional, an HVAC contractor — we say so, and we say why.
The report is meant to still make sense six months later. You should be able to hand a finding to a contractor, revisit it during a negotiation, or use it to plan work the winter after you move in without having to decode anybody’s shorthand.
Serving Chester, Ludlow, and the Surrounding Towns
We inspect throughout this part of Windsor County, including Chester, Ludlow, Andover, Cavendish, Proctorsville, Mount Holly, Plymouth, Weston, Grafton, Londonderry, Weathersfield, Reading, and Springfield.
From Chester and Ludlow, we also serve Springfield, Brattleboro, and Putney to the east, Windsor and White River Junction further up the Connecticut River, Woodstock and Bradford to the north, Rutland, Londonderry, Jamaica, and the Killington corridor to the west, Townshend, Dover, Wilmington, and Manchester.
See the Service Areas page for the whole list.
Schedule Your Chester or Ludlow Inspection
If you are buying, selling, or investing in the area, I’d love to have a conversation to see how we can support your process. Feel free to call, text, or email to connect with us. If you’re ready to book, and want to do so online, you can do that from the link below.
Call or text: (802) 289-0025
Email: connect@resonanthomesnh.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a home inspection cover in Chester or Ludlow, VT?
A standard inspection covers the roof, exterior, foundation, basement or crawlspace, electrical panel and visible wiring, plumbing and water heating, heating systems, attic, and all interior spaces. For older homes in this area, we pay particular attention to foundation condition, layered additions, and signs of moisture intrusion — all common in older Vermont houses.
Do I need a separate septic inspection?
Yes. A home inspection is a visual assessment of accessible components — I can note what’s visible, but a full septic evaluation requires a licensed septic evaluator. We refer clients to a couple of trusted evaluators in the area when one is needed.
Should I test for radon in Chester or Ludlow?
Vermont has elevated radon levels throughout much of the state, and the Okemo region is not an exception. We offer radon testing as an add-on to any inspection, and I recommend it for most Vermont properties, particularly those with basements or slabs.
What about water testing for a private well?
We offer comprehensive water testing, and I recommend it for any property on a private well. Vermont rural water sources can carry bacteria, arsenic, nitrates, and other contaminants that aren’t detectable without lab testing. Bundling water testing with the inspection is the most efficient way to handle it. I wrote an article about this topic if you’d like to see it here.
How long does a home inspection take in this area?
It depends on the property, and anyone quoting you a firm number before seeing it is guessing. Size, age, condition, outbuildings, and add-ons like radon and water testing all change the answer. What I can tell you is that two licensed inspectors cover roughly twice the ground per hour, so a house gets the time it actually needs without the appointment dragging on. Once I’ve got the specifics about your property, I can give you a realistic estimate.
How far in advance do I need to schedule?
Turnaround depends on current scheduling, but we try to accommodate time-sensitive transactions. Reach out by phone or text for the fastest response — (802) 289-0025.
Do you inspect condos and ski properties near Okemo?
We do indeed. Ludlow has a mix of single-family homes, ski properties, and condos near Okemo. Condo inspections are different from standard house inspections because some exterior, roof, septic, and common area components may be handled by the association. We still focus closely on the unit itself, visible mechanicals, plumbing, electric, moisture issues, windows, fixtures, insulation concerns, and anything that could affect comfort, safety, or future costs. We’ll also tell you which questions are worth taking to the association.
Also see: Home Inspections · Investor Inspections · Realtor Inspection Support