I launced Midwest Home Inspections, LLC in March of 2012. I took an online home inspection course from Penn Foster Career School about 3 years ago, but because my job as an energy auditor kept me quite busy, it wasn't until recently that I felt I had the time to devote to a new business. What I do as a home inspector is inspect a home for the buyer or seller prior to the sale. This inspection involves checking the general condition of the home such as roofing, electrical, heating system and water heater, appliances, plumbing, flooring, and more. After completing the inspection, I use a software program to generate a report and send it to the party that retained my services. This report can be used by the seller to promote the home if all is well, or as a bargaining tool by the buyer if there are repairs that need to be made.

As an energy auditor I performed audits on the homes of low-income clients. This involved checking insulation in the attics and walls, performing a blower door test, doing a combustion test of the heating system, checking the condition of the doors and windows, and addressing health and safety issues such as CO detectors and smoke alarms. I would then return to the office and input all the data I had gathered into our software program and generate a work order for our contractors to use in performing the work on the home. When the work was completed I would return to the home and do final inspection of the work. I also peformed homeowner paid energy audits for utility companies. These audits usually involved using an infrared camera and generating a Manual J heat load calculation for use in geothermal installations.