DIY Home Inspection Checklist: How to Walk a House Like an Inspector
Walking a house with the checklist yourself: $157 in testers and a radon kit, 3–5 hours — before you hire the inspector.
- This checklist is for screening a house before an offer, checking your own before listing, and a yearly maintenance walk. For a purchase under contract, it's what you do before and alongside the licensed inspection, not instead of it.
- Work outside-in and top-down: roof and grading first, then the attic, then the basement or crawl space, then room by room. Most expensive problems are water, and water comes from above and outside.
- Four tools change what you can see: an outlet tester, a moisture meter, a voltage tester and binoculars. A radon kit adds the one invisible hazard.
- Photograph everything you note, with something for scale. Anything on the 'call a specialist' list — panel brand, wiring type, foundation movement, an old roof — is a question for the pro, not a conclusion.
Before you start
Read the cost comparison first if you’re deciding whether to hire an inspector on a purchase. The answer is yes, and this checklist is how you get the most out of that inspection — by knowing the house before the inspector arrives, and by knowing what the report means when it comes.
On its own, the checklist is for three jobs: screening a house before you make an offer, checking your own house before you list it (so the cheap fixes are done before a buyer’s inspector writes them up), and an annual maintenance walk.
What you need
An outlet tester with a GFCI button, a pin-type moisture meter, a non-contact voltage tester, binoculars, a bright flashlight or headlamp, a screwdriver, a tape measure and a small level, coveralls and a dust mask for the attic and crawl space, and a mail-in radon kit if you’re screening your own house. The priced list is on the cost page. Print the steps below or keep them on your phone, and take a photo of everything you note.
The two things that decide how it turns out
Water. Nearly every expensive problem in a house is water that went where it shouldn’t: through the roof, under a window, against the foundation, out of a shower pan. Grading, gutters, flashing, and a moisture meter on the walls behind fixtures find most of it. Start there.
Knowing what you don’t know. The checklist will surface things you can’t judge — a panel brand, a foundation crack, a wiring type, a smell. Those go on the specialist list, and for a purchase that list goes to the licensed inspector. The mistake isn’t finding them; it’s deciding on your own that they’re fine.
Step by step
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Start outside, at the ground
Walk the perimeter. Does the ground slope away from the house on every side? Do downspouts discharge 4–6 ft away, or at the foundation? Look for cracks in the foundation (hairline vertical is common; horizontal or stair-step in block is a specialist call), efflorescence, and soil or mulch against siding. Note trees over the roof and roots near the foundation or sewer line.
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Read the roof and exterior
Binoculars on the roof: shingle condition, granule loss, moss, sag, flashing at chimney and penetrations, gutter condition, and layer count at the eaves. Then siding and trim: peeling paint, rot at the bottom of trim and door jambs (poke with the screwdriver), gaps in caulk at windows, and the condition of decks and railings. Check every exterior faucet and the AC condenser's age plate and clearance.
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Go into the attic
Board or joists only. Look at the underside of the sheathing for stains, dark patches and daylight; at insulation depth and whether it's uniform; at whether bath fans and the dryer vent outside; at signs of pests. Check for knob-and-tube wiring (ceramic knobs, cloth-covered wires) in a pre-1950 house and for recessed lights buried in insulation without IC rating.
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Go under the house
Basement: moisture meter at the base of walls and around the perimeter, water stains at the floor line, efflorescence, cracks, a sump pump that works, the smell. Crawl space: standing water, vapor barrier, sagging or soft joists, insulation condition, wiring, plumbing material, and ductwork condition. This is where most 'we didn't know' problems live.
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Check the electrical
Panel: brand, amperage on the main breaker, any double-tapped breakers, scorch or heat, and the condition of the wiring you can see with the door open. Then every outlet with the tester — correct wiring, GFCI where it should be (kitchen, baths, garage, exterior, basement). Note ungrounded three-prong outlets, extension cords used as wiring, and missing cover plates.
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Check the plumbing
Identify the supply material at the water heater and under sinks. Note the water heater's age and any rust at the base; the main shutoff's location and whether it turns. Run every fixture: pressure, drainage speed, hot water arrival. Flush every toilet and check for rocking. Moisture-meter the wall behind every tub and shower and the floor around every toilet. Look under every sink with the flashlight.
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Check heating and cooling
Nameplate date on the furnace, air handler and condenser — 15–20 years is end of life. Filter condition tells you how it's been maintained. Run the system in each mode; listen for the blower, feel airflow at every register, note rooms with weak air. Look at the flue and vent connections on gas equipment and for rust or water stains around the furnace. Check for a CO detector near bedrooms.
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Walk every room
Ceilings and the tops of walls for stains; under every window with the moisture meter; doors and windows that stick or won't latch (settlement or humidity); floors that slope (marble or level); cracks above door corners (settlement); the operation of every window and its locks. In kitchens, run every appliance. In baths, the exhaust fan, the caulk at the tub, and the floor at the toilet. Photograph everything you note.
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Sort what you found
Three lists. Maintenance: caulk, gutters, filters, a dripping faucet. Negotiation or budget: the water heater, an old roof, the AC's age, a rotted deck board. Specialist: panel brand, wiring type, foundation movement, standing water, the smell you couldn't place. For a purchase, hand all three to the licensed inspector and walk with them; for your own house, the first list is this weekend and the second is the budget.
What would this cost you? The home inspection calculator prices the DIY version with the tools you already own and a value on your time, next to a pro quote.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for when inspecting a house myself?
Water, first and always: stains on ceilings and under windows, a musty basement, grading that slopes toward the house, downspouts that dump at the foundation, soft or discolored subfloor around tubs and toilets, and moisture-meter readings on drywall behind fixtures. Then the big-ticket systems by age: the roof (curling, missing granules, more than one layer), the furnace and AC (nameplate dates; 15–20 years is end of life), the water heater (10–12), the electrical panel (brand and any double-tapped breakers), and the plumbing material at the water heater and under sinks.
What tools do I need for a DIY home inspection?
An outlet tester with a GFCI button ($12), a pin-type moisture meter ($30), a non-contact voltage tester ($20), binoculars for the roof and chimney ($30), a bright flashlight, a screwdriver, a tape measure, a 2 ft level, and your phone for photos. Add coveralls, gloves and a dust mask for the attic and crawl space, and a mail-in radon kit ($35). Total for what most people don't own: about $157. Skip the thermal camera — it's the inspector's tool and needs training to read.
How do I check a roof without walking on it?
From the ground with binoculars, from a ladder at the eaves, and from inside the attic. Outside: curled or cupped shingles, bare patches where granules have worn, moss, sagging along ridges or between rafters, flashing at the chimney and vents that's lifted or tarred over, and gutters full of granules. Count the layers at the drip edge — two or more means a full tear-off at replacement. Inside the attic, look for daylight, stained or dark sheathing, rusty nail tips and wet insulation directly under the roof. Don't walk a roof; inspectors carry drones for a reason.
What are the red flags in an electrical panel?
Brand first: Federal Pacific (Stab-Lok) and Zinsco panels are known fire hazards and a replacement item; Sylvania and some Challenger panels are also flagged. Then: a panel that's warm or smells, scorch marks, two wires under one breaker (double-tapping), breakers that don't match the panel brand, missing knockouts, and any sign of aluminum branch wiring (dull silver conductors, 'AL' on the cable jacket) in a 1965–1975 house. Look at the panel with the door open; don't remove the dead-front cover — that's the inspector's job.
How can I tell what kind of plumbing a house has?
Look at the water heater connections, under sinks, and where the main enters the house. Copper is copper-colored (or green where it's corroding); PEX is red, blue or white plastic; CPVC is cream-colored plastic; galvanized steel is gray threaded pipe, common before 1970 and a repipe item; polybutylene is gray (sometimes blue or black) flexible plastic stamped PB2110, installed 1978–1995 and a repipe item. Turn on two fixtures at once and watch for a pressure drop — the sign of galvanized pipe rusting shut.
Should I do a radon test myself?
For screening, yes: a $35 short-term charcoal kit sits in the lowest lived-in level for 2–4 days and mails to a lab, with results in about a week. Above 4 pCi/L, the EPA action level, a mitigation system is $800–$2,500. For a purchase, most contracts and all lenders want a professional continuous-monitor test ($150–$300) with a tamper record, because a homeowner's kit can be moved to a window. Do your own kit in your own house; pay for the monitor when you're buying.
How do I inspect a crawl space or attic safely?
Coveralls, gloves, a dust mask or respirator, a headlamp, knee pads, and someone who knows you're in there. In a crawl space, go in on your back with the light ahead of you, watch for standing water, exposed wiring and insulation hanging from the joists; note the smell (musty means moisture), the vapor barrier, and any wood you can push a screwdriver into. In an attic, step only on joists or a laid board — never on the drywall between them — and look at the underside of the roof, the insulation depth, and whether bathroom fans vent outside or into the attic.
Sources
- Construction and Building Inspectors (SOC 47-4011), Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics , U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-04
- How Much Does a Home Inspection Cost? , HomeGuide, 2026-09
- How Much Do Home Inspections Cost? , HomeAdvisor, 2026-09
- How Much Does a Radon Test Cost? , Angi, 2026-09
- Standards of Practice for Home Inspections , International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, 2026-09
- ASHI Standard of Practice , American Society of Home Inspectors, 2026-09
- For Your Protection: Get a Home Inspection (HUD-92564-CN) , U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2026-09
- A Citizen's Guide to Radon , U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2026-09
Figures last reviewed . See how we estimate.