In Ottawa the climate has extremes of winter freezing with mid January rains and summer hot spells that cause asphalt roads to ooze black tar. Home buyers should be aware that these extremes have an adverse effect on the exterior of a house shell. The roof shingles are made of asphalt and fiberglass with a granular top coat and the sun will dry out the shingle making it curl and fail. The winter will cause ice damming close to the eves of the roof and this will cause cold water to leak into the roof in winter and penetrate into the interior drywall.
The basement concrete or block foundation is exposed to additional freeze thaw cycles in the early winter unlike winters of 20 years ago when more snow insulated the ground from a deep penetrating freeze. I’ve seen basement walls crack and buckle from winter stress and it is expensive to rebuild a foundation wall. Assessing structural matters requires and in depth knowledge of building practice and force analysis.
Electrical wiring, insulation, furnaces and cooling systems are often a mixture of old and new. It takes experience to identify what is adequate and what could be dangerous. Your Ottawa real estate agent in conjunction with a certified building inspector will help to put it all in perspective and protect you from future difficulties.
Call now for the advantages of a pre-inspection for home sellers and for strategies to have the seller pay for the home inspection for the buyer. Be informed!