NH LICENSED HOME INSPECTOR – Internachi Certified – Serving Concord, nh
I spent 20 years building houses in NH. Now I inspect them.
Next level home inspections for buyers, sellers, and investors in Concord and the surrounding Merrimack County communities.
Call / Text: (802) 289-0025
Radon & Water Testing – Thermal Imaging – Reports in Under 24 Hours
A Home Inspection Should Give You More Than a List of Problems
I came to home inspection after more than twenty years running a design-build contracting business, and I’m still running that business and doing that work. That background changes the way I look at a house.
I’m certainly looking for defects, but finding the defect is only the beginning. I want to understand what caused it, whether it appears active or historical, how it relates to the rest of the building, and what a sensible repair path might look like. Sometimes that means telling you that something ugly is relatively minor. Sometimes it means stopping at an apparently small detail because it points toward a much larger problem.
That distinction matters in Concord, where the housing ranges from genuinely old New England homes to postwar neighborhoods, multifamily buildings, rural properties and recent construction. A house that has been standing for 150 years should not be judged as though it were built last Tuesday. It should, however, be understood.
I don’t believe in frightening buyers with every imperfection I find, and I don’t believe in softening a serious problem because the conversation is uncomfortable. My job is to give you useful information and enough context to make your own decision.
I also maintain a 12-month no-bid policy on homes I inspect. If I tell you something needs work, I’m not positioning myself to sell you the repair afterward.
Inspecting Homes in Concord, NH
Concord is interesting from an inspection standpoint because there really isn’t one typical Concord house.
Closer to downtown and through parts of the South End, there are homes that have been altered repeatedly over a century or more. An old house may have a perfectly serviceable original framing system sitting beside electrical, plumbing and heating systems installed during five completely different eras. An addition may have been built beautifully in 1998 while the 1890 basement beneath the original house still manages water exactly as it did generations ago.
That kind of history doesn’t automatically make a property problematic. It does make relationships between systems important.
Foundation movement needs to be considered in the context of the structure above it. A chimney that once served coal, then oil, and perhaps later a wood stove deserves more thought than simply noting that a chimney exists. Old wiring may have been partially replaced while inaccessible portions remain. Plumbing can be an archaeological exercise. Renovations often tell their own story once you start looking carefully at how they were connected to the original building.
Penacook adds another layer of older mill-era housing and later development, while the outskirts of Concord transition quickly into the more rural properties common throughout central New Hampshire. Move into Bow, Hopkinton, Dunbarton or Canterbury and private wells, septic systems, long driveways, drainage, outbuildings and larger parcels become part of the conversation.
None of those things are inherently good or bad. They simply require an inspector who is interested in how the whole property works rather than one who is racing through a checklist.
What I’m Actually Trying to Learn About the House
During a home inspection, I work systematically through the visible and accessible structure, exterior, roof, attic, electrical system, plumbing, heating and cooling equipment, interior, basement or crawlspace, decks, porches, garages and other relevant components.
But the inspection is not really a collection of isolated systems.
Water showing up in a basement may begin with grading twenty feet away. Staining in an attic may be a roofing problem, an air-sealing problem, an exhaust-vent problem, or evidence of something that happened years ago and has already been corrected. A sloped floor in an older house might be entirely consistent with its age, or it might correspond with structural movement below.
Those connections are where construction experience becomes particularly useful.
I pay close attention to foundations and visible structural conditions, roof and chimney systems, drainage, electrical modifications, older heating equipment, plumbing materials, insulation and ventilation, moisture patterns, and the quality of renovations and additions. Thermal imaging is used where it can add useful information rather than simply to produce colorful pictures for the report.
I’m not opening walls or dismantling equipment, and a home inspection can never reveal every concealed condition. What I can do is look closely at the evidence the house gives us and follow it as far as a visual inspection reasonably allows.
Old Houses, Renovations, and the Work Between the Work
One of the things I particularly enjoy about inspecting older homes is figuring out what happened to them over time.
The original construction is often fairly easy to understand. The interesting parts are what came later.
Maybe a carrying wall disappeared during a kitchen renovation. Maybe a porch became living space. Maybe the electrical service was upgraded but much of the branch wiring was not. Maybe an old masonry chimney has been abandoned below the roof while part of it remains hidden inside the house. Maybe beautifully renovated rooms sit over a basement that received considerably less attention.
That doesn’t mean older or renovated homes should be avoided. Some of the best houses I inspect have a century or more behind them. But the quality of the work performed during those years matters, and cosmetic condition is a very poor substitute for understanding the building underneath it.
Newer construction gets the same scrutiny. New does not mean problem-free. It just photographs better.
Radon and Private Well Water Testing
Radon testing is available with home inspections throughout Concord and Merrimack County. Radon cannot be seen or smelled, and the only practical way to know the concentration in a particular house is to test for it. I generally recommend testing when purchasing a home unless there is a compelling reason not to.
Private well water testing is also available for properties served by a well. Depending on the property and your needs, testing can range from common water-quality parameters to more comprehensive laboratory panels. PFAS testing is also available when appropriate.
These services can be scheduled with the inspection so the building inspection and environmental testing are handled together rather than requiring separate appointments.
Home Inspection Pricing in Concord
Most inspections run between $500 and $900 depending on the size of the home. A standard inspection for a home up to 1,500 square feet is $600. Larger homes step up from there in $100 increments by size tier. Homes built before 1950 carry an additional fee reflecting the complexity and time involved.
Radon testing and water testing can be added to any inspection. Bundle both together with your inspection and you’ll save $100 off the combined total.
Multi-family properties are quoted individually because they are essentially multiple homes under one roof, with two or more sets of systems, living spaces, kitchens, bathrooms, electrical panels, and heating equipment to inspect.
Estate properties with extensive or complex systems and larger homes are quoted individually as well.
To get a firm number, use the online scheduler or send the address, square footage, year built, and any add-ons you want included — I’ll confirm pricing before anything goes on the calendar.
For Buyers, Sellers, and Investors
Most of my work is for buyers, and my approach is built around the questions buyers actually have.
Is this a serious problem? Is it unusual for a house this age? Does it need to happen immediately? Who would I call to evaluate or repair it? Is this one isolated defect, or does it suggest something larger?
Those are much more useful questions than simply asking whether something passed or failed.
I also perform pre-listing inspections for sellers who would rather discover significant conditions before negotiations begin, as well as home maintenance inspections for people who already own their homes and want an objective assessment of what deserves attention.
Concord also has a substantial number of multifamily and investment properties. My construction background is particularly useful there because investors are often less interested in cosmetic imperfections than in understanding structure, major systems, water problems, safety concerns and the work that could materially change the scope of a project. More information about that service is available on my investor inspection page.
A Report Written to Be Used
After the inspection, you receive a digital report with photographs and plain-language explanations of what I found.
Significant defects and safety concerns receive the attention they deserve, but I don’t want a report where every loose doorknob carries the same visual weight as structural movement or a dangerous electrical condition. Maintenance items are identified without allowing them to bury the findings that could actually affect your decision.
When a specialist is warranted, I’ll tell you why. When something simply needs repair, I’ll say that too. And when an unusual condition looks alarming but has a perfectly reasonable explanation, I’m just as interested in giving you that context.
The goal is a report you can understand during the transaction, send to a contractor when you need work performed, and open again a year later without wondering what the inspector was trying to say.
Serving Concord and Nearby Communities
From Concord, I regularly serve nearby communities throughout Merrimack County and central New Hampshire, including Bow, Dunbarton, Hopkinton, Canterbury, Loudon, Pembroke, Hooksett, Boscawen, Chichester, Epsom, and surrounding towns.
For related nearby service pages, see Manchester, Bedford, Merrimack, Nashua, Sunapee, Lincoln, Plymouth, Hillsborough, Laconia, Wolfeboro, the Lakes Region, Salem, or the full Service Areas page.
Schedule Your Concord Home Inspection
If you are buying a home in Concord or the surrounding Central New Hampshire area, I would be glad to help you understand what you are looking at before you move forward.
Call or text: (802) 289-0025
Email: connect@resonanthomesnh.com
Frequently Asked Questions About Concord Home Inspections
What should I know about older homes in Concord’s South End and downtown neighborhoods?
These are some of the older residential streets in the state — Victorians, Federal-era colonials, and multi-family homes that have passed through many rounds of ownership. What I’m looking for in that era of construction: original or partially updated electrical that has been extended over decades, older panel types with documented reliability issues, plumbing supply lines that may be galvanized or early copper, and chimney and flue systems on houses that have had multiple fuel types over their lives. The character in these homes is real — so are the inspection priorities.
What makes Penacook different from the rest of Concord when it comes to inspections?
Penacook developed alongside industrial activity on the Merrimack River, and that history shows up in the housing. Older mill-era construction, a mix of postwar development, and properties that have had varied ownership and repair histories. Foundations range from fieldstone to early poured concrete, each with its own aging patterns. Heating systems in this part of the city tend to be older and worth a close look. It’s not worse than the South End — it’s just a different set of things to pay attention to.
Do you inspect properties in the surrounding towns — Bow, Hopkinton, Dunbarton, Canterbury?
Yes, those are all regular territory. Rural properties around Concord typically have private wells and septic systems, which changes the inspection context. I offer water testing as an add-on to any inspection and recommend it for any home on a private well. For septic evaluation, I refer clients to licensed septic inspectors — that’s outside the scope of a home inspection, but I’ll flag anything visible that warrants attention and point you toward someone qualified to assess it.
Concord has a lot of multi-family and rental properties. Do you inspect those?
Yes. Downtown Concord and the surrounding neighborhoods have steady multi-family activity — converted single-families, two- and three-unit properties, and older rental properties. For investors, I focus on major systems, safety conditions, and anything that affects project scope or timeline. I understand the difference between cosmetic wear and conditions that change your numbers, and I’ll flag anything that warrants a specialist before you finalize a deal. The investor inspection page has more on how I approach those.
Is radon a concern in Concord and Merrimack County?
Yes — New Hampshire has some of the highest radon rates in the country, and Concord is not an exception. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that enters through foundation cracks and gaps, and it’s the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US. It’s also completely invisible and odorless — you won’t know it’s there without testing. I offer radon testing as an add-on and recommend it for virtually every inspection in this region. If levels come back elevated, mitigation is straightforward and well-understood.
What’s in your report after a Concord home inspection?
A digital report with photos, plain-language explanations, and clear notes on what was found. Safety concerns and significant defects get direct attention. Routine maintenance items are noted separately so they don’t get lost in the noise. When something warrants a specialist — a structural concern, an old chimney, something at the septic — I say that clearly rather than burying it. The report is built to be useful after the appointment: something you can hand to a contractor, bring into a negotiation, or read again six months after closing and still understand.
Can you do an inspection on short notice?
Not always, but I certainly try my best. I understand how fast the market moves, and will do my best to squeeze you in if I can. Please call or text if you are on a tight timeline and we can talk about trying to put something together.
Also see: Home Inspections · Investor Inspections · Realtor Inspection Support